David Randall Thoms (born in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA) is a sound designer and the current Director of Sound Design at Skywalker Sound. His most famous works are Apocalypse Now, Rio and Rio 2, Harry Potter and How to Train Your Dragon. He voiced the Logging Foreman in Rio 2.
Career
Thom started his career with a spontaneous walk-in on the stereo mix session of American Graffiti. Thom introduced himself to Walter Murch, Ben Burtt, and Mark Berger. He simply stated, "Hi, I'm Randy. I've been working for a radio station in Berkeley, and I want to work in film sound."
It was at this point that Murch gave Thom a chance to sit in on a few mix sessions. He would go on to work his first sound job for Apocalypse Now. His second sound job would prove to be a strong turn in his career, as he assisted Ben Burtt in the Sound Effects Recording for The Empire Strikes Back.
In February 2010, Thom was honored with the Cinema Audio Society Career Achievement Award.
In 2013, he joined the International Samobor Film Music Festival as a board member.
In 2014, Thom received the prestigious MPSE Career Achievement Award at the 2014 Golden Reel Awards Gala in Los Angeles.