As expressed by John Coffey, CAS at Manfred Klemme's funeral:
Manfred Klemme - 03/13/39-07/02/10
In our business, trade shows are a major part of our lives. So Manfred and I saw each other several times a year at the numerous industry events. Manfred was older than me…….something I often pointed out to him over the last 30 years. For the first ten years I knew him, I used to tease him for wearing a suit… and tennis shoes. I would laugh at him every time I saw him wearing those tennis shoes and he always answered with a “You’ll see some day”…..then for the next ten years, I used to walk up to him in my new tennis shoes, and we would compare whose were more comfortable. Then, after about 20 years of trade shows, Manfred would bring a comfortable chair that was strategically placed in his booth to talk to customers… without ever having to stand up. I used to laugh at him about that…until the last ten years, when Manfred and I would compare notes about whose chair was more comfortable.
I Googled Manfred to prepare for this eulogy and I was amazed to see that he had over 20 Google pages just on him. To put that in perspective, I don’t even have half a page on me. They were all about things Manfred had done that made an indelible imprint on our industry. These feats were many, but even with 20 pages, it barely scratched the surface of his esteemed career. Manfred began his early work at Braun Electric in Canada in the area of pro industrial audio and video. Then Manfred became really well known in Hollywood when he began working at Nagra-Kudulski. That job put him at the ground zero epicenter of sound pioneering. He then worked closely with Mike Denecke to introduce many time-code innovations to our industry. Manfred was also the one who put Sonosax on the map. So in effect, Manfred paved the way for what we all do today. Manfred was generous and always shared his knowledge with everyone. Nobody even knew what pull down and pull up meant until we read the technical papers he wrote on the subject.
Our industry is about much more than just equipment though. It’s about the people behind the equipment. No visit to Mike Denecke’s place was complete without dropping in on Manfred when he was located next door to Mike. No matter how busy he was, he always stopped everything to chat with me. I used to think I was his special friend, but later I realized that he made everyone feel that way. He had a knack to make you feel important and would always be ready with wise advice when you sought it.
Manfred finally went into the manufacturing business for himself and developed unique microphone boom poles, suspension mounts and windscreens for the production audio community. His products were very successful and continue to be the finest in the world. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized that fact by bestowing a Technical Academy Award to Manfred in 1998.
The Cinema Audio Society recently honored Manfred with one of its most coveted awards too, when the President’s Award was presented to Manfred in front of his family on Feburary 27th this year. Manfred received a very touching and well deserved standing ovation from the entire audience.
There was a lot more to Manfred than just his work. I was more impressed with his role as a good person, than anything he ever did for our industry… and that was a lot. Manfred was someone who spent his whole life living by a strong moral code. He was good people. He was first and foremost a father and a family man. I observed, as he slowly released the reigns of K-tek over to his capable daughter, Brenda. That gave Brenda a unique opportunity to spend much of her time with Manfred during his final couple years. I know that is something she will cherish forever.
We all knew Manfred was ill for a long time, but the good part was that it gave us years to say goodbye. We had an opportunity to appreciate him personally and professionally. The man was a delight and the whole Coffey Sound staff always enjoyed his visits
Manfred will forever live on as an important icon in the history books of our industry……but more than important than that, we are all proud to have known him as our friend.
Manfred, keep that chair waiting for me.
