( CNN ) -- Ray Dolby , the American inventor who changed the way people listen to sound in their homes , on their phones and in cinemas , died Thursday in San Francisco . Dolby was 80 . The founder of Dolby Laboratories had been suffering from Alzheimer 's disease for a number of years , and in July was diagnosed with acute leukemia . `` Today we lost a friend , mentor and true visionary , '' said Kevin Yeaman , the company 's president and CEO . Dolby founded the company in London in 1965 , and in the following decades it built on his pioneering work in surround sound and noise reduction , which removed the annoying `` hiss '' from audio recordings . Dolby holds more than 50 U.S. patents for many state-of-the-art technologies . Now based in San Francisco , the company has earned dozens of industry plaudits including 19 Academy and 13 Emmy Awards . Dolby 's work earned so much admiration from the film industry that last year the Hollywood landmark known as the `` home of the Academy Awards '' was renamed Dolby Theatre . After each annual star-studded ceremony , the world 's leading actors and actresses toast the occasion in the Ray Dolby Ballroom . `` With Dolby Laboratories , his passion for sound led to innovations that have changed the way we listen to music and movies for nearly 50 years , '' said Neil Portnow , President and CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences . `` His technologies have become an essential part of the creative process for recording artists and filmmakers , ensuring his remarkable legacy for generations to come . '' Mix tape , anyone ? The cassette turns 50 . While his work earned him fame and fortune , Dolby considered himself an adventurer at heart . `` I wanted the experience of traveling to many parts of the world . Inventions were part of my life , but they did n't overtake everything that I was doing , '' he said in quotes released by the company . His wife of 47 years , Dagmar , described him as `` generous , patient , intellectually honest '' and a fantastic role model for their two sons , Tom and David . `` I think he was the happiest when we would be on the boat , and the waves got really high and the weather forecast was really bad -- that was all the more challenge for him , '' she said . Tom Dolby , a filmmaker and novelist , said : `` Though he was an engineer at heart , my father 's achievements in technology grew out of a love of music and the arts . He brought his appreciation of the artistic process to all of his work in film and audio recording . '' Dolby was born in Portland , Oregon , in 1933 and started his career at Ampex Corp. , where he led the development of the electronic aspects of the Ampex videotape recording system . He earned his first degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University , before moving to Cambridge in the UK to study physics . While there , he became the first American to be named a fellow at Pembroke College . After graduating , Dolby moved to India for a two-year stint as a United Nations adviser before returning to London to set up his company . In 2004 , Dolby was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the U.S. and the Royal Academy of Engineers in the UK .
Pioneer in surround sound , noise reduction dies at 80 . Ray Dolby revolutionized audio recordings to make them clearer , crisper . He founded Dolby Laboratories in 1965 . Dolby thought of himself as an adventurer first .