I now am privileged to sit in a seat that Steve once occupied. I have been reminded by all on the crew, including the person who held the position between Steve and me, of Steve's tactful method of dealing with overbearing directors. I'm not sure that this should serve as his epitaph, but it is how I will always remember him. "When the yelling stops, the cutting starts."

Wanted to tell just one more "Steve story", about the only time he ever questioned if he'd bitten off more than he could chew. Back in 1995 when ESPN did the first Extreme Games in Newport Beach they wanted every thing to be cutting edge - the coverage as well as the sports - and Steve signed on as the main TD. At a time when X really went out live, and safety was the order of the day for most live events, Steve wanted to push the envelope. We loaned a bunch of products, 4 A66 DDRs, the then new 8100 switcher, several channels of A57 DVE and I think an A72. It was all cobbled together in a stack Steve called "the leaning tower of Abekas", driven with LINC so it could run on cue. The 8100 was upstream of the 3000 or 4000 switcher and Steve wanted everything to run off a single E-MEM recall on cue, triggered with GPIs. I spoke to him a few hours before the opening when he'd had little or no sleep and he was wondering if it was all a giant mistake. As always happened with Steve though it was a giant success. Within an hour of the opening show going out live he was getting calls from the Sports departments of all four networks all demanding to know "How did you do that?" He was disappointed later when X became tape delayed - no fun any more! As a final comment on his generosity - I realized after I sent the earlier message out on a morning when my propane tank froze up, that the reason I was warm was because I was wearing the shirts Steve sent me from Winter X and from Lillehammer. However much was going on he always seemed to find the time to send mementos back to far away friends. We'll all miss you Steve but I'm glad we have some great memories to look back on. Pete

Just wanted to add my voice to those in shock and denial at Steve's passing. I first met Steve when we brought him in to demo the A57 for the "Abekas Beach Club" at the old ITS Forum at the Beverly Hilton. We all had a blast and I was blown away by Steve's talent and unique ability to convey his excitement about the product. Later that summer he demoed for us again at Siggraph and spent the night in the DJ booth at our Siggraph party creating live effects from tape and live cameras in the club where we had the output on giant screens around the place. As Dave said, at that time Steve didn't drink, but he was in his element as everyone around him dissolved into an alcoholic stupor. I can attest to his talent in the kitchen too - one of the most memorable meals of my life was one he made for me when I visited him and Nancy in Houston. Steve was one of the most generous in the industry, just two weeks ago I called him to ask if he could help get me an intro to a client he has worked with for years. I didn't realize he was in Hong Kong at the time and it was 3 in the morning and his cell phone woke him up. Despite this he talked to me and then called me back at 6 to get more info to help me. My most memorable quote from Steve was, again back in the Abekas days, when he had already done the Prime Time Olympics more than once. I asked him why he never did Post work. Steve said "Oh I could never do that, seems to me it would be too stressful"! Steve always seemed to me to be indestructible. I sometimes worried he'd have a wreck on one of his bikes, but this way just seems inconcievable. God rest his soul and watch over after Nancy and the girls. Pete Challinger

Did anyone see the tribute ESPN aired during their football coverage last night?

