Donald C. Rogers

Senior Vice President
Post Production Services
Warner Bros.

In 1981 Donald C. Rogers, a member of the Scientific Technical Awards Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, proposed an award to be named after a veteran sound director and one of Rogers' mentors who had died earlier that year. The Gordon E. Sawyer award would recognize exceptional long-term accomplishments by an individual who has made substantial contributions toward the advancement of the science and technology of the motion picture. Back then Rogers had no way of knowing that 15 years later his peers in the Academy would name him the 12th recipient of the award. The honor adds a well deserved flourish to a career that has spanned forty-three years. Currently the senior vice president of post production services at Warner Bros., Donald Rogers has witnessed and helped realize dramatic changes in film and sound technology. As a navy pilot in an anti-submarine warfare squadron, Rogers gained a solid background in electronics. He was then hired by Hughes Aircraft to develop radar fire control systems for the F94C fighter plane. Soon after, the father of a close friend told Don he could get him a good job at Twentieth Century Fox, where he worked as a camera operator. Impressed with Don's expertise in electronics, the studio hired him on the spot. His first day on the job, however, was anything but high tech. His task was to operate a playback machine while a choreographer rehearsed dancers appearing in a movie called There's No Business Like Show Business. After hearing Irving Berlin's "Heat Wave" ad infinitum, the tedium was relieved when Don realized that one of the dancers was Mrs. Joe DiMaggio. In no time Rogers was on a first name basis with Marilyn Monroe and went on to work with "that wonderful lady" on four more films. Eventually the rookie sound man worked his way up from the lowly job of cable puller to boom-man. He was a member of the sound crew which received Oscars for The King and I and South Pacific. In 1960 he went to work for Todd-AO as a recordist. His first project was on the film Spartacus. After a six month crash course in photography, Rogers became the head of Todd-AO's camera department. He traveled throughout the world on location with films such as The Sound of Music, The Bible and The Battle of Britain. While at Todd-AO, Rogers was involved with the development of the first lightweight 65mm production camera as well as the Todd-AO 35mm wide-scope lens system. Rogers went on to the Samuel Goldwyn Studios where he served as the director of technical operations from 1971-1992. During that period the Goldwyn sound department received 23 Academy Award nominations leading to 15 Oscars. Rogers has spent the last three years rebuilding the Warner Bros. post-production center. During his career Rogers contributed to over 1,000 motion pictures. Some of the movies he's proudest of are Star Wars, which won an Academy Award for sound and was the first film to feature Dolby-A stereo, Top Gun and two other Oscar winners for sound, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back. Donald Rogers believes he owes his success to his abilities as a manager. Finding and nurturing good people, he says, has only served to make him a stand-out in his field. For example, Rogers cites Tuesday's luncheon honoring this year's Academy Award nominees. The event was a reunion of sorts for Rogers, as three of the teams nominated for sound Oscars started their careers under his tutelage While he plans to retire in late June, Rogers will serve as a consultant to Warner Bros. through 1997. He will also keep active in the many organizations he belongs to, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.