Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1516649
Tonight, we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Cinema Audio Society. I wonder if our founder, Robert Hoyt, is looking down from heaven saying, "Great job everyone!!!" It was in 1964 that Mr. Hoyt, along with a group of mixers he called the "Gang of Nine," came up with the idea for the "Cinema Sound Society." They wanted to create an organization where you could meet and get to know other re-recording mixers. They also wanted to share technical information, as well as achieve better recognition for sound. The "gang" consisted of James "Jimmy" Stewart, Murray Spivack, Clem Portman, James "Chip" Gaither, David Dockendorf, Howard Wilson, brothers Carroll and John Pratt, and of course, Bob Hoyt. The name was changed to the "Cinema Audio Society" in 1966 and by 1967 the CAS had grown to 60 members. In 1968, the first Dinner-Dance was held at the Hotel Bel-Air. In 1971 they gave their first award, called the "Man of the Year Award," to Gordon Sawyer. In 1973, founding member Murray Spivack was the second recipient. In 1984, production mixers, as well as scoring, ADR, Foley mixers, and Associate were added to the CAS membership. In 1986, during my second term as President, the CAS started the tradition of giving yearly awards to the mixers of Oscar-nominated films and the Emmy-winning shows. It had, however, been a longstanding dream of the CAS to have their own awards. In 1993, during the tenure of President Ed Somers, an awards committee was formed. Co-chairs Melissa Hofmann and Mark Rozett, and their Board, undertook the task to devise an award that would be unique, and offering recognition of the craft of sound mixing. They also redesigned the logo in preparation for the award, which was developed in conjunction with graphic designer Christine Jaszkowiak and glass artist Stephen Schlanser. HISTORY OF THE CAS AWARDS 2024 AT 60 YEARS… WE'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY! By Historian James A. Corbett CAS MPSE, contributions by Melissa S. Hofmann CAS