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Terry Gross: Welcome back to the second half of Fresh Air, I’m Terry Gross. We now continue our discussion with Walter Norris, whose new memoir, Lights Camera, Listen!– A Life in Film has just been released. Walter was a film sound designer and engineer for over fifty years, working with some of the legendary directors of the last century. Now, Walter, you have some great stories in here, you’ve seen some amazing things. What was one of the odder experiences you’ve had working on a film?
Walter Norris: Odd? Oh, let’s see– Ah, you’ve probably heard this one, I didn’t even put it in the book because it’s so old– I, um, was starting a picture with George Cukor in 1948. My first day on the job, I get to the soundstage there and there’s this altar built on the set, about yay high, and the cast and crew are sitting around it and Mr. Cukor comes out wearing these robes. I ask Robert Montgomery, who’s next to me, “What the hell’s this for?” Well, before he can answer, they bring out this orphan girl they got from the local asylum. Next thing I know, Mr. Cukor’s up there, cutting her throat and filling these cups, which they pass around for everyone to drink. I guess this was this old tradition for him to keep the shoot on schedule, like a baseball pitcher knocking on a doorway, or something. I’ll be darned if it didn’t work, too– the picture went as smooth as anything and did pretty well with the box office, to boot.
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Walter Norris: Yup, that was Mr. Cukor. Great man. Worked with him on five more pictures.
Terry Gross: I… my god.
Walter Norris: Well, that was the studio system– You have to remember, they did things differently back then.
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