Roger Heman, born in the hills of Kentucky in 1898, made his way west to LA at a very early age, arriving in 1915. Since he knew how to drive he got a job delivering furniture. One of these deliveries was to the Metro Studios in Boyle Heights. Impressed with his appearance and the fact he could read and write they gave him a job as a prop boy and gopher.
He worked for director John H. Collins and his wife actress Viola Danaand even appeared in The Winding Trail (1918) as a cowboy. He worked with 'Jack Gilbert' the following year on Should a Woman Tell? (1919) and with 'Rex Ingram' andRudolph Valentino in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) of which he appeared in a bit part as a gaucho. With the formation of the new United Artists Studio, Roger left Metro and worked on many of the Pickford films of both Mary and Jack.
He did much travel and acted as location manager too. In 1925 with Goldwyn becoming the dominant force on the lot he became an Asst. Director starting with Stella Dallas (1925) where he befriended a younger Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who he would take to the movies while the rest of the crew went south of the border to party and continue with The Bat(1926) as well as working under Lubitch on Eternal Love (1929) with John Barrymoreand with Brenon on The Rescue (1929) which was Goldwyn's last silent picture.
United Artists was the last studio to convert to sound but when they did they chose Roger to lead the way by sending him to the new AMPAS School of Sound Recording where he graduated in Class 2 on December 16, 1929.It was the end of an era for Roger as well as the silent period and the 54 films he worked on during it. During the beginning of the sound period at UA, he distinguished himself with Vidor's Street Scene (1931) and Milestone's Rain (1932) with Joan Crawford.
At this same time a new company, 20th Century, not having a lot of its own, having been founded by a young Daryl Zanuck, newly fired from WB, was using the UA Sound Department for some of its first motion pictures The House of Rothschild (1934) and _Misérables, Les (1935)_ and Roger was recruited.
He spent the rest of his working life with 20th Century Fox, becoming the head of their Sound Re-Recording Department and a trusted Zanuck confidant often working directly with Zanuck from rushes as well as in post production. He was put in charge of the studio's 'A' pictures and handled special effects with Fred Sersen, dubbing and re-recording and musical scoring with Al Newman and Cyril J. Mockridge.
He shared the first Special Effects Oscar, given for The Rains Came (1939) and winning again for Crash Dive (1943). He was nominated individually numerous times and won for the studio Sound Oscars for Twelve O'Clock High (1949) and All About Eve (1950). He was credited by Zanuck for his help in developing Cinemascope ("you were a mountain of strength...") as well as for his efforts in using surround sound like effects for The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) for scenes where the spaceship comes and goes and for Gort's death ray. He married the love of his life, Jesse, a prominent banker's daughter he courted for five years and had a son Roger Heman Jr., who, having been brought into the business by his father at a young age, spent 37 years with Universal and spent many years with Spielberg as he was starting out (he won an Academy Award for Jaws (1975)).