Ok ... here I am, watching Monday Night Football (Go Seahawks! 35-0 at halftime!) and thinking about Laxton. Steve really didn't care for football that much - I remember the first game he did that went into OT. He was looking very bewildered and said, "OK, this is new territory for me ... what happens now?" He had NO idea what happened to the game in OT. He just went with the flow. Watching Monday night football on ABC is really disappointing - Steve could have added so much more to the production. I guess I've gotten used to the higher production quality on NBC and Fox - a standard that was spearheaded by Steve. And here I am, on my third Margarita - remembering that Steve didn't drink (but he'd appreciate the recipe for a perfect Margarita - (2 shots Don Julio Blanco (or Patron, if you must - just don't insult me and try to use Cuervo, it's crap), 2 shots Triple Sec, and one shot Rose's Lime Juice). Try it, you'll be amazed) - and thinking of one of the greatest bottles of wine Steve served me - a 1997 French Chateauneuf du Pape (although he had never tried it himself - he just knew what went well with the meal.) It was a Vieux Telegraphe, if you really want to know. So I'm thinking... How could someone who didn't drink wine choose the perfect accompaniment to a meal? And how could someone who didn't really like sports become the greatest TD in football in history? And finally, how could someone as "low pressure" as Steve Laxton have a heart attack? I didn't think he could work up enough blood pressure to blow out what could easily be described as the most egrarious heart I?ve ever known. I mean - really - whenever someone passes away, there are always kind words. Always fond remembrances and reminiscing of good times. But there's usually a slight reservation. A hesitation. Thoughts of the occasional ?asshole? that comes out in all of us. But not in this case. I've never in my life heard a single bad thing said about Steve Laxton. He was kind, creative, generous - and a very good friend. And now - as I head towards my fourth Margerita - I would like to raise a toast to Steve Laxton. A true friend who I will never forget. David Workman

I am stunned by the news of Steve's passing. Steve first contacted me in 1993, after he had finished the "Oprah Winfrey Interviews Michael Jackson" special (which subsequently won an emmy ...) with some comments on the A-51. This was the first (and to my knowledge, only) broadcast event that used 8 channels of A-51 live on air. I knew immediately that this was someone who knew what they were talking about, and we ended up talking on the phone for almost two hours. We were in the product development cycle on Dveous at the time (I was the Product Manager) and I invited Steve to Redwood City to give us his input on the UI. He was a fan from the first moment he saw the control panel mockup. Steve was instrumental in the success of Dveous - from giving us feedback on how it should work, being our "demo god" at numerous tradeshows over a period of about three years, helping us produce the "Dveous Funhouse" demo tape, and in general being a huge advocate of the product to NBC. I spent almost three months with Steve in Atlanta (along with Dave Mazza and Charlie Jablonski), setting up all the production suites for the '96 Olypmics. He used to invite me up to Candlestick Park to sit in the production booth whenever he was in town to switch the 49'ers game. I got to know Sandy Grossman and a few of the other producers, a great bunch of guys. I've neven known anyone who could be so calm when switching a show - Steve was unflappable. One time, they lost the communications link with the official game clock. Everyone in the booth was yelling and screaming, trying to get everything back. Steve was very calmly running the GVG 4000 and Dveous, and never broke a sweat or raised his voice. He would turn around and say to me, "This is fun, isn't it?" with a big grin on his face. I've had lunch with him pretty much every NAB since I left Abekas in '97. Every time we talked, he spoke very nostalgically of the times we worked at Abekas together ? he often said that he hasn't felt the sense of camaraderie in any of the companies he's worked with since then. He had a great appriciation for the work I did, and of course, I always had a great appriciation for the work he did. As has already been said, Steve will be sorely missed. Regards to all, David Workman Executive Producer

I am deeply shocked about having lost Steve. Thanks to Helge Schenk and Rolf Grzibek for having notified me about Steve's too early departure. He was such a nice and dedicated guy to talk to, be it with regard to new production switcher requirements or other creative issues in the area of music and our common passion - guitar playing. We had a lot of conversations quite some years ago, when I was a Philips product manager preparing the DD35 for launch in the US. While currently I am not in the video industry anymore, I had never forgotten his extraordinary inspiring aura since then. I imagine that it will not only be a big loss for his loving family members, but for a great many of people in music and in the video industry. His passion was simply to give everything he could give to achieve the BEST. In this profession he simply was the MASTER of all TDs. I'll keep him in good memories. May God bless him and all his family members he left behind. -= FJ =-

