Gene Cantamessa

Gene S. Cantamessa ( born February 17, 1931 in New York City, New York, † November 8, 2011 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American sound engineer. He was awarded for his work seven Oscar nominations, where in 1983 the award for the best sound in the movie ET - Won the Extra-Terrestrial.

Life

Cantamessa genes was responsible for the sound since the late 1960s, almost 70 Hollywood movies. In particular, for the directors Mel Brooks, Ivan Reitman and Mike Nichols, he worked in numerous films.

In 1973, he was with Richard Portman for the film Bill McKay - The candidate nominated by Michael Ritchie for the first time for an Oscar in the category Best Sound. It should be followed up to the end of his career six nominations.

For example, for the films Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1941 - Which way leads to Hollywood by Steven Spielberg. For the produced also from Spielberg blockbuster ET - The Extra-Terrestrial won Cantamessa together with, among others Robert Knudson at the Academy Awards in 1983 for the first time the Oscar for best sound engineer.

Further nominations were in appreciation of his work for Cantamessa 1979 and 1983 at the British Academy Film Awards, also for Best Sound, and in 1997 at the awards the Cinema Audio Society for the film The Birdcage - A paradise for birds shrill. There in 1999 he was also honored with an award for his life's work.

In the 1980s and early 90s, he was responsible for the sound in three films of the Star Trek series, even for this he received an Oscar nomination in 1987. In two of the three films, his son Steve worked as an assistant sound engineer at his side. Other well-known films in which Cantamessa participated were as Ghostbusters - Ghostbusters, Twins - Twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in the lead roles or Space Jam with basketball star Michael Jordan.

Gene Cantamessa died on 8 November 2011 at the age of 80 in Los Angeles, California. His final resting place is located on the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, where he was buried on November 14, 2011.

Filmography (selection)

Awards and nominations

Oscar

British Academy Film Award

Cinema Audio Society Award