Early Life

Ub was born was born in Kansas City in Missouri in 1901.  He had a bit of a difficult childhood as when he was 14 his father had left Ub's mother and it fell to him to look after the family therefore he had to leave school and he never spoke to his father again.  John Kenworthy the co-author of 'The Hand Behind The Mouse' said 'That was one of the biggest events in Ub's life; when his father left. Ub went very quickly from being a child to the head of the family, and that he obviously idealized his dad in some ways deep down inside.' (N.D, Remembering Ub Iwerks, Geo. talks with Leslie Iwerks and John Kenworthy).
This really shocked me as I can't imagine the pressure of what he had to take on and how quickly had to grow up, I feel sorry for him in a way that because of his own father he was denied a real childhood and that his father was immensely selfish for causing this.  I wonder if this is the reason he loved to draw as to me drawing takes me back to being a child as its so freeing and maybe this was a way for him to go back and relive his childhood.  I actually wish I was able to ask him this question and find out what he really thought about his childhood and why he chose a career in drawing or if it was just the first paying job he could get as he was good at it and not really qualified to do anything else.  Leslie Iwerks, Ub's grandaughter goes on to say in the interview 'He was a family man, but also a very strict father according to my dad. Kids were to be seen but not heard, he remembers hearing his father saying as he was growing up. He was very strict but also very loving and supporting. He really believed in rasing his children properly and not letting them get out of hand. Ub had two sons by the time he was 31 and he also was running his own cartoon studio at that point. I think a lot of the inspiration for his cartoons came from his kids.'  So this answers one of my questions but that was later on in his life and he used his kids as inspiration but what started it is what I wish I could find out but this was good enough really as people usually have more than one reason for doing something.


When he was 18 he managed to secure a job at Pesman-Rubin Commercial Art Studio.  His job consisted of using the art skills that he had acquired and mastered so far in life to produce work for the companies clients.  After he was hired more and more people were added as the company grew and this is when Walter Disney was hired and the two men really became friends.  They were a bit like chalk and cheese as Ub was shy and reserved but a brilliant artist where as Walt Disney was outgoing and more business minded than artistic.


Resources:
Google (n.d.) Ub Iwerks Picture. [image online] Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi5g7zwMjDTs0notHiFGiHdvltKN75VOOks7Ys_zC9PkPunjo3WgKchZtRVU6f05RJpp6ULA9oKjBqb-Xgx_NOOrvMaF6vQ_DYZQ_o5sy6dhaSYIdd_i3XU7rSFJVYH80zX7LZWTtxpI_d/s1600/Audiência+de+Tv++2010.jpg [Accessed: Sunday 8th January 2012].


Digital Media FX (2001) The Early Disney Years,[online] Available at: http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Features/ubiwerks.html [Accessed: Sunday 8th January 2012].


Geo Interview (n.d.) Remembering Ub Iwerks,[online] Available at: http://www.crazycollege.org/IwerksFilmFax.htm [Accessed: sunday 8th january 2012].