Lost and Found Sound

In our latest installment of our occasional Lost and Found Sound series, producer Yair Reiner presents Jack Foley: Feet to the Stars. Jack Foley is a Hollywood legend—-he did his job best by not letting anyone know he existed. But Foley's legacy lives on in every film and television program we watch—-it's there in the footsteps of the star walking down a street, in the rustle of a dress, in the pounding of horse-hoofs. Foley made these sounds and many more on his stage at Universal studios. Foley was there on the studio's maiden voyage into sound pictures. At first, he and his team of sound men had only one chance to get all the sound right. Foley figured out that by projecting the film and recording the sound effects in sync, he would get the best effect—-and he would do each effect one at a time, till the various sounds were all put together with the film—a method today called Foley. Foley's stage looked more like a garage than a recording studio—-dirt, gravel, and lots of junk everywhere. These were the tools of his trade. Foley's voice was never recorded and there are no pictures of him at his work—-but he is remembered by those who worked with him.