Patrick A. Powers was an Irish-American businessman. He is notable for his Powers Motion Picture Company that merged with Carl Laemmle's IMP film company and others in 1912 to create Universal Pictures. Powers later became associated with animation producers Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Irish population density in the United States, 1872. ... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ... Carl Laemmle ( January 17, 1867, Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany – September 24, 1939, Beverly Hills, California) was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios. ... Universal Studios logo Universal Studios is an informal designation for NBC Universal Inc. ... Animation is the illusion of motion created by the consecutive display of images of static elements. ... For the company founded by Disney. ... A publicity photograph (circa 1929) of Ub Iwerks and his most famous co-creation, Mickey Mouse. ...

In 1928, Powers sold Disney a bootlegged sound recording system called the Cinephone so that Disney could make sound cartoons such as Mickey Mouse's Steamboat Willie. Unable to find a distributor, Disney began releasing his cartoons through Powers' Celebrity Pictures company. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Look up bootleg in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Methods and media for sound recording are varied and have undergone significant changes between the first time sound was actually recorded for later playback until now. ... Mickey Mouse Promotional Poster. ... Original opening title card Steamboat Willie, released on November 18, 1928, is an animated cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse. ...

After two years of successful Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies cartoons, Disney confronted Powers in 1930 about monies he felt were due him. Powers responded by signing Disney's head animator Ub Iwerks to an exclusive deal to create his own animation studio. The Ub Iwerks studio was only mildly successful, with cartoon series such as Flip the Frog and Willie Whopper, released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and the Comicolor cartoons, released by Celebrity. The Iwerks studio closed after 1936. Silly Symphonies was an acclaimed series of animated short subjects produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1938. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... A promotional poster Flip the Frog is an animated cartoon character created by American cartoonist Ub Iwerks. ... Willie Whopper opening title Willie Whopper is an animated cartoon character created by American cartoonist, Ub Iwerks. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... The Comicolor series was a series of animated short subjects produced by the Ub Iwerks studio from 1933 to 1936. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...