J. PAUL HUNTSMAN, 1953-2008
J. Paul Huntsman, a supervising sound editor who worked on films including The Thin Red Line, The Illusionistand Starsky & Hutch, among others, died at his home on February 21 from complications resulting from a brain tumor.
Born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Huntsman graduated from the University of Utah and later spent two years in Morocco with the Peace Corps. His first credited film in Hollywood was Loving Couples in 1980, followed by Michael Mann’s Thief a year later. His final credit was The Illusionist in 2006. Huntsman worked for many years as a supervising sound editor at Todd-AO before moving over to Warner Bros., where he maintained a room until his passing.
Huntsman, an avid outdoorsman, represented the Sound Editorial Branch on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. The family asks that donations be made in his name to the Brain Tumor Society (www.braintumorsociety.org).
ALLEN STRANGE, 1943-2008
Composer/performer Allen Strange passed away on February 20. Considered a leading authority on analog electronic music, his Electronic Music: Systems, Techniques and Controls is still in demand as a comprehensive work on analog music synthesis.
In the late 1960s, Strange and his wife, Patricia, founded BIOME, a live electronic music performance, and in 1976 the Electric Weasel Ensemble with synth designer Don Buchla. He received two grants from the San Jose State University Foundation (1969 and 1974) for research into electronic music, and in 1970 became professor of music and director of the electronic music studios at the university, retiring from that position in 2002.
