Disney Legend Don Iwerks, the camera and projection innovator whose work shaped everything from Mary Poppins to EPCOT, died the evening of July 9 at age 96, Disney confirmed today.
A Family Legacy of Innovation
Don Iwerks was born July 24, 1929, the son of animator and special-effects pioneer Ub Iwerks, himself a Disney Legend and the artist who helped design Mickey Mouse. Don followed his father into the family business, joining Walt Disney Productions in 1950 as a technician in the studio’s special photographic processes lab. His tenure was interrupted almost immediately by the Korean War, he spent two years with the Army’s Signal Photo Corps before returning to Disney.
In January 1953, Don transferred to the studio’s Machine Shop, where he was soon promoted to camera technician. His first major assignment was Walt Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). He went on to lead both the Machine Shop and Camera Service Department, as well as the studio’s Technical Engineering and Manufacturing Division, over a 35-year Disney career.
From Circle-Vision to Captain EO
Iwerks helped develop the 360-degree Circle-Vision camera system used for Circarama, U.S.A. at Disneyland’s 1955 opening — the first film, A Tour of the West, was shot on eleven synchronized 16mm cameras. He later trained an Italian crew to use the technology for Italia ’61, and the classic America the Beautiful played at Disneyland for 17 years before a reshot Circle-Vision 360 version moved to EPCOT Center, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris.
His engineering work also touched the 1964–65 New York World’s Fair, the 3D and in-theater effects of Captain EO, and the projection system for Star Tours. Alongside his father, he helped refine the sodium vapor process — the specialized camera and optical-printer system that blended live action, painted backgrounds, and animation for 1964’s Mary Poppins, including the “Jolly Holiday” sequence.
Iwerks often pointed to EPCOT and the New York World’s Fair as the high points of his career, citing the nine-screen Circle-Vision theaters and The American Adventure‘s rear-projection storytelling as some of the park’s most powerful experiences.
Recognition and Legacy
In 1997, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Iwerks with the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for his contributions to large-format and simulated film technology. He was named a Disney Legend at the inaugural D23 Expo in 2009, and his handprints, alongside his father’s, are enshrined at Legends Plaza on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank. Father and son also share a window on Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom Park: “Iwerks–Iwerks Stereoscopic Cameras.”
After leaving Disney in 1986, Iwerks founded Iwerks Entertainment, Inc., producing giant-screen theaters and 3D theme-park attractions until the company was acquired by SimEx, Inc. in 2001.
“There was a ‘can-do’ attitude I learned from Walt and my father,” Iwerks once said. “If you’re doing a really first-class job, you don’t need to worry about the money. It will come.”
Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro called Iwerks’ combination of “heart, ingenuity, and passion” a defining Disney trait, adding that his innovations “helped create experiences that have delighted generations of fans around the world.”
Iwerks is survived by his wife of 54 years, Betty; sons John and Larry; and daughter Leslie Iwerks, an acclaimed documentary filmmaker who has chronicled Disney’s creative history in her own films and books. He was preceded in death by his daughter Tamara.
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