The following was emailed to me: [quote]Steven Roy Laxton passed away the afternoon of Friday December 2nd, 2005 after suffering a heart attack several days earlier. Steve was born to Roy & Shirley Laxton on October 18th, 1955. In December 1999 Steve married Nancy Ohler and moved to Seabrook Texas. He is survived by his parents in Knoxville, TN, his wife Nancy Laxton and her two daughters Megan, 19 a student at Texas Tech, and Brittany, 15 a sophomore in High School. Steve and his parents lived many places during Roy’s career in the Navy including Key West, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Morocco, Taiwan, and Japan. After graduating from Iawakuni High School in Japan in 1973, Steve then attended Florida State University in Tallahassee from 1973 to 1978. Steve started his television career in Tampa in 1982 at WTSP Channel 10, followed by a time at WFLA Channel 8. From there he moved to being a Technical Director and Editor at F&F Productions. In 1988 Steve was selected by NBC to be a Technical Director for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Since that point Steve’s career in television sports took off and he became one of the industries premier Technical Directors. He worked on a freelance basis for all the networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, and HBO. He also worked as a consultant on product development for several major broadcasts manufactures – Abekas, Phillips, and Sony. Steve was known around the world as a leading expert in a very competitive and demanding field. Outside of romancing his wife, Steve’s passions were music and his guitars, gourmet cooking, sailing, snow & water skiing, scuba diving, and motorcycles. He had recently completed a 2 week cooking school in Thailand. His neighbors cherished the thought of a barbecue at the Laxton’s. When his friends and family attempt to describe Steve in words they used adjectives like - intense, passionate, driven, caring, compassionate, generous, and giving. His loving presence will be dearly missed by his family and friends in Tennessee, Texas, Florida, and by his colleagues all over the world. In Steve’s work - his extraordinary talent, passion, creativity, and composure under pressure will be forever missed by all those he worked with and touched. Condolences and kind remembrances can be sent to the family at Steve’s e-mail address [email]StevieRoy@aol.com[/email] A college scholarship fund is being set up for Megan and Brittany. Checks can be mailed Laxton Family Scholarship Fund, 2550 Breaux Trace, Seabrook, TX 77586. A small tribute is schedule for 1:00pm on Saturday, December 10th at the Laxton Family home at 2550 Breaux Trace, Seabrook, TX 77586. For all those who loved and worked with Steve in the television industry there are plans to have a tribute in both Torino, Italy, the site of the 2006 Winter Olympics, and at the next NAB convention in April of 2006.[/quote]

When I first met Steve, he was on his knees in front of a switcher control panel with a fellow TD. He was so keen to use the switcher that he could not wait for the chairs. (They fortunately came before he went on-air.) I learned a lot from him about state-of-the-art (and beyond) TV production. He was fun to be with, a very kind and inspiring person. We miss him very much. My thoughts are with his family. Rolf

I was just finishing dinner when I received a call Saturday night from a colleague who I just worked with overseas. He needed some assistance for his TD because Steve was scheduled to do their show this past weekend. My mouth dropped when he told me this news and all I could think about was how could this be. I couldn't have said it more eloquently than Bob Ennis ... "His passing leaves a big hole in our industry which I doubt can be filled anytime soon." Steve was always very gracious and his name came up recently from another colleague who knew him well from his Tampa days as he had passed on a hello to me. He was truly one of a kind and an industry innovator. I'm reminded of the old EF Hutton spot which fits the memory of Steve so well. When Steve Laxton speaks, people listen! I think as TD's we can all be thankful for that. God speed Steve, thank you for what you did so uniquely. My thoughts are with you and your family. -Rick-

I was deeply saddened when I heard the news two days ago. Steve and I worked together during NAB the past several years in the Sony booth designing graphics and effects to use during our demos and stage shows. We frequently demo'd together. Steve was instrumental in getting the MVS-8000 where it is today. And Steve's toasts at the Sony engineers' dinner at NAB have become infamous. I will very much miss working with him.

