Douglas Shearer

Douglas G. Shearer (November 17, 1899 - January 5, 1971) was a Canadian-born pioneer sound designer and Recording Director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures.

Shearer was born in Montreal, Quebec to a prominent upper class family, but his family fell on hard times after his father's business failed, which ultimately led to his parents' separation. Douglas remained with his father in Montreal while his two younger sisters, MGM star Norma Shearer and Athole, moved to New York City with their mother.

Unable to afford university, Douglas Shearer left school, working at a variety of jobs until he visited his sisters, who by then had relocated to Hollywood, California in the early 1920s. He decided to remain there, and found a job at MGM Studios, (his sister Norma was under contract at MGM) where he began to pursue an interest in the creation of sound in film. This interest lead to a forty-year association with the film business, in which he was a significant innovator in the development and perfecting of sound technology in motion pictures. One of his many contributions included the development of a sophisticated recording system that eliminated unwanted background noise during sound recording. Over his long career, Douglas Shearer was nominated for an Academy Award a total of twenty-one times, winning seven times for Sound and Special Effects. He is credited as Recording Director at MGM on many films between 1930 to 1953. In 1955, he was appointed MGM's director of technical research and by the time he retired in 1968 he had won an additional seven Scientific or Technical Academy Awards.

Douglas Shearer died in Culver City, California. Some of the citations he earned over his illustrious career were:

Academy Award for Sound (Wins):

• The Great Caruso (1951)
• Strike Up the Band (1940)
• San Francisco (1936)
• Naughty Marietta (1935)
• The Big House (1930)

Academy Award for Best Special Effects (Wins):

• Green Dolphin Street (1947)
• Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

Academy Award for Sound (Nominations):

• Green Dolphin Street (1947)
• They Were Expendable (1945)
• Kismet (1944)
• Madame Curie (1943)
• Mrs. Miniver (1942)
• Chocolate Soldier (1941)
• Balalaika (1939)
• Sweethearts (1938)
• Maytime (1937)
• Viva Villa! (1934)

Academy Award for Best Special Effects (Nominations):

• Mrs. Miniver (1942)
• Flight Command (1941)
• Boom Town (1940)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)

See also

• Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
• Recording Director