Sam Chavez has passed

[Brad Miller]

I am sad to report that Sam Chavez, whom most of us know from his days at Dolby and more recently through his Bay Area Cinema Products company, passed on last night.

I don't have much other info other than about a year ago he handed off BACP to Cinematronix and Danny Pickett to keep the company going. He had not been in the best of health for the last 2-3 years and was on dialysis for the last couple of years. In the past few months he had some issues with his heart.

Hopefully once anyone else has further info to contribute including the funeral services information it will be posted here.

The cinema exhibition industry has truly lost one of its greats today.

[Leo Enticknap]

Very sad to read this news. I wondered if his health had taken a turn for the worse when I didn't see him at Cinemacon this year (if he was there, we missed each other). Sam was always very helpful and supportive, most recently when I was replacing some worn and dim LEDs on a pair of BACP SR-D readers.

[Victor Liorentas]

He was very helpful with advice and secured some hard to find Dolby components for me which are still in use today. So sorry to hear of this.

[Jim Cassedy]

OMG! I've known Sam for over 20 years. I last saw him about 2 months ago, when he
unexpectedly dropped in at my theater to say hello. I was very busy that night but I
found time to sit & chat with him for a while. He had lost a lot of weight, but he was
in very good spirits, and was just the 'same old Sam' he always was. RIP

[Bob Ezra]

So sad. I loved and admired Sam. Generous, witty and very smart. He will be missed.

[David Ferguson]

This is very hard to hear, I wasn't aware he was having health issues recently.

While I didn't know him personally, he was always exceedingly helpful, taking the time to answer my specific and unusual questions about various Dolby products and their history. He actually messaged me on here as recently as five days ago, helping me clarify a few things about development of the DA10.

Thank you Sam, your wealth of knowledge that you contributed to these forums will live on.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Very sad to be reading these posts. Have known him since 1984 when he taught my first training class (CP-50) at Dolby's original location, which I believe was on Sansome St. Over the years his help has been invalualable both while at Dolby, then while at Component Engineering, and later after he founded BACP. He had his first bout with heart problems, and heart bypass surgery in Seattle while working at Component Engineering. Then he founded Bay Area Cinema Products, which all of us know. Sam and I had breakfast together a couple years ago while he was here at the Cinema Convention, and I showed him some of the Civil War sites in the area while he was here, he seemed fine then, but did mention his health was declining because of his kidney's. He was curious about the transplant I had, and told me then that he wasn't sure if he wanted to even do dialysis or not when the time came

I can vouch that kidney failure is a nasty disease and that Hemo Dialysis is even nastier. There is no cure for kidney failure, there are only two options... treatment via dialysis, or through a transplant. My first transplant in Salt Lake City in 2018 did not even work, and that kidney had to be taken back out. I moved to Nashville at the advice of an old High School girlfriend who was a nurse at Vanderbilt. So I had the second one done at Vanderbilt University Med Center in 2021, and it has been 100% sucessful. BTW, that old GF and I have been together since then...

Last time I talked to Sam was about 4 or 5 months ago... he never mentioned he was doing dialysis, but he also wasn't his normal self either.

There will never be another walking encyclopedia in this industry like him...

RIP Sam!

[Marcel Birgelen]

I only know Sam from this forum, but that doesn't make it less sad to read this.
He's always been helpful and I admired his deep knowledge of the products he worked with, including a lot of the history behind them.
It's clear that with his passing, the world and especially this industry did not only loose a great person, but also a wealth of knowledge.

Rest In Peace.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

I forgot to post this...

[Jim Cassedy]

Late one night, about 5 or 6 years ago, I managed to lock myself out of my condo at the
Telluride Film Festival. There was no property manager on-site at that hour, so if I called
someone with a key to come open the door, it was going to cost me $50, plus I'd have to
wait outside for at least 30min - 1hhour or more for them to show up, since they had to
come from a neighboring town. I didn't care about the $50, but it was a cool, damp night,
and the thought of having to wait for someone to show up, plus the fact that I needed to
use a restroom, made the thought of waiting outside very unappealing. I knew Sam was
staying in another nearby condo, so I walked over there, and even though it was almost
2am, and there were no lights on when I rang his bell, he got up, he let me in, and found
some extra bedding and I spent a comfortable night on Sam's couch. The next morning,
he insisted I stay while he cooked up a nice hot breakfast for us both. We spent at least
a hour or more 'talking tech' over breakfast before I left to go back to my own place.
I've always had fond memories of that late nite lock-out.

Sam C, filing SuperPanavision70 aperture plates
at the AMC/Sundance/Carmike Kabuki Theater
in Y2k15 for HATEFUL 8. In addition to all his
many other tech-talents, Sam was one of the
best 'plate-filers' I've ever known!
SamChavez.jpg

[Mark Louis]

The best of the best in life, and in this industry. You will be missed beyond comprehension my friend.

[Christopher Markiewicz]

I only met Sam once, about 20 years ago when I was working for Harrah's. I picked up a BACP reader at his home to install at the Clearlake theatres in Northern California. Even though it was early morning, he was friendly and cheerful. RIP Sam.

[Harold Hallikainen]

So sorry to hear this. Sam was a good friend of USL. He came by our office often and was at every Christmas party.

[John Eickhof]

0I talked with his close friend Tom yesterday when he called to let me know the sad news...I was scheduled to visit Sam and have lunch with him this Friday, sadly that is not going to happen, but I will visit Tom at Sams shop to pick up some equipment I purchased last month from him. He was very dear friend and mentor since I first met him back in the late 1970s We did a lot of horse trading of equipment through the years, he always had a big smile on his face and was a kind person, We had lots of discussions when he was diagnosed with kidney failure he was taking it in stride, and was doing good when I talked with him lasr Friday. At this time, it is my understanding that his sound equipment and Dolby parts stock will be assigned to a mutual friend of ours and his projection inventory will too, Out of respect for Sam, and until the estate is settled, I can't add further comments until the family says so. But rest assured, Sam had the bases covered! Like always! I will know more this week hopefully and will keep all posted. Goodbye Sam, rest in peace my friend.

[Terry Monohan]

i only saw Sam once in the Castro Theatre many years ago. . He was a gifted man not too many guys around today that have his showmanship projection knowledge.

A few ears ago I wrote a note here on this forum and a few others about how bad the surround sound was at the Castro Theatre SF after I saw a movie there. I mentioned I did not hear any right or back wall surround sound from the tiny wall speakers.

Well a few days later MR Chavez wrote a reply to my small complaint and told me to to get my hearing checked that the sound was checked out by him a few weeks ago and was working fine. I guess a week later later Sam was in the Castro Theatre watching a film festival and yes he did apologize to me and wrote back indeed the right surrounds were out and the back wall speakers also silent.

The next time I visited the Castro Theatre for a stereo movie the surrounds were on a little low for my taste but at least I could hear them.

Sam may be running the projectors and sound up in the heavens now for all the missing movie stars and fans of fine movie presentations. Hope they show 70mm up in the clouds because now they have a expert that just moved in.

Sam would be proud If he had stayed around to 2025 to see the new Castro Theatre renovations with a up graded sound system.