Harold William Varney (January 22, 1934 – April 2, 2011) was an American motion picture

sound mixer A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic instr ...

. A two-time

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner, Varney shared the

Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing The Academy Award for Best Sound is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most euphonic sound mixing, recording, sound design, and sound editing. The award used to go to the studio sound departments until a rule change in 1969 said it ...

for '' Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back'' in 1980 and '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' in 1981. Varney also received

nominations for his collaborative sound mixing on '' Dune'' in 1984 and ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

'' in 1985.

Life and career

Varney was born on January 22, 1934, in Beverly, Massachusetts. One of Varney's earliest projects was a film focusing on singer

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

during the 1950s. Baez's father was a physics professor at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. Varney relocated to

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

in 1961, where he produced educational films for

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

. Varney transitioned to film and television

sound mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic ...

in 1972. He worked on approximately 85 productions over the next twenty-five years. He worked at

The Samuel Goldwyn Company The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an American independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1978. Background The company originally distributed and acquired art-house films fro ...

for fourteen years, until he joined

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

in 1985. Varney won collaborative back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Sound for '' Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back'' in 1980 and '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' in 1981. He also received nominations for '' Dune'' in 1984 and ''

'' in 1985. Additionally, Varney was nominated an Emmy Award for his sound work on the 1977

television miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. " Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

, ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

''. Varney's numerous film credits included ''

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert a ...

'' in 1978, '' Grease'' in 1978, ''

Ordinary People ''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The film follows the disintegration of an upp ...

'' in 1980, '' Poltergeist'' and ''

My Favorite Year ''My Favorite Year'' is a 1982 American comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Richard Benjamin and written by Norman Steinberg and Dennis Palumbo from a story written by Palumbo. The film tells the story of a young comedy writ ...

'', both released in 1982, and ''

Dragonheart ''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...

'' in 1996. By 1998, he had risen to become the Vice President of Sound Operations for Universal Pictures. That same year, Varney collaborated on the sound re-editing for the 1958

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

film, ''

Touch of Evil ''Touch of Evil'' is a 1958 American film noir written and directed by Orson Welles, who also stars in the film. The screenplay was loosely based on the contemporary Whit Masterson novel ''Badge of Evil'' (1956). The cast included Charlton Hes ...

''. Welles had been replaced from the film during its post-production, and was never allowed to cut ''Touch of Evil'' the way he had originally intended.

Rick Schmidlin Rick Schmidlin (born October 22, 1954) is a film preservationist and silent film scholar, and a producer-director whose work has focused on restorations, reconstructions and documentaries. Until 2010, he taught for the University of British Colu ...

produced the re-edit for Universal Pictures based on a 58-page lost memo written by Welles a year before the film was released. Varney spearheaded the sound restoration for the 1998 directors cut re-release of ''Touch of Evil''. Varney used "digital processing to bring the 40-year-old soundtracks to a new level of clarity," according to

Walter Murch Walter Scott Murch (born July 12, 1943) is an American film editor, director, writer and sound designer. With a career stretching back to 1969, including work on '' THX 1138'', ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Godfather I'', '' II'', and '' III'', ''Am ...

, who worked as the sound editor and sound mixer for the 1998 re-release. Varney retired from Universal Studios in 2001 and moved to

Fairhope, Alabama Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2020 Census lists the population of the city as 22,477. Fairhope is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolita ...

in 2003. Varney died on April 2, 2011, of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

in Fairhope at the age of 77. He was survived by his wife, Suzanne, and daughter, Lisa.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, Bill 1934 births 2011 deaths Best Sound Mixing Academy Award winners American audio engineers Emmy Award winners Universal Pictures People from Fairhope, Alabama People from Beverly, Massachusetts CAS Career Achievement Award honorees NBCUniversal people