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C A S Q U A R T E R L Y S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 45 Richard Portman had a huge impact on my life. Here are a few recollections. The year was 1973. I was working at the Burbank Studios, now known as Warner Bros. Burbank. I had been an ADR/Foley mixer on the lot for a few years. One day, I got a call from Don Rodgers, who was the Sound Director at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios (later known as Warner Hollywood). He said he was looking for a music mixer and I would be working with Dick Portman. Naturally, I knew Dick had a vast reputation in Hollywood. That night, I talked it over with my future wife Ruth. This was a big decision in my career because I would be leaving a steady, full-time job, for what could be a temporary gig. The next day, I accepted and gave my notice. A few days later, I drove over to Goldwyn's to meet the lead mixer, and to my surprise, Dick walked onto the dub stage in full black leathers. At the time, he rode a motorcycle to work. The director/producer on the movie Papillon was Franklin Schaffner, who was a sound perfectionist. I remember he was especially picky about the ADR of Dustin Hoffman. Dick did a magical job of blending it with the production dialogue. I worked on one more show with Dick, Day of the Dolphin. I learned a lot about mixing and then we went our separate ways. About 10 years later, in the early 1980s, I was working at Todd-AO on Stage C. Dick was hired to mix on Stage B. In this phase of Dick's career, he was a one-man band. Meaning, he mixed the dialogue, music, and effects. At that time, he was ahead of the curve with this style of mixing. He was also into long, flowing hair, flowing robes, and the scent of hemp was in the air on his stage. This was a much softer, mellower Dick Portman than I had met at Goldwyn's. He and I would hang out in the parking lot at lunch discussing world events. Fifteen years later, I was at the CAS Awards ceremony in 1997 when Dick received the CAS Career Achievement Award. Past President Steve Hawk CAS put on an incredible show. It was really more like a roast than an awards presentation. Dick was a great mixer and a great friend. We will miss him dearly. Jim Corbett CAS Cinema Audio Society Historian