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Dolby Founder Dies by Doniphan Blair
Ray Milton Dolby, who died yesterday (1933-2013), was a true Hollywood Norther. After a sleepy upbringing in Oregon, he attended Stanford and was soon co-inventing video tape sound at Ampex, in the progenitor of Silicon Valley.
Although he moved to England, to really develop Dolby Laboratories, he eventually brought it all home to San Francisco where Dolby Labs on Potrero Avenue in the Mission was an odd amalgam of old timey and hyper-modern. In another quirky combination, they were always happy to volunteer their deluxe screening room to indie premiers.
Tim Partridge, currently of 32TEN Studios (see article), who worked at that location and at Dolby Labs across the pond, had the good fortune to interact with Ray Dolby many times over 25 years.
"He was always interested in what I or my teams were working on and always ready to share a nugget of wisdom or ask a pertinent question that would lead to an improved solution," Tim told me.
"What struck everyone was how down to earth he was, given everything he had achieved in changing both the recording industry and the film industry worldwide. He was the most humble man you could wish to meet."
CineSource had a similarly enjoyable opportunity of covering a Dolby tech release in 2010.Posted on Sep 20, 2013 - 09:41 AM