Roger worked until the 1960's when he had a devastating stroke. He passed away in the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, begun by his two close friends Mary Pickford and Jean Hersholt, in 1969.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Rick Spector stairstars@aol.com
Sound department (357 credits)
1962-1963The Jack Benny Program (TV Series) (sound - 2 episodes)
- Jack Fires Don (1963) ... (sound)
- Jack Plays Tarzan (1962) ... (sound)
1962The Magic Sword (sound re-recordist - as Roger Heman)
The Loretta Young Show (TV Series) (sound re-recordist - 5 episodes, 1955 - 1960) (re-recording - 2 episodes, 1955 - 1956)
- Switchblade (1960) ... (sound re-recordist - as Roger Heman)
- Faith, Hope and Mr. Flaherty (1960) ... (sound re-recordist - as Roger Heman)
- Alien Love (1959) ... (sound re-recordist - as Roger Heman)
- The Countess (1957) ... (sound re-recordist - as Roger Heman)
- Three and Two, Please (1956) ... (re-recording)
1959The Wonderful Country (sound re-recording - as Roger Heman)
1959Pork Chop Hill (sound recording - as Roger Heman)
1958The Big Country (sound recording - as Roger Heman)
1958The Gun Runners (sound)
1957Time Limit (sound - as Roger Heman)
1957Bailout at 43,000 (sound recordist - as Roger Heman)
1957The Big Caper (sound recordist - as Roger Heman)
1956Gun the Man Down (re-recording - as Roger Heman)
1956Flight to Hong Kong (sound recordist - as Roger Herman)
1956The Boss (sound - as Roger Heman)
1956Nightmare (sound recordist - as Roger Heman)
1955Guys and Dolls (sound - as Roger Heman)
1955Marty (sound recordist - as Roger Heman)
1955New York Confidential (sound)
1954Désirée (sound)
1954Black Widow (sound recordist - as Roger Heman)
1954Carmen Jones (sound - as Roger Heman)
1954Woman's World (sound)
1954The Egyptian (sound - as Roger Heman)
1954Broken Lance (sound - as Roger Heman)
1954Garden of Evil (sound - as Roger Heman)
1954Demetrius and the Gladiators (sound - as Roger Heman)
1954Three Coins in the Fountain (sound - as Roger Heman)
1954River of No Return (sound - as Roger Heman)
1954Prince Valiant (sound - as Roger Heman)
1954Night People (sound - as Roger Heman)
1954Hell and High Water (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953King of the Khyber Rifles (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953How to Marry a Millionaire (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953The Robe (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953Vicki (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953Mister Scoutmaster (sound)
1953Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953The Kid from Left Field (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953The Farmer Takes a Wife (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953The President's Lady (sound)
1953The Girl Next Door (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953The Desert Rats (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953Titanic (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953Man on a Tightrope (sound)
1953Call Me Madam (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953Niagara (sound - as Roger Heman)
1953The I Don't Care Girl (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952My Cousin Rachel (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952Stars and Stripes Forever (sound)
1952The Snows of Kilimanjaro (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952Monkey Business (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952Les Miserables (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952Dreamboat (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952What Price Glory (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952We're Not Married! (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952Diplomatic Courier (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952Belles on Their Toes (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952With a Song in My Heart (sound)
19525 Fingers (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952Viva Zapata! (sound)
1952Phone Call from a Stranger (sound - as Roger Heman)
1952Red Skies of Montana (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951Golden Girl (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951The Model and the Marriage Broker (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951People Will Talk (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951Meet Me After the Show (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951David and Bathsheba (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951As Young as You Feel (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951The Frogmen (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951On the Riviera (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951Follow the Sun (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951I Can Get It for You Wholesale (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951Rawhide (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951Bird of Paradise (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951Fourteen Hours (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951You're in the Navy Now (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951Call Me Mister (sound - as Roger Heman)
1951The 13th Letter (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950For Heaven's Sake (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950The Jackpot (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950All About Eve (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950Mister 880 (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950No Way Out (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950Stella (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950The Gunfighter (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950Panic in the Streets (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950The Big Lift (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950Night and the City (sound recordist - as Roger Heman)
1950Cheaper by the Dozen (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950Wabash Avenue (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950Mother Didn't Tell Me (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950Three Came Home (sound - as Roger Heman)
1950When Willie Comes Marching Home (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Twelve O'Clock High (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Dancing in the Dark (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Prince of Foxes (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Everybody Does It (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Pinky (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949I Was a Male War Bride (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Slattery's Hurricane (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Come to the Stable (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949House of Strangers (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949You're My Everything (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949The Fan (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Mother Is a Freshman (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Down to the Sea in Ships (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949A Letter to Three Wives (sound - as Roger Heman)
