It’s a wonderful life, full of sounds

Fred Newman, sound effects man extraordinaire on American Public Media’s Prairie Home Companion, gave a demonstration of his craft Wednesday afternoon in Enid, Okla., reports the Enid News and Eagle. Newman was in town doing sound effects for The Wonderful Life of George Bailey, an adaptation of the film It’s a Wonderful Life as a radio drama at Enid Symphony Hall. Newman’s grandfather sparked his passion for sounds at an early age, he said. His grandfather placed a finger on Newman’s lips and told to listen to the sounds. “If the wind was blowing he would tell me to hear the whisper of the sound,” Newman told the crowd. “If the wind blew through a pine tree it would whisper, if it blew through an oak tree it would clatter and if it was a willow tree it swished.”