Leo Chaloukian dead at 97: Emmy-Winning Sound Designer was the former Television Academy chair

Leo Chaloukian’s parents moved to the U.S. due to the Armenian Genocide and he was born on 18 June, 1927. The family initially lived in Chicago, but they then moved to a ranch in Agoura Hills in California where Leo exercised horses not only for breeders but also for Hollywood stars. 

Leo and his family then moved to Los Angeles and after graduating from High School, he enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He went on to work as a jeweller and did some acting before going to work as a mixer at Ryder Sound alongside his cousin. Leo Chaloukian went on to become the owner of Ryder Sound in 1976.

Leo Chaloukian oversaw sound design for the movie The Graduate starring Dustin Hoffman and also handled the re-recording and mixing for the 1968 thriller Bullitt starring Steve McQueen. Chaloukian also worked on such well-known movies as Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta, Love Story, The Godfather, Chinatown and the Star Trek franchise titles. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Chaloukian and his staff at Ryder Sound earned four Emmys, including one in 1986 for best achievement in sound for the TV movie Cross of Fire. They worked on National Geographic specials, David Wolper Productions documentaries and classic TV shows like Lassie, Death Valley Days, Sea Hunt, Maverick, Route 66, Gunsmoke and Jacques Cousteau underwater diving specials.”

The Hollywood Reporter also said that “Chaloukian also identified four gunshots in an audio recording of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and unwittingly supplied President Richard Nixon with the equipment for his infamous Watergate recordings.”

In 2004, Chaloukian was honoured for his services to the Television Services by being given the Syd Cassyd Founders Award.