President, Digital Post Production Facilities, Sony Pictures Studios and Sound Rerecording Mixer
Years active
1965-2008
Michael J. Kohut (June 8, 1943 – 2012) was an American audio engineer. He was a seven-time Academy Award nominee forBest Sound, a BAFTA award winner for Best Sound forFame[1] and was President of Post Production Facilities[2] atSony Pictures Studios.[3] During his tenure at Sony Pictures Studios, he led the American team in the development ofSony Dynamic Digital Sound the discrete eight-channel playback system for motion picture sound.
Kohut was a sound rerecording mixer for over eighty feature films and several television shows.[1] He was honored with a Career Achievement Award by the Cinema Audio Society,[citation needed] several Cinema Audio Society Award wins and nominations, and was included in the "In Memoriam" tribute of the Academy Awards broadcast in 2013.[4]
Michael John Kohut moved to Los Angeles from Canada, the son of Ukrainian immigrants. He and his wife, Francine, have two sons, Tateum and Tyson. Tateum Kohut, is an Emmy-nominated sound re-recording mixer for his work onTrue Detective and Cinema Audio Society Award winner forThe Blues.[5]
Michael J. Kohut started his 40+ year career at MGM in 1965 as a production sound cable operator, a boom operator, and worked on location in Hawaii for the originalHawaii Five-O series on CBS. After working on several television series, includingMedical Center and several television movies, includingRoe vs. Wade,[6] Kohut transitioned from mixing for television to sound mixing for motion pictures.
After the physical property for theMGM Studios in Culver City, California was sold toLorimar-Telepictures in 1988 (after a brief three-month ownership byTurner), Kohut was promoted to Sound Director of Lorimar Post Production Facilities, in addition to continuing his role of lead mixer on the storied Cary Grant Theatre[16] dub stage. EVP, Post Production Facilities, Charles A. Silvers promoted Kohut to VP, Post Production Facilities, expanding Kohut's duties to cover post production sound and editorial, over 100 cutting rooms, 7 dub stages, 2 ADR and 2 Foley stages, in addition to his sound mixing duties.
During the Lorimar years, Kohut transitioned the sound editorial department from traditional film cutting to digital post production with the introduction of Waveframe Digital Audio Workstations. He famously designed a campaign challenging competitors to step into the digital realm by showingDallas editor,Fred W. Berger,[17] already in his 80s, proclaiming that it was never too late to learn new technology.
WhenSony Corporation, purchased the Lorimar studio property in 1990, Silvers retired and Kohut was promoted to SVP, as Post Production Facilities continued to expand to encompass 25% of the 44-acre lot, adding dub stages and digital editing rooms and renovating existing facilities. Sony, a leading electronics company, sought to expand its product line with the acquisition of the studio, and Kohut lead the American development team at the studio, Dana Wood,[18] Jeffrey E. Taylor,[19] Stanley Wiegand,[20] Mark Koffman[21] and Melissa J. L. Smith,[22] in the development of theSony Dynamic Digital Sound system, which made its debut in theArnold Schwarzenegger hit,Last Action Hero[23] directed byJohn McTiernan forColumbia Pictures, a division of Sony. The technology was rolled out in theAMC theater chain and used a laser to direct focused beams of light. A patent for the technology was issued in 1998.[24]
Kohut retired from post production sound mixing as his managerial workload grew when he was promoted to Executive Vice President, then President of Post Production Facilities forSony Pictures Studios, continuing the department's expansion[25] including the landmark William Holden Theatre.[26]
Kohut's achievements in sound was summarized in a 1996 article in which he recounted, "I worked with Paul Verhoeven on the firstRobocop. At the end of the movie, I recall Paul saying to me: 'Mike, sound was 60% of this movie.' It was a great feeling."[27]
