As reported by The Wrap, Oscar-winning sound mixer Bob Minkler died on October 11 from respiratory failure. He was 78.
Minkler was born in California in 1937 and entered the music industry as a young man. He worked as a musician and vocalist at first and even toured with Nat King Cole, but he later returned to California and started working as a sound engineer in Hollywood. The first film he worked on was 1971’s Johnny Got His Gun, but his second project would not only be the most famous movie he’d ever be a part of, but it also won him an Academy Award: Star Wars in 1977.
Star Wars being his most famous film shouldn’t diminish the rest of his career, though, because Minkler worked on a bunch of iconic movies before leaving the industry in 1992, including Rocky II, Caddyshack, Bull Durham, and Hair. Minkler was even nominated for another Oscar for his work on Tron in 1982.
Minkler is survived by his wife, three sons, and six grandchildren.