Loren L. Ryder (March 9, 1900 – May 28, 1985) was an American sound engineer. He won five

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 ...

and was nominated for twelve more in the categories Best Sound Recording and Best Effects. After serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Ryder studied physics and mathematics at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, graduating in 1924. He went to work at Pacific Telephone & Telegraph where he developed an improved technique for transmitting images over telephone lines, using

light valve A light valve (LV) is a device for varying the quantity of light, from a source, which reaches a target. Examples of targets are computer screen surfaces, or a wall screen in the case of a light projector. There are two basic principles of achievin ...

s. In 1928, Ryder joined

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

where he worked in the emerging field of

talking picture A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

s. From and 1936 until 1957 he served as the studio's chief engineer and sound director. Some of his achievements included the development of the VistaVision wide-screen format and the production of the first full-length film using magnetic audio recording. Ryder was part of the production team who received an

Academy Honorary Award The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929) – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Moti ...

at the

11th Academy Awards The 11th Academy Awards were held on February 23, 1939, at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California. It was the first Academy Awards show without an official host. Frank Capra became the first person to win three Best Director awards, t ...

for their efforts on the Paramount film '' Spawn of the North''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

called upon Ryder's audio expertise to help disguise the sounds of American tanks at the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

Selected filmography

;Best Sound nominee * ''

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

'' (1937) * '' If I Were King'' (1938) * ''

The Great Victor Herbert ''The Great Victor Herbert'' is a 1939 American musical film directed by Andrew L. Stone. During production, the movie was slated to be called ''The Gay Days of Victor Herbert.'' Plot Cast * Allan Jones as John Ramsey * Mary Martin as Louis ...

'' (1939) * '' North West Mounted Police'' (1940) * '' Skylark'' (1941) * ''

Road to Morocco ''Road to Morocco'' is a 1942 American comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, and featuring Anthony Quinn and Dona Drake. The film, which was written by Frank Butler and Don Hartman and directed by David Butler for Para ...

'' (1942) * ''

Melody Inn ''Riding High'' (also known as ''Melody Inn'') is a 1943 American comedy film starring Dorothy Lamour and Dick Powell, made in Technicolor, and released by Paramount Pictures. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Sound Recording (Loren L. ...

'' (1943) * ''

Double Indemnity ''Double Indemnity'' is a 1944 American crime film noir directed by Billy Wilder, co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. The screenplay was based on James M. Cain's 1943 novel of the same ...

'' (1944) * '' The Unseen'' (1945) * '' The War of the Worlds'' (1953) * '' Rear Window'' (1954) * ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

'' (1956) ;Best Effects * '' Union Pacific'' (1939) * ''

Typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

'' (1940)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryder, Loren L. 1900 births 1985 deaths Academy Honorary Award recipients American audio engineers Special effects people Engineers from California UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni Recipients of the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation 20th-century American engineers Recipients of the Scientific and Technical Academy Award of Merit Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners