Jack Foley

Early life and career Jack Foley was born on April 12, 1891, in Yorkville, New York, to Irish immigrants Margaret Donovan and Michael Foley. Foley was raised in the area of Coney Island. Foley's parents were separated as Margaret lived with her father and four sisters. When Foley was sixteen, Margaret married Michael Gilmartin, the son of Sligo immigrants. Foley's biological father worked at the docks and was a volunteer firefighter as well as a singer and songwriter for local pubs. Foley grew up with James Cagney, Arthur Murray, and Bert Lahr being among his classmates. Foley's first job was as a clerk at the New York docks. During this time, Foley married Beatrice Rehm. They married in secret, as Foley was Catholic and Rehm was Protestant.

Foley won awards for his work, including the Golden Reel Award. The Motion Picture Sound Editors society honored Foley after his retirement in the early 1960s. Jack Foley died on November 9, 1967, at the age of 76. Foley himself calculated that he had walked over making sounds for films, and his work and legacy are still remembered to this day.