Sound Effects Genius Passes Away

When we think of radio stars we usually have the people in front of the microphone in mind, or maybe the producer or director, but there are other people without whom these wonderful old radio shows would not be the same. One of those is the sound effects man (or woman), also known as a Foley artist.

One of the undisputed stars of the Foley department was Al Schaffer. Al passed away quietly on the 23rd of September 2004. Al loved his art and in June 2003 he and his family helped to start the Al Schaffer SFX Scholarship at the National Audio Theater Festivals.

If you'd like to listen to him in action, just put on any episode of the Shadow and the chances are you'll be listening to sounds conjured up by him.

http://www.rusc.com/members/series.aspx?ID=279

Normally a one-minute silence might have been in order, but I'm sure Al would have preferred something a little noisier.

Happy listening my friends,