Alan Splet

American sound engineer
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroAmerican sound engineer
PlacesUnited States of America
wasSound designer Engineer
Work fieldMusic
Gender
Male
Birth31 December 1939
Death2 December 1994Berkeley, Alameda County, California, USA (aged 54 years)
Star signCapricorn
The details

Biography

Alan Splet (December 31, 1939 – December 2, 1994) was an American sound designer and sound editor known for his collaborations with director David Lynch on Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Dune, and Blue Velvet.

Due to being legally blind, Splet rarely traveled and mainly worked from Berkeley, California. In 1980, he won an Oscar for his work on the film The Black Stallion. He did not attend the Academy Award ceremony and became the butt of several jokes by host Johnny Carson throughout the remainder of the telecast. He was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for Never Cry Wolf. In 1995, The Motion Picture Sound Editors union posthumously honored Splet with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his creative contributions to the field of cinema audio.

Splet was married to sound effects designer Ann Kroeber, and collaborated with her on most of his projects from 1979 until his death in 1994.

Selected filmography

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1970The GrandmotherDavid Lynchshort film
1976In the Region of IcePeter WernerSound design
1977EraserheadDavid Lynchsee Eraserhead soundtrack
1978Days of HeavenTerrence Malickadditional sound effects
1979The Black StallionCarroll BallardSpecial Achievement Academy Award
1980The Elephant ManDavid Lynch
1983Never Cry WolfCarroll BallardAcademy Award nomination
1984DuneDavid Lynch
1986Blue VelvetDavid Lynch
1986The Mosquito CoastPeter Weir
1988The Unbearable Lightness of BeingPhilip Kaufman
1988Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsFrank Oz
1989Winter PeopleTed Kotcheff
1989Weekend at Bernie'sTed Kotcheff
1989Dead Poets SocietyPeter Weir
1990Mountains of the MoonBob Rafelson
1990Henry & JunePhilip Kaufman
1991Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's DeadStephen Herek
1991At Play in the Fields of the LordHector Babenco
1992WindCarroll Ballard
1993Rising SunPhilip Kaufman
1996The English PatientAnthony Minghelladied during production; replaced by Walter Murch
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