William E. Garity (April 2, 1899 – September 16, 1971) was an American inventor and audio engineer who attended the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

before going to work for

Lee De Forest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element "Audion" triode va ...

around 1921. Garity worked with DeForest on the

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...

sound-on-film system until 1927, when Pat Powers hired Garity to develop a sound system that Powers called Powers Cinephone. Garity is best known for his employment at Walt Disney Studios, which used the Cinephone system in the late 1920s and early 30s. In 1937, also at the Disney Studios, Garity developed the

multiplane camera The multiplane camera is a motion-picture camera that was used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another. This creates a sense of para ...

Ub Iwerks Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks ( ), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentious ...

, having left Disney to work at his own studio, developed an unrelated multiplane camera, during this same time period. In 1940, Garity developed

Fantasound Fantasound was a reproduction system developed by engineers of Walt Disney studios and RCA for Walt Disney's animated film ''Fantasia'', the first commercial film released in stereo. Origins Walt Disney's cartoon character Mickey Mouse entered a ...

, an early

stereophonic Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...

system for Disney's ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

''. After leaving the Disney studio, Garity later became vice president and production manager for

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...

. He was inducted in the

Disney Legends The Disney Legends Awards is a Hall of Fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. Established in 1987, the honor was traditionally awarded annually during a speci ...

program in 1999.

References

External links

William Garity at Disney Legends
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garity, William 1899 births 1971 deaths American inventors Academy Honorary Award recipients People from Brooklyn Disney people Walter Lantz Productions people