Clack! Sound Effects Preservation Fund

The great Tom Courtenay-Clack passed away in July 2022. He leaves behind hundreds of reel-to-reel tapes containing his life's work: sound effects he captured himself, which enhanced countless commercials, movies, cartoons, and records during his long career as president of Clack sound studios. Splats, creaks, whooshes, tinkles, squeaks, toilet sounds... you name the noise, Thomas documented it.

We, his widow and daughters, have taken on the task of preserving the recordings: transferring them to a digital format and licensing them to a reputable company. These sounds were meant to be heard, and we are proud to perpetuate their use.

Since these tapes are between 25 and 40 years old, and the equipment used to play them is not readily available, the price of digitizing them is high--between $25 and $55 per reel. Therefore, we are raising funds to help cover the cost, as well as selling Tom's studio equipment and (once everything is processed) the empty reels.

In full disclosure, licensing the material will result in royalties paid to us. Depending on how popular the sound effects are, they could bring a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year. In other words, your donation contributes to the security of Thomas's family--for better or worse! Moreover, the entire library will find a safe repository and be forever preserved, regardless of whether creators have any desire for it.

Thank you for reading! Your donation is tax-deductible. Below is an incomplete list of the reel titles, some that we personally enjoy. If you would like a contribution to go toward any specific one, you can mention it in your comment.

Ambulances

Amusement Arcade

Amusement Park - Coney Island

Animals - Big Cats

Auctions - Horse

Auctions

Autos - VW Rabbit (Gas)

Autos - VW Rabbit Diesel

Autos - Mazda 1975 Rotary

Autos - Porsche 944

Autos - VW Dasher

Autos - 1986 Subaru

Autos - Ford Mustang

Auto Race - Drag & Stock

Autos - Misc

Bakery

Bleeps

Bowery

Buses

Bus Terminal

Cereals

Churches

Demolition Derby

Disasters

Disgusting SFX

Electricity

Electronic (x3)

Factory (x2)

Famous Voices

Fire Engines

Fire Scenes (x2)

Fireworks

Foreign (many)

Horses

Lorries

Loops

Martial Arts

Motorcycles

Mountaineering

Museums

Music Box

New York

Offices (x2)

Office - Machines (x2)

Orgasm

Parades (x4)

Parachutes

Parking Garage

Police

Potholes

Police Cars

Radio (x3)

Religion (x2)

Rodeo

Room Tone

Salvation Army Band

School (x2)

Sex

Shopping Carts

Sirens

Space

Splashdown

Sports (many)

Taxis

Technology

Theatre

Trains

Trolleys

Video Games - Atari

Weddings

Zoo (x3)