Gene Cantamessa

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Gene S. Cantamessa (born February 17, 1931 in New York City , New York - † November 8, 2011 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American sound engineer . He received seven Academy Award nominations for his work , including the 1983 award for Best Sound in the Film ET - The Extra-Terrestrial .

Life

Gene "Gino" Cantamessa has been responsible for the sound of almost 70 Hollywood films since the late 1960s. In particular , he has worked in numerous films for directors Mel Brooks , Ivan Reitman and Mike Nichols .

In 1973 he and Richard Portman were nominated for an Oscar in the Best Sound category for the first time for the film Bill McKay - The Candidate by Michael Ritchie . Six more nominations should follow by the end of his career.

For example, for the films Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1941 - Where Please Go to Hollywood by Steven Spielberg . For the blockbuster ET - The Extra Terrestrial , also produced by Spielberg , Cantamessa won the Oscar for best sound engineer for the first time at the 1983 Academy Awards, together with Robert Knudson, among others .

Cantamessa also received nominations in recognition of his work in 1979 and 1983 at the British Academy Film Awards , also in the category Best Sound , and in 1997 at the Awards of the Cinema Audio Society for the film The Birdcage . There he was also awarded a lifetime achievement award in 1999.

In the 1980s and early 90s he was responsible for the sound of three films in the Star Trek series, for which he also received an Oscar nomination in 1987. In two of the three films, his son Steve worked as a sound assistant at his side. Other well-known films in which Cantamessa took part were, for example, Ghostbusters - The Ghostbusters , Twins - Twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in the leading roles or Space Jam with basketball star Michael Jordan .

Gene Cantamessa died on November 8, 2011 at the age of 80 in Los Angeles, California. His final resting place is in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills , where he was buried on November 14, 2011.

Filmography (selection)

Awards and nominations

Oscar

  • 1973 : Nomination in the category Best Sound for the film Bill McKay - The Candidate
  • 1975 : Nomination in the Best Sound category for the film Frankenstein Junior
  • 1978 : Nomination in the category Best Sound for the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind
  • 1980 : Nomination in the Best Sound category for the film 1941 - Where Please Go to Hollywood
  • 1983 : Winner in the Best Sound category for the film ET - The Extra Terrestrial
  • 1985 : Nomination in the category Best Sound for the Film 2010: The year in which we make contact
  • 1987 : Nomination for Best Sound for the film Star Trek IV: Back to the Present

British Academy Film Award

  • 1979: Nomination in the Best Sound category for the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind
  • 1983: Nomination in the category Best Sound for the film ET - The Extra Terrestrial

Cinema Audio Society Award

  • 1997: Nomination in the category Best Sound for the film The Birdcage - A paradise for shrill birds
  • 1999: Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Death report in the Los Angeles Times , accessed November 14, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Cantamessa, Gene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cantamessa, Gene S.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American sound engineer
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York
DATE OF DEATH November 8, 2011
Place of death Los Angeles , California