George Groves (sound engineer)
George Groves | |
---|---|
Born | George Robert Groves 13 December 1901 Sound engineer |
Years active | 1926-1970 |
Spouse | Jane (?-?) |
George Robert Groves (13 December 1901 – 4 September 1976) was a film sound pioneer who played a significant role in developing the technology that brought sound to the silent screen. He is also credited as being Hollywood's first ‘sound man’; he was the recording engineer on the seminal Al Jolson picture,
Early life
George was born on 13 December 1901 over a barber's shop at 57 Duke Street, St Helens, Lancashire, England. His father, George Alfred Groves, was a master barber and talented musician who founded the first brass band in St Helens. His son George Jr. was proficient in a number of instruments and regularly played the cornet in the town's Theatre Royal. He was also a lather boy in his father's two barber shops in Duke Street and Owen Street.
George was educated at Nutgrove Junior School and Cowley Grammar School in St. Helens. After gaining a scholarship to
Career
He obtained a position with the research team at
George Groves then recorded the sound for The Jazz Singer (1927) a ground-breaking motion picture which revolutionized the film industry. The star of the film, Al Jolson, dubbed George The Quiet Little Englishman and insisted that he alone record his pictures. In recording the sound for The Jazz Singer, Groves became the first ever production recordist.
During World War II, Groves served with the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Force.[1]
In his lengthy Warner Brothers career, George Groves pioneered numerous other sound techniques and practices that the film and television industries take for granted today, including
In 1957, George Groves became Director of Sound at Warner Brothers, and in 1972, the year of his retirement, he was awarded the prestigious Samuel L. Warner memorial award by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers. George died of a heart attack on 4 September 1976. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).
Academy Awards
Groves won two Academy Awards and was nominated for six more in the category
- Won
- Sayonara (1957)[2]
- My Fair Lady (1964)[3]
- Nominated
- Song of the Flame (1930)[4]
- The Nun's Story (1959)[5]
- Sunrise at Campobello (1960)[6]
- The Music Man (1962)[7]
- The Great Race (1965)[8]
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)[9]
Campaign for recognition
In 1993, George Groves’ 92-year-old sister, Hilda Barrow from Liverpool, began a campaign for official recognition in the United Kingdom of her brother's pioneering work. As a result, in 1996 two British Film Industry plaques were unveiled to commemorate his achievements. One was at Groves' birthplace in Duke Street, St Helens, The other was in a prestigious Warners Cinema in London's West End.
References
- ^ "Sound Clips - George Groves The Movie Sound Pioneer". www.georgegroves.org.uk.
- ^ "The 30th Academy Awards (1958) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ "The 37th Academy Awards (1965) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ^ "The 3rd Academy Awards (1929/30) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
- ^ "The 32nd Academy Awards (1960) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ "The 33rd Academy Awards (1961) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ^ "The 35th Academy Awards (1963) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ^ "The 39th Academy Awards (1967) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 24 August 2011.