Elmer R. Raguse (May 9, 1901 – March 2, 1972) was an American

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

mostly associated with the Hal Roach Studios. He was nominated for eight

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in the categories Best Sound Recording and Best Effects. Editor Richard Currier said, "In pictures, if you can't get an effect one way, you figure out another way of getting it. But with Raguse, there was only one line you could follow, and that was that." He wanted to record a gunshot on a project Raguse was involved in, but he refused on the grounds that it would break the light valve. Currier questioned him on it, imagining the valve couldn't be prohibitively expensive. Raguse confirmed it would be twenty cents, so Currier fired the gun in defiance.Eyman, Scott. The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926-1930. Simon and Schuster, New York: 1997.

Selected filmography

;Best Sound * ''

General Spanky ''General Spanky'' is a 1936 American comedy film produced by Hal Roach. A spin-off of Roach's popular ''Our Gang'' short subjects, the film stars George McFarland, Phillips Holmes, Rosina Lawrence, Billie Thomas and Carl Switzer. Directed by F ...

'' (1936) * '' Topper'' (1937) * ''

Merrily We Live ''Merrily We Live'' is a 1938 comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and written by Eddie Moran and Jack Jevne. It stars Constance Bennett and Brian Aherne and features Ann Dvorak, Bonita Granville, Billie Burke, Tom Brown, Alan Mowbray, ...

'' (1938) * ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

'' (1939) * ''

Captain Caution ''Captain Caution'' is a 1940 American adventure film directed by Richard Wallace set during the War of 1812. The film stars Victor Mature, Bruce Cabot and Alan Ladd. It was based on the novel of the same name by Kenneth Roberts. Elmer Raguse ...

'' (1940) * ''

Topper Returns ''Topper Returns'' is a 1941 fantasy comedy thriller directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by Jonathan Latimer. The third and final installment in the initial series of supernatural comedy films inspired by the novels of Thorne Smith, it succee ...

'' (1941) ;Best Effects * ''

One Million B.C. ''One Million B.C.'' is a 1940 American fantasy film produced by Hal Roach Studios and released by United Artists. It is also known by the titles ''Cave Man'', ''Man and His Mate'' and ''Tumak''. The film stars Victor Mature as protagonist ...

'' (1940) * ''

'' (1941)

References

External links

* 1901 births 1972 deaths American audio engineers Special effects people Artists from Springfield, Massachusetts 20th-century American engineers {{US-audio-engineer-stub