Besides, Steve's well known TD exploits, he was also instrumental in helping guide the direction of many tools we use today. I worked with Steve extensively at Abekas and Scitex Digital Video when Dveous was in its infancy. We butted heads many times but there was also a lot of give and take. Steve was a perfectionist and always had the inprovement of the product in mind. Without Steve, I don't think Dveous would be the outstanding DVE it is today. He will be missed. May God keep watch over his family. -= Ken =-

I just spoke w/Dave Mazza and he is down in Houston w/Nancy (Steve's wife). He told me that in a couple of days that an email will be sent with details for services, etc. He also said that he is looking at having something this year at NAB. Let me just add my voice to all of those that knew what a "class act" Steve was. I have known him for almost 15 years since he first started to demo DVEs for us in the old Abekas days. One of my fondest memories was at the SLC 02 Olympics when I trained him on the Pinnacle Dve; he actually said to me "Jim, slow down. This isn't a demo it's training." as he smiled. I will always remember that and him.

My experience in this industry is that there are a LOT of wanna-be's, but very few originals. Steve was one of those few originals that so many aspired to be. I watched him mesmorize customers at NAB, first on the DVEous, and then on switchers, as no one else can do. You came away fom his demos impressed with not just what the equipment could do, but what he could do. His passing leaves a big hole in our industry which I doubt can be filled anytime soon.

I will always remember Steve as being the only man in the world who could bring about switcher detente: At NAB 2004 Steve invited all the Grass Valley/Thomson engineers for drinks at the Voodoo Lounge atop the Rio. Also invited were all the Sony engineers. This turned out to be the first time anyone had managed to get these two groups together! Everyone discussed their common problems and obstacles in switcher design and the TDs present had a perfect opportunity to make requests of both parties. Only Steve with his generous spirit and and love of this industry could pull it off. He will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace.

i was offered the job that i have now two springs ago. being unfamiliar with the sony 8k at the time i agreed to the position under condition that i could train with steve. my employer sent me to houston to spend three days with steve at his house training on an 8k that he had in his office (along with his guitars). he loved to cook and made a point out of preparing a really nice home-cooked dinner for us. his training has really helped me and i will remember him as a really nice human being. jonas

Seth, thanks for sharing the email. Wow. It is just amazing news. I don't know what to say. I will always look fondly to my time during the Salt Lake City Olympics with Steve on Guitar and singing away. We had a small group there who blew off steam by getting together in somone's apartment or in the staff break room in the basement. We were all on headphones (I had my electric drums there) so we could play as loud and whenever we wanted, except the vocals. Kinda weird for those listening in without headphones to only hear the vocals. Steve actually went out to buy a guitar in Salt Lake because he didn't bring one (didn't know we were going to have a band there). We all had a great time. Some really good players there, Steve included. Here's to the world-renowned talent of Steve Laxton.

Unfortunately, Steve?s heart attack was fatal. Below is an email sent today from Dick Ebersol at NBC. My condolences to Steve?s family and friends. From: Ebersol, Dick (NBC Universal) Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 9:50 PM To: @NBC Uni Olympics Everyone; @NBC Uni Sports Everyone Subject: It deeply saddens me to tell you that our good friend and extraordinarily talented Olympic Technical Director, Steve Laxton died this afternoon in Texas. He never recovered from a very serious heart attack several days ago. From Atlanta to Sydney to Salt Lake to Athens, he was our pilot for every prime time Olympic telecast. No one in our entire Olympic family had the batting average under pressure that Steve Laxton had for all of us. He was always prepared...he was unfailingly generous...he was an extraordinarily warm and gentle man...he was our good friend. His combination of talent and humanity cannot be replaced. He will be sorely missed. God speed the soul of Steve Laxton. Dick Ebersol

Oh my goodness, I am shocked. My thoughts and best wishes to Steve and family.

I, too, have heard this. If anyone has any information, please post it here. Like all of us, I'm sure, I'm thinking of Steve and hope he's OK.