Elmer Raguse
born: 09 May 1901
Springfield, Massachusetts,
United States of America
died: 02 March 1972
Palm Beach, Florida,
United States of America
(aged 70)
Elmer Raguse and his small crew had been brought from Camden, New Jersey (home of the Victor Recording Company) to the Hal Roach Studios in 1928 when Roach was making plans for sound conversion. Initially, it was Raguse who received the blanket credit on all of the Roach films as head of the sound department, and justly so, for he not only supervised every aspect of the sound process from start to finish, it was he who made the final mix.
In 1932, he moved to Fox Studios where he was sound supervisor. He returned to Roach in 1934 and once again supervised and provided the final mix (as well as editing the music cues and effects) on every film made at the studio through 1941 (when Roach turned over the studio to the US government as Fort Roach. Returning to the studio after WWII when Roach resumed commercial film business, Raguse once again, as sound department chief, supervised and provided the final mix on every Roach film and television program up to 1959 when the studio ceased production.
He would later move on to do other sound work on films and television until retiring in 1966 at age 65.
Real name: Elmer Roy Raguse

Acknowledgements:
Craig Raguse (image)