Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545202
80 S U M M E R 2 0 2 6 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I N R E M E M B R A N C E e cross paths with many people over the course of a career. Some are quick acquaintances, some become regular colleagues, while still others we are fortunate to call friends. Gary Alper CAS New York-based production sound mixer Gary Alper CAS passed away in March. Alper, who was active in the industry for more than 50 years, had two CAS Award nominations for Phil Spector (2014) and Recount (2009), and worked on film projects, including Sleepy Hollow and Night at the Museum. CAS President Peter Kurland shares, "Gary was the first production mixer I ever met. He hired me as a sound PA in 1982 for a TV movie. He taught me how to use a Nagra, how to prepare and do music playback, and how the rental business worked! The only person I've known who had a battery-powered portable multi-channel Studer mixer. As a sound PA, I still remember how much it weighed!" The CAS extends our heartfelt condolences to Gary's family and friends. Kirk Francis CAS Oscar-winning production sound mixer Kirk Francis CAS passed away in February. In addition to his win for The Bourne Ultimatum, Kirk also received an Oscar nomination for L.A. Confidential, two BAFTA wins and two CAS Award nominations for those films, along with a third CAS Award nomination for The Bourne Supremacy. With more than 70 credits to his name across five decades, Kirk retired in 2014 following his work on Jurassic World. Outside of his professional work, Kirk was a gardener, falconer, environmental activist, and cook—even publishing a book in 1998 humorously titled, I'll Never Cook Lunch in That Town Again: Recipes and Comment from the Sit Down and Shut Up Café. Once asked to describe himself in four words for a December 12, 2001, article for the South Whidbey Record, he chose, "Loud, bombastic, generous, and very much alive." The CAS extends our condolences to Kirk's family, friends, and colleagues. W