Donald Challis (born 26 June 1929) is a British sound and dubbing editor for many critically acclaimed films, including ''

A Taste of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...

'' (1961), ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their Help! (film), film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help! ( ...

'' (1965), and ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' (1973). He won a

BAFTA Film Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

as sound editor alongside Simon Kaye for Best Film Soundtrack in 1970 for ''

Oh! What a Lovely War ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' is a 1969 British comedy musical war film directed by Richard Attenborough (in his directorial debut), with an ensemble cast, including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth More, Laurence Oli ...

''.

Biography

Don Challis was born in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His career started at the age of 19 in 1948 at the

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, with the Crown Film Unit as an apprentice assistant film editor, the studios having been commandeered by the government for making propaganda films for the Ministry of Information. His Association of Cine Technicians Union membership number was 8708. He spent some time at Beaconsfield Studios, Merton Park Studios and Countryman Films in Soho Square, London. Bafta 1970

In 1969, he took the role of sound editor for the hit musical film ''

'' which went down as a huge success, winning five

s in 1970, one of which going to himself and his partner Simon Kaye (who was the sound mixer for the film) for the Best Soundtrack. This huge success led him to being in the sound editing department for a range of horror and drama films including ''

Tam-Lin (film) ''Tam-Lin'', also known as ''The Ballad of Tam-Lin'', ''The Devil's Widow'' and ''The Devil's Woman'', is a 1970 British folk horror film directed by Roddy McDowall. The film stars Ava Gardner and Ian McShane with Richard Wattis, Cyril Cusack, ...

'' in 1970, ''

Blue Blood (1973 film) ''Blue Blood'' is a 1973 British horror drama film directed by Andrew Sinclair. It was based on the 1972 novel ''The Carry-Cot'' by Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, and stars Oliver Reed, Fiona Lewis, Derek Jacobi and Thynn's wife Anna G ...

'' and ''

I Don't Want to Be Born ''I Don't Want to Be Born'' is a 1975 British horror film directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Joan Collins, Ralph Bates, Eileen Atkins, and Donald Pleasence. Its plot follows a woman who gives birth to a child that appears to be demonically p ...

'' in 1975. More so, the success gave him the opportunity to be the sound editor for the award-winning adaptations of ''

The Three Musketeers (1973 live-action film) ''The Three Musketeers'' (also known as ''The Three Musketeers (The Queen's Diamonds)'') is a 1973 swashbuckler film based on the 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser, ...

'' and '' The Four Musketeers'' in 1974. In 1971, Challis became the sound editor for the award-winning film adaptation of ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

''. However he fell ill during the production of the film so his role was taken over by Les Wiggins, a sound editor from

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. This resulted in Wiggins being credited sound editor, leaving Don Challis uncredited despite his contribution. Challis' last contribution to the sound department of the film industry was in 1976 with '' Emily (film)''. Then, at the end of the same year, he moved from his home in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, to

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

with his wife and two daughters. Marking the move as the end of his career in the sound editing department, he settled for the ownership of a small post office.

Filmography

Credited roles "BFI: filmography of Don Challis"
Retrieved 15 June 2015 Uncredited roles *role taken over by Les Wiggins (credited)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Challis, Don 1929 births Living people Best Sound BAFTA Award winners People from Tottenham