Alan Splet
Alan Splet (December 31, 1939 – December 2, 1994) was an American sound designer and sound editor known for his collaborations with director David Lynch on Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Dune, and Blue Velvet. Due to being legally blind, Splet rarely traveled and mainly worked from Berkeley, California. In 1980, he won an Oscar for his work on the film The Black Stallion.
Also recorded as Alan R. Splet
Alan Splet
- Name
- Alan Splet
- Born
- December 31, 1939
- Birthplace
- United States
- Place of death
- Berkeley, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Sound designer and editor
- Spouse
- Ann Kroeber
- Died
- 1994 · Berkeley.
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Documentary summary
Alan Splet (December 31, 1939 – December 2, 1994) was an American sound designer and sound editor known for his collaborations with director David Lynch on Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Dune, and Blue Velvet. Due to being legally blind, Splet rarely traveled and mainly worked from Berkeley, California. In 1980, he won an Oscar for his work on the film The Black Stallion.
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Note VALÉORINE
Alan Splet (1939–1994) was an audio technician, composer and sound designer, of American nationality. The audio technician was born in Philadelphia and died in Berkeley.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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In this article
Biography
Biography
He did not attend the Academy Award ceremony because he was in London working on The Elephant Man; Oscar host Johnny Carson joked about his absence throughout the remainder of the telecast. He was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for Never Cry Wolf. In 1995, The Motion Picture Sound Editors union posthumously honored Splet with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his creative contributions to the field of cinema audio. Splet was married to sound effects designer Ann Kroeber, and collaborated with her on most of his projects from 1979 until his death in 1994.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Alan Splet • Born — December 31, 1939 • Birthplace — United States • Place of death — Berkeley, California, U.S. • Occupation — Sound designer and editor • Spouse — Ann Kroeber
Selected filmography
Selected filmography
• Year — Title — Director — Notes • 1970 — The Grandmother — David Lynch — Short film • 1976 — In the Region of Ice — Peter Werner — Sound design • 1977 — Eraserhead — David Lynch — See Eraserhead soundtrack • 1978 — Days of Heaven — Terrence Malick — Additional sound effects • 1979 — The Black Stallion — Carroll Ballard — Special Achievement Academy Award • 1980 — The Elephant Man — David Lynch • 1983 — Never Cry Wolf — Carroll Ballard — Academy Award nomination • 1984 — Dune — David Lynch • 1986 — Blue Velvet — David Lynch • 1986 — The Mosquito Coast — Peter Weir • 1988 — The Unbearable Lightness of Being — Philip Kaufman • 1988 — Dirty Rotten Scoundrels — Frank Oz • 1989 — Winter People — Ted Kotcheff • 1989 — Weekend at Bernie's — Ted Kotcheff • 1989 — Dead Poets Society — Peter Weir • 1990 — Mountains of the Moon — Bob Rafelson • 1990 — Henry & June — Philip Kaufman • 1991 — Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead — Stephen Herek • 1991 — At Play in the Fields of the Lord — Hector Babenco • 1992 — Wind — Carroll Ballard • 1993 — Rising Sun — Philip Kaufman • 1996 — The English Patient — Anthony Minghella — Died during production; replaced by Walter Murch
Identity
Identity
Alan Splet is recorded with the occupation audio technician. Recorded with the occupation sound designer. Recorded as sound designer, audio technician and composer.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1939
Alan Splet was born on 31 December 1939.
1994
Alan Splet died on 2 December 1994.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Philadelphia.
Birth place
Berkeley.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Alan Splet”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4437970: Alan Splet
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Woodward, Richard B. Snapping, Humming, Buzzing, Banging: Remembering Alan Splet. The Paris Review. May 13, 2014.
- 2.Luers, Erik. Editor Duwayne Dunham on Collaborating with David Lynch on Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart and Twin Peaks Filmmaker Magazine. Filmmaker Magazine. 12 April 2022.
- 3.People Magazine. And the Winner Is.Alan Splet, Who Became a Household Word by Skipping the Oscars. May 5, 1980.
- 4.The 56th Academy Awards (1984) Nominees and Winners. oscars.org.
- 5.Milestones in the History of the MPSE.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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