[78-L] Goodbye, Dolby

[David Lennick]

There will be a minute of hiss-free silence in Ray's honor.
dl

>
>   Ray Dolby, sound pioneer and Dolby Laboratories founder, dies
>
> The man responsible for groundbreaking work in noise reduction and inventing
> surround sound has passed away at age 80.
>
>
> Sound visionary and founder of Dolby Laboratories Ray Dolby died Thursday at
> his home in San Francisco. He was 80.
>
> The company said that Dolby had been living with Alzheimer's disease in recent
> years and was diagnosed with acute leukemia in July.
>
> Dolby is credited with revolutionizing how people experience sound with his
> multitude of audio technology inventions. Besides his pioneering work in noise
> reduction, Dolby also invented surround sound. He held more than 50 US patents.
>
> "Today we lost a friend, mentor and true visionary," Dolby Laboratories
> President and CEO Kevin Yeaman said in a statement
  "Ray Dolby founded the company based on a commitment to creating value through
> innovation and an impassioned belief that if you invested in people and gave
> them the tools for success they would create great things. Ray's ideals will
> continue to be a source of inspiration and motivation for us all."
>
> Dolby founded Dolby Laboratories
> in 1965 after working as a United Nations adviser in India. He is originally
> from Portland, Ore. In his early years, he attended both Stanford University
> and Cambridge University and worked at Ampex as the chief designer of all
> electronic aspects of the first videotape recording system.
>
> At Dolby Laboratories, Dolby fostered an environment where engineers worked to
> advance the science of sound and come up with new ideas to make acoustics more
> engaging. Today, thousands of films and billions of devices use Dolby
> technology to enhance sound. Recording artists and filmmakers also use Dolby
> Laboratories' inventions and tools to enliven their creations.
>
> "Though he was an engineer at heart, my father's achievements in technology
> grew out of a love of music and the arts," said Dolby's son Tom Dolby, who is a
> filmmaker and novelist. "He brought his appreciation of the artistic process to
> all of his work in film and audio recording."
>
> Over the course of his lifetime, Dolby was awarded the National Medal of
> Technology from President Bill Clinton, the Order of Officer of the British
> Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, several Oscar, Emmy, and film festival awards,
> and more. He was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the
> US and the Royal Academy of Engineers in the UK in 2004. Since its inception,
> Dolby Laboratories has also been awarded 10 Academy Awards and 13 Emmy Awards.
>
> Despite his achievements, Dolby was not a boastful man. He was once quoted as
> saying, "I was never a gold-digger, or an Oscar-digger, or anything like that.
> I just had an instinct about the right sort of things that should be done in my
> business. So all these things just fell into place."
>
> Dolby is survived by his wife, Dagmar, his sons, Tom and David, their spouses,
> and four grandchildren.
>
> "My father was a thoughtful, patient and loving man, determined to always do
> the right thing in business, philanthropy, and as a husband and father,"
> Dolby's son David Dolby, who is member of Dolby Laboratories' Board of
> Directors, said. "Our family is very proud of his achievements and leadership.
> He will be sorely missed, but his legacy of innovation will live on."
>
>