Elmer Raguse

born: 09 May 1901 Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of America

died: 02 March 1972 Palm Beach, Florida, United States of America (age 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. His full list of credits as a sound engineer/recordist for Hal Roach: -Hurdy Gurdy (1929) [All Stars] -Small Talk (1929) [Our Gang] -The Big Squawk (1929) [Charley Chase] -Madame Q (1929) [All Stars] -Railroadin' (1929) [Our Gang] -Men O' War (1929) [Laurel and Hardy] -Dad's Day (1929) [All Stars] -Snappy Sneezer (1929) [Charley Chase] -Lazy Days (1929) [Our Gang] -Crazy Feet (1929) [Charley Chase] -Boxing Gloves (1929) [Our Gang] -They Go Boom! (1929) [Laurel and Hardy] -Sky Boy (1929) [Harry Langdon] -Bouncing Babies (1929) [Our Gang] -Stepping Out (1929) [Charley Chase] -The Hoose-Gow (1929) [Laurel and Hardy] -Skirt Shy (1929) [Harry Langdon] -Moan & Groan, Inc. (1929) [Our Gang] -Great Gobs! (1929) [Charley Chase] -Night Owls/Ladrones (1930) [Laurel and Hardy] -The Head Guy (1930) [Harry Langdon] -Shivering Shakespeare (1930) [Our Gang] -The Real McCoy (1930) [Charley Chase] -The Fighting Parson (1930) [Harry Langdon] -Blotto/La Vida Nocturna (1930) [Laurel and Hardy] -The First Seven Years (1930) [Our Gang] -Whispering Whoopee (1930) [Charley Chase] -Brats/Glückliche Kindheit (1930) [Laurel and Hardy] -The Big Kick (1930) [Harry Langdon] -When The Wind Blows (1930) [Our Gang] -All Teed Up/El Jugador De Golf/Le Joueur De Golf (1930) [Charley Chase] -Below Zero/Tiembla Y Titubea (1930) [Laurel and Hardy] -The Shrimp (1930) [Harry Langdon] -Bear Shooters (1930) [Our Gang] -Fifty Million Husbands (1930) [Charley Chase] -Hog Wild/Radiomanía/Pêle-Mêle (1930) [Laurel and Hardy] -The King (1930) [Harry Langdon] -A Tough Winter (1930) [Our Gang] -Fast Work (1930) [Charley Chase] -The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case/Noche De Duendes/Spuk Um Mitternacht (1931) [Laurel and Hardy] -Girl Shock/Huye-Faldas (1930) [Charley Chase] -Pups Is Pups (1930) [Our Gang] -Doctor's Orders (1930) [The Boy Friends] -Dollar Dizzy (1930) [Charley Chase] -Teacher's Pet (1930) [Our Gang] -Bigger And Better (1930) [The Boy Friends] -Looser Than Loose/Una Cana Al Aire (1930) [Charley Chase] -School's Out (1930) [Our Gang] -Another Fine Mess (1930) [Laurel and Hardy] -Ladies Last (1930) [The Boy Friends] -High C's (1930) [Charley Chase] -Helping Grandma (1931) [Our Gang] -Blood And Thunder (1931) [The Boy Friends] -Thundering Tenors/El Alma De La Fiesta (1931) [Charley Chase] -Chickens Come Home (1931) [Laurel and Hardy] -High Gear (1931) [The Boy Friends] -The Pip From Pittsburg/La Señorita De Chicago (1931) [Charley Chase] -Little Daddy (1931) [Our Gang] -Laughing Gravy/Les Carottiers/Los Calaveras (1931) [Laurel and Hardy] -Love Fever (1931) [The Boy Friends] -Pardon Us (1931) [Laurel and Hardy feature] -Rough Seas/Monerías (1931) [Charley Chase] -Bargain Day (1931) [Our Gang] -Air-Tight (1931) [The Boy Friends] -Our Wife (1931) [Laurel and Hardy] -One Of The Smiths (1931) [Charley Chase] -Fly My Kite (1931) [Our Gang] -The Panic Is On (1931) [Charley Chase] -Catch-As-Catch-Can (1931) [Pitts/Todd] -Big Ears (1931) [Our Gang] -Call A Cop! (1931) [The Boy Friends] -Come Clean (1931) [Laurel and Hardy] -Skip The Maloo! (1931) [Charley Chase] -The Pajama Party (1931) [Pitts/Todd] -Shiver My Timbers (1931) [Our Gang] -Mama Loves Papa (1931) [The Boy Friends] -One Good Turn (1931) [Laurel and Hardy] -What A Bozo! (1931) [Charley Chase] -War Mamas (1931) [Pitts/Todd] -Dogs Is Dogs (1931) [Our Gang] -Beau Hunks (1931) [Laurel and Hardy] -Hasty Marriage (1931) [Charley Chase] -On The Loose (1931) [Pitts/Todd] -Helpmates (1932) [Laurel and Hardy] -The Tabasco Kid (1932) [Charley Chase] -Readin' And Writin' (1932) [Our Gang] -Sealskins (1932) [Pitts/Todd] -Free Eats (1932) [Our Gang] -Love Pains (1932) [The Boy Friends] -Any Old Port! (1932) [Laurel and Hardy] -Babes In Toyland (1934) [Laurel and Hardy feature] -Vagabond Lady (1935) [All Stars feature] -Bonnie Scotland (1935) [Laurel and Hardy feature] -The Bohemian Girl (1936) [Laurel and Hardy feature] -General Spanky (1936) [Our Gang feature] -Way Out West (1937) [Laurel and Hardy feature] -Topper (1937) [All Stars feature] -Block-Heads (1938) [Laurel and Hardy feature] -Of Mice And Men (1940) [Feature] -Saps At Sea (1941) [Laurel and Hardy feature] -Topper Returns (1941) [Feature]

Real name: Elmer Roy Raguse Height: 5'10"

Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography.

WWII DRAFT CARDS (click any image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: WWII Draft Cards, Young Men's 1942 Feb 14, LA. (Ancestry.com) Craig Raguse (still) Jim Jarvis (information) This page was last updated on: 09 May 2024