Douglas Shearer

Douglas Shearer (1899 to 1971) was a Canadian-American sound engineer and recording director who led the sound department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for more than four decades and helped build the technology of motion picture sound. Born in Westmount, Quebec, the elder brother of the actress Norma Shearer, he went to Hollywood in 1924, worked in MGM's camera department and found himself the studio's one-man sound department as films began to talk. He developed a system that eliminated unwanted background noise, is credited as recording director on most MGM films from 1930 to 1953, became director of technical research in 1955 and retired in 1968. He won seven Academy Awards for sound and special effects and seven Scientific or Technical awards, and was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2008.