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Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

Douglas H. Grindstaff (6 April 193124 July 2018; age 87) was a sound effects editor and sound editor on Star Trek: The Original Series. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for Individual Achievements in Film and Sound Editing for his work.

Grindstaff, along with Jack Finlay and Joseph G. Sorokin, "was pivotal in the creation of the indelible whistles, beeps and hums" heard throughout the series. His contributions included "the whoosh of the automatic doors opening on the spaceship’s bridge, the coos of furry tribbles in one of the show’s most famous episodes, and the unsettling wail of sirens when it was time to shift to red alert – not to mention the growl of the cartoonish reptilian alien Gorn (pieced together using, in part, the sound of vomiting) and the high-pitched tinkling of a transporter beam," as well as the "control panel bleeps and bloops provided a familiar ambience" on the bridge. [1]

According to Bill Wistrom, Grindstaff created the sound of the doors in Star Trek by squeaking with his tennis shoe. ("Select Historical Data Year Six – Timeless Sound Effects", TNG Season 6 DVD special feature)

Credits[]

Star Trek interview[]

  • "The Sounds of Space", Anna L. Kaplan, Cinefantastique, Vol 27, issue 11, 1996, pp. 82-86

External links[]

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