1949Chicken Every Sunday (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948That Wonderful Urge (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948When My Baby Smiles at Me (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948Unfaithfully Yours (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948Apartment for Peggy (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948Cry of the City (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948The Luck of the Irish (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948That Lady in Ermine (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948The Walls of Jericho (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948Deep Waters (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948The Street with No Name (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948Give My Regards to Broadway (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948Sitting Pretty (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948Call Northside 777 (sound - as Roger Heman)
1948You Were Meant for Me (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947Captain from Castile (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947Daisy Kenyon (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947Gentleman's Agreement (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947Nightmare Alley (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947The Foxes of Harrow (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947Mother Wore Tights (sound technician - as Roger Heman)
1947Kiss of Death (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (sound technician - as Roger Heman)
1947Moss Rose (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947Miracle on 34th Street (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947Carnival in Costa Rica (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947The Late George Apley (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947Boomerang! (sound - as Roger Heman)
1947The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946The Razor's Edge (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Margie (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946My Darling Clementine (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Three Little Girls in Blue (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946If I'm Lucky (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Centennial Summer (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Anna and the King of Siam (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Do You Love Me (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Cluny Brown (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Dragonwyck (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Sentimental Journey (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Claudia and David (sound - as Roger Heman)
1946Colonel Effingham's Raid (sound)
1945Leave Her to Heaven (sound - as Roger Heman)
1945The House on 92nd Street (sound - as Roger Heman)
1945State Fair (sound - as Roger Heman)
1945A Bell for Adano (sound - as Roger Heman)
1945Captain Eddie (sound)
1945Junior Miss (sound - as Roger Heman)
1945Nob Hill (sound)
1945Don Juan Quilligan (sound)
1945Molly and Me (sound - as Roger Heman)
1945Where Do We Go from Here? (re-recording and effects mixer - uncredited)
1945Diamond Horseshoe (sound - as Roger Heman)
1945A Royal Scandal (sound - as Roger Heman)
1945A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944The Fighting Lady (Documentary) (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944Winged Victory (sound)
1944The Keys of the Kingdom (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944Irish Eyes Are Smiling (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944Greenwich Village (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944Wing and a Prayer (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944Wilson (sound)
1944Home in Indiana (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944Pin Up Girl (sound)
1944Buffalo Bill (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944Tampico (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944The Purple Heart (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944The Lodger (sound - as Roger Heman)
1944Lifeboat (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Jane Eyre (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943The Gang's All Here (sound)
1943The Song of Bernadette (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Happy Land (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Sweet Rosie O'Grady (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Wintertime (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Holy Matrimony (sound)
1943Heaven Can Wait (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Stormy Weather (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Coney Island (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943The Ox-Bow Incident (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Crash Dive (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943The Moon Is Down (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Hello Frisco, Hello (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943The Meanest Man in the World (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Claudia (sound - as Roger Heman)
1943Immortal Sergeant (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942China Girl (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (sound)
1942The Black Swan (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Springtime in the Rockies (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Thunder Birds: Soldiers of the Air (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Girl Trouble (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942/IIceland (sound)
1942Orchestra Wives (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Tales of Manhattan (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Footlight Serenade (sound)
1942The Pied Piper (sound)
1942The Magnificent Dope (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Ten Gentlemen from West Point (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942This Above All (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942My Gal Sal (sound)
1942Moontide (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942To the Shores of Tripoli (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Rings on Her Fingers (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Roxie Hart (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Song of the Islands (sound - as Roger Heman)
1942Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Remember the Day (sound)
1941Rise and Shine (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Confirm or Deny (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941I Wake Up Screaming (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941How Green Was My Valley (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Swamp Water (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Week-End in Havana (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941A Yank in the R.A.F. (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Belle Starr (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Sun Valley Serenade (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Wild Geese Calling (sound)
