Manfred Klemme, founder of K-Tek audio production accessories and a longtime innovator in the motion picture and television industries, has died at 71. He was a winner of both an Emmy Award and a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Klemme’s industry achievements were many. In the analog era, Klemme represented Nagra-Kudukski audio recorders in Hollywood and helped make them the standard for sound recording in motion pictures and television. He later joined Cinema Products, where he became marketing manager of Garrett’s Brown’s Steadicam camera stabilization system.
Later, Klemme brought Sonosax mixers and audio recorders to the United States. He collaborated with the late Mike Denecke and received the Emmy for outstanding engineering development for his contribution of Denecke’s DCODE TS-1 Time Code Slate. He also developed the K-Tek microphone boom pole, which earned him the acknowledgement of the Motion Picture Academy.
Earlier this year, Klemme was honored for his contributions to the audio industry with the coveted President’s Award from the Cinema Audio Society. At the heartfelt ceremony, he was greeted with a standing ovation from the entire audience.