R.I.P. Mike Kohut

[Richard Lightstone, CAS]

Just reading in a Facebook post by Steve Maslow that mike Kohut has passed away.

Here is a part of an interview by Mel Lambert with Mike published last year.

Michael Kohut, during his more than 30+ years with the various entities that now comprise the Sony Pictures Studios' post-production complex in Culver City, CA, has done just about everything involved with sound for the movies. Starting in 1965 as a production-sound cable man with MGM, Kohut has worked consistently within the facility, remaining through its various transfers in ownership. During three decades he advanced to lead re-recording mixer, with over 50 credits, including "Basic Instinct," "The Prince of Tides," "War Of The Roses," "Dead Poets Society," "Rocky IV," "The Presidio," "Throw Mama From The Train," "The Sicilian," "Year Of The Dragon," "Old Gringo," "Crimes Of The Heart," "Annie," and "The Good-bye Girl."

He is a seven-time Academy Award nominee for Best Achievement in Sound with such films as "Total Recall," "Robocop," "2010," "Meteor," "War Games," "Fame" and "Pennies From Heaven," and an Emmy nominee for Best Sound for "Roe versus Wade." He also holds two British Academy Awards for his work on "War Games" and "Fame."

Currently Executive VP of Post Production Facilities at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Kohut is responsible for a number of departments, including electronic digital sound prelay, digital picture editorial, and motion-picture sound editorial departments. In addition to these responsibilities, Kohut is also the inventor of the eight-channel SDDS (Sony Dynamic Digital Sound) playback format. He is also Managing Director and a member of the board of directors for Sony Cinema Products Corporation, and is the newly named president of Sony Pictures Advanced Digital Systems, an R&D group that will be developing new technologies for the motion picture and exhibition industries, including a new design of hard-disk recorder/player.

Early 1996 saw the unveiling of what many consider to be the jewel in Kohut's crown: a new post-production area. Stage Three and Stage Five, which features a Sitcom Re-recording Room, an ADR Suite, a Foley Suite, plus two, state-of-the-art Re-recording Theaters equipped with 244-input/72-buss GLW-Harrison MPC-1 digitally-controlled analog consoles. And in March, this busy executive will receive the much coveted Cinema Audio Society's Career Achievement Award, at its 32nd Annual Awards Banquet. CAS Awards recognize outstanding achievement in sound mixing in films and television.

http://www.mediaandmarketing.com/13Writer/Interviews/MIX.Mike_Kohut.html