1941Charley's Aunt (sound - as Roger Herman)
1941Moon Over Miami (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Man Hunt (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Blood and Sand (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941The Great American Broadcast (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941That Night in Rio (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Tobacco Road (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Western Union (sound - as Roger Heman)
1941Hudson's Bay (sound)
1940Chad Hanna (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940Tin Pan Alley (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940The Mark of Zorro (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940Down Argentine Way (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940Public Deb No. 1 (sound)
1940The Great Profile (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940Brigham Young (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940Young People (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940The Return of Frank James (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940The Man I Married (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940Maryland (sound)
1940Four Sons (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940Lillian Russell (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940I Was an Adventuress (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940Star Dust (sound)
1940Johnny Apollo (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940Little Old New York (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940The Grapes of Wrath (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940He Married His Wife (sound - as Roger Heman)
1940The Blue Bird (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Everything Happens at Night (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Barricade (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Day-Time Wife (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Drums Along the Mohawk (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Hollywood Cavalcade (sound - as Roger Heman) / (sound re-recording mixer - uncredited)
1939The Rains Came (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Hotel for Women (sound)
1939Stanley and Livingstone (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Second Fiddle (sound)
1939Susannah of the Mounties (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Young Mr. Lincoln (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939The Gorilla (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Rose of Washington Square (sound)
1939The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939The Hound of the Baskervilles (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939The Little Princess (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Wife, Husband and Friend (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Tail Spin (sound)
1939The Three Musketeers (sound - as Roger Heman)
1939Jesse James (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Kentucky (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Just Around the Corner (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Submarine Patrol (sound)
1938Suez (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Straight Place and Show (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Hold That Co-ed (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938My Lucky Star (sound)
1938Gateway (sound)
1938I'll Give a Million (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Little Miss Broadway (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Always Goodbye (sound recordist - as Roger Heman)
1938Three Blind Mice (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Josette (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Kidnapped (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Alexander's Ragtime Band (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Kentucky Moonshine (sound)
1938Four Men and a Prayer (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Sally, Irene and Mary (sound)
1938The Baroness and the Butler (sound - as Roger Heman)
1938Happy Landing (sound)
1937In Old Chicago (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Second Honeymoon (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Ali Baba Goes to Town (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Heidi (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Lancer Spy (sound)
1937Danger - Love at Work (sound recordist)
1937Wife, Doctor and Nurse (sound)
1937Thin Ice (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Love Under Fire (sound)
1937You Can't Have Everything (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Wee Willie Winkie (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Slave Ship (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Fifty Roads to Town (sound)
1937This Is My Affair (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Café Metropole (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937Seventh Heaven (sound)
1937Nancy Steele Is Missing! (sound)
1937Love Is News (sound - as Roger Heman)
1937On the Avenue (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936One in a Million (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Stowaway (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Banjo on My Knee (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Lloyd's of London (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Reunion (sound)
1936Pigskin Parade (sound)
1936Dimples (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Ladies in Love (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Girls' Dormitory (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936To Mary - with Love (sound)
1936Poor Little Rich Girl (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Sins of Man (sound)
1936Private Number (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936The Road to Glory (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Half Angel (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Under Two Flags (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936Captain January (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936A Message to Garcia (sound recordist)
1936The Country Doctor (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936It Had to Happen (sound - as Roger Heman)
1936The Prisoner of Shark Island (sound - as Roger Hemen)
1936King of Burlesque (sound - as Roger Heman)
1935The Littlest Rebel (sound - as Roger Heman)
1935Show Them No Mercy! (sound - as Roger Heman)
1935Thanks a Million (sound - as Roger Heman)
1935Metropolitan (sound - as Roger Heman)
1935The Call of the Wild (sound - as Roger Heman)
1935L'homme des Folies Bergère (sound recordist)
1935Cardinal Richelieu (sound - as Roger Heman)
1935Les Misérables (sound)
1935Folies Bergère de Paris (sound - as Roger Heman)
1935The Little Colonel (sound re-recordist - uncredited)
1935Clive of India (sound - as Roger Heman)
1934The Mighty Barnum (sound)
1931Corsair (sound technician - as Roger H. Heman)
No comments:
Post a Comment