Quick Facts
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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
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | The Grandmother | David Lynch | short film |
| 1976 | In the Region of Ice | Peter Werner | Sound design |
| 1977 | Eraserhead | David Lynch | see Eraserhead soundtrack |
| 1978 | Days of Heaven | Terrence Malick | additional sound effects |
| 1979 | The Black Stallion | Carroll Ballard | Special Achievement Academy Award |
| 1980 | The Elephant Man | David Lynch | |
| 1983 | Never Cry Wolf | Carroll Ballard | Academy Award nomination |
| 1984 | Dune | David Lynch | |
| 1986 | Blue Velvet | David Lynch | |
| 1986 | The Mosquito Coast | Peter Weir | |
| 1988 | The Unbearable Lightness of Being | Philip Kaufman | |
| 1988 | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Frank Oz | |
| 1989 | Winter People | Ted Kotcheff | |
| 1989 | Weekend at Bernie's | Ted Kotcheff | |
| 1989 | Dead Poets Society | Peter Weir | |
| 1990 | Mountains of the Moon | Bob Rafelson | |
| 1990 | Henry & June | Philip Kaufman | |
| 1991 | Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead | Stephen Herek | |
| 1991 | At Play in the Fields of the Lord | Hector Babenco | |
| 1992 | Wind | Carroll Ballard | |
| 1993 | Rising Sun | Philip Kaufman | |
| 1996 | The English Patient | Anthony Minghella | died during production; replaced by Walter Murch |