John K. "Doc" Wilkinson (April 13, 1920 – April 28, 2002) was an acclaimed American

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

. He won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for

Best Sound The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

and was nominated for another two in the same category. He was also nominated for a

BAFTA Award for Best Sound The BAFTA Award for Best Sound is a film award that is presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to sound designers, sound editors, sound engineers, and sound mixers. It has been presented at the annual British Acad ...

as well as for five

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for Outstanding Sound Mixing.

Early life

Born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, John K. Wilkinson initially studied at a seminary before pursuing a career in sound engineering. He earned a Ph.D. in design and engineering from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, which honed his technical expertise. Known as "Doc" for his doctorate and scholarly approach to sound, he became a prominent figure in Hollywood’s sound mixing industry.

Career

John's work left a significant mark on Hollywood, contributing to more than 140 films across various genres between 1956 and 1992 including

The Ten Commandments (1956 film) ''The Ten Commandments'' is a 1956 American epic religious drama film produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, shot in VistaVision (color by Technicolor), and released by Paramount Pictures. Based on the Bible's first five book ...

Breakfast at Tiffany's (film) ''Breakfast at Tiffany's'' is a 1961 American romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards from a screenplay by George Axelrod and based on the 1958 novella by Truman Capote. It stars Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen ...

, Hell Is for Heroes (film),

Hud (1963 film) ''Hud'' is a 1963 American Western film starring Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Brandon deWilde, and Patricia Neal. Directed by Martin Ritt, it was produced by Ritt and Newman's recently founded company, Salem Productions, and was their first ...

Seconds (1966 film) ''Seconds'' is a 1966 American science fiction psychological horror film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Rock Hudson, Salome Jens, John Randolph, and Will Geer. The film tells the story of a middle-aged New York banker who, disillu ...

Badlands (film) ''Badlands'' is a 1973 American neo-noir period crime drama film written, produced and directed by Terrence Malick, in his directorial debut. The film stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek, and follows Holly Sargis (Spacek), a 15-year old who ...

Mean Streets ''Mean Streets'' is a 1973 American crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, co-written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin, and starring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel. It is produced by Warner Bros. The film premiered at the New York Fil ...

Chinatown (1974 film) ''Chinatown'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery film directed by Roman Polanski and written by Robert Towne. It stars Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, with supporting performances from John Huston, John Hillerman, Perry Lopez, Burt Young, ...

The Longest Yard (1974 film) ''The Longest Yard'' is a 1974 American prison film, prison sports film, sports Comedy drama, comedy-drama film directed by Robert Aldrich, written by Tracy Keenan Wynn, based on a story by producer Albert S. Ruddy, and starring Burt Reynolds, ...

Marathon Man (film) ''Marathon Man'' is a 1976 American thriller film directed by John Schlesinger. It was adapted by William Goldman from his 1974 novel of the same title and stars Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane and Marthe Keller ...

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...

Days of Heaven ''Days of Heaven'' is a 1978 American romantic period drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz. Set in 1916, it tells the story of Bill and Abby, lovers who trav ...

Heaven Can Wait (1978 film) ''Heaven Can Wait'' is a 1978 American sports fantasy comedy-drama movie directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry about a young man (played by Beatty) being mistakenly taken to heaven by his guardian angel, and the resulting complications of how ...

The Amityville Horror (1979 film) ''The Amityville Horror'' is a 1979 American supernatural horror film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, and starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Rod Steiger. The film follows a young couple who purchase a home haunted by combative supernatural ...

American Gigolo ''American Gigolo'' is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story of a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically ...

Little Darlings ''Little Darlings'' is a 1980 American teen comedy-drama film starring Tatum O'Neal and Kristy McNichol and featuring Armand Assante and Matt Dillon. It was directed by Ronald F. Maxwell. The screenplay was written by Kimi Peck and Dalen ...

Outland (film) ''Outland'' is a 1981 science fiction film, science fiction thriller film written and directed by Peter Hyams and starring Sean Connery, Peter Boyle and Frances Sternhagen. Set on Jupiter's moon Io (moon), Io, it has been described as a space ...

Easy Money (1983 film) ''Easy Money'' is a 1983 American comedy film starring Rodney Dangerfield, Joe Pesci, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Candice Azzara, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by James Signorelli and written by Dangerfield, Michael Endler, P. J. O'Rourk ...

Right of Way (film) A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter,

Platoon (film) ''Platoon'' is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone, starring Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Keith David, Kevin Dillon, John C. McGinley, Forest Whitaker, and Johnny Depp. It is the first film of a trilogy ...

No Way Out (1987 film) ''No Way Out'' is a 1987 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson, and starring Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Will Patton, and Sean Young. Howard Duff, George Dzundza, Jason Bernard, Fred Thompson, and Iman appear in ...

Malone (film) ''Malone'' is a 1987 American action thriller film starring Burt Reynolds in the eponymous role alongside Cliff Robertson, Cynthia Gibb, Lauren Hutton, Scott Wilson, and Kenneth McMillan. It is an adaptation of William P. Wingate's novel ''Sho ...

Wall Street (1987 film) ''Wall Street'' is a 1987 American crime drama film directed and co-written by Oliver Stone, which stars Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, and Martin Sheen. The film tells the story of Bud Fox (C. Sheen), a young stockbroker wh ...

, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and

Lionheart (1990 film) ''Lionheart'' is a 1990 American martial arts film directed by Sheldon Lettich, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Rennard, Harrison Page, Lisa Pelikan and Brian Thompson. It also features the acting debut of Ashley Johnson. Van Damme p ...

. Wilkinson also contributed to television, working on series such as

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

The Rebel (American TV series) ''The Rebel'' is a 76-episode United States, American Westerns on television, Western television series starring Nick Adams (actor, born 1931), Nick Adams that ran on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from 1959 to 1961. ''The Rebel' ...

and

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

. In addition to his sound engineering, Wilkinson made a brief appearance acting as a priest in the 1978 film

, starring

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

. His career spanned over four decades, during which he mentored many future professionals in the industry, including John T. Reitz, who later won an Oscar for

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

Legacy

Wilkinson retired after a distinguished career, having worked as head sound mixer at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Glen Glenn Sound Glen Glenn Sound was an audio post production company formerly located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.Platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

'' (1986) -

Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing The Academy Award for Best Sound is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest sound mixing, recording, sound design, and sound editing. The award used to go to the studio sound departments until a rule change in 1969 said it should be award ...

;Nominated * ''

'' (1978) - Nominated for

* ''

'' (1979) – Nominated for

* The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980) – Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Mixing * '' Outland'' (1981) - Nominated for

* '' Amerika'' (1987) – Nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie * '' The Great Escape II: The Untold Story'' (1988) – Nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie * '' Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White'' (1989) – Nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie * ''

Caroline? ''Caroline?'' is a 1990 American made-for-television drama film based on E. L. Konigsburg's novel ''Father's Arcane Daughter'' starring Stephanie Zimbalist, Pamela Reed and George Grizzard. The film is directed by Joseph Sargent and aired on ...

'' (1990) – Nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie

References

External links

* 1920 births 2002 deaths American audio engineers Best Sound Mixing Academy Award winners People from Hartford, Connecticut Engineers from Connecticut 20th-century American engineers {{US-audio-engineer-stub