Leo Chaloukian

On his childhood and early influences; on moving from Chicago to Los Angeles; on serving as a mine sweeper in the Navy during World War II

On attending American Television Laboratories; on his earliest memories of television

On wanting to work in sound/electronics at Ryder Sound Services; on working nights at Ryder and then getting the day shift and transferring soundtracks

On impressing Loren Ryder, founder of Ryder Services 

On his family; on Loren Ryder and his partnership with Nagra Recorders

On sound production in the 1950s and working with Ziv Television Productions; on Foley sound

On challenges of sound building for television in the 1950s

On creating the sound effects on Lassie and Sea Hunt; on production mixing

On ambient noise, wild tracks, signal to noise ratios, and other sound terms

On companies with which Ryder Sound had contracts; on his promotions at Ryder Sound Services and becoming an executive; on buying Loren Ryder out of the company

On shows his company worked on: Lassie, Death Valley Days, Annette Funicello movies, and Maverick

On doing sound for Highway Patrol, Route 66, Star Trek,  and Gunsmoke

On mixing sound for National Geographic specials and working with Jacques Cousteau; on mixing for David Wolper's documentaries; on sound for Hanna-Barbera shows

On taking full ownership of Ryder Sound Systems in 1976; on client relations

On films Ryder Sound provided sound for: "Two Mules for Sister Sara," "Bullitt," "The Graduate," "Easy Rider," "The Godfather," "Saturday Night Fever," "Smokey and the Bandit," and "Star Trek"

On Ryder Sound being nominated for 6 Emmys in 1977, and for 14 in 1981; on Ryder Sound winning and Oscar and Emmy in 1986; on the shows for which he personally won Emmys - Stalin and Journey to the Outer Limits

On generation loss; on sound challenges on the film "Phoenix City" and being followed by the FBI

On unknowingly supplying Nixon with the equipment for all of his infamous Watergate recordings; on identifying the number of shots heard on an audio tape that recorded President Kennedy's assassination

On doing sound for "Platoon," for which he won an Oscar

On working with Oliver Stone on Platoon and Wall Street; on sound for Raiders of the Lost Ark

On his work for the Federal Aviation Administration and deciphering information from black boxes

On his involvement with the Moon Landing in 1969; on JFK's assassination

On going digital and selling Ryder Sound to Sound Deluxe; on electronic editing

On some of the films Sound Deluxe edits sound for: Gladiator, Perfect Storm, and several television shows including Angel, Sopranos, and C.S.I.

On his involvement with The Television Academy

On becoming a Governor of the Sound branch of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS); on the separation of ATAS and NATAS (National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences); on becoming President of ATAS

On the state of ATAS when he became President; on acquiring headquarters for ATAS

On suffering a silent heart attack in 1991; on current projects 

On his love of sound mixing; on advice to young sound professionals

On genres that are difficult to design sound for - science ficition and action

On his proudest achievement; on the key to his success

On demonstrations of sound equipment developed by Ryder Sound