Wilbur J. Gould, MD, internationally renowned and respected otolaryngologist, pioneer advocate and educator in voice science, humanitarian and healer, died in New York City, February 5, 1994. He and his many devoted colleagues made significant contributions to the world's literature in voice through research performed in the Vocal Dynamics Laboratory at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City, which he founded in the early 1970s, and at the Voice Laboratory of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, posthumously renamed in his honor. Dr. Gould was Director of the Department of Otolaryngology at Lenox Hill Hospital from 1966 to 1979 and Chief of Laryngology at the Center for Communication Disorders, Lenox Hill Hospital, from 1979 until his death. He was founder of the Voice Foundation and served with great distinction as its director and chairman for over 20 years. Under Dr. Gould's leadership, the Foundation, together with Lenox Hill Hospital and The Julliard School of Music, sponsored annual seminars on the Care of the Professional Voice, given alternately for many years in New York, Philadelphia, and Denver, and contributed research funds to many investigators whose efforts furthered the fund of knowledge in voice science.

Dr. Gould was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, September 1, 1919. He received his BS at Harvard in 1941 and his MD from the New York University Medical School in 1944. He served his internship and residency in otolaryngology at Lenox Hill Hospital from 1944 to 1951. Following the completion of his residency in otolaryngology, he entered the Army and served at the Fitzsimons General Hospital Denver, Colorado, from 1946 to 1948. In 1953 he obtained his Board Certification in Otolaryngology and in the same year joined the staff of the Department of Otolaryngology at Lenox Hill Hospital, where he practiced until the time of his death. He also was a member of the staffs of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, was consultant to the voice laboratories of numerous institutions around the world, and served on the Advisory Council of the Kathryn & Gilbert Miller Health Care Institute for Performing Artists at the Roosevelt-St Luke's Medical Center, New York. Dr. Gould contributed his expertise to many notable scientific organizations. He served on the Advisory Board of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, was on the editorial boards of the Journal of Voice and the Dysphagia Journal, was Honorary Director of the New York League for the Hard of Hearing, and was Director of the Recording and Research Center, Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He served the New York County Medical Society in many ways: as Vice-President from 1978 to 1987, as Chairman of the Health Systems Agency Coordination Committee from 1978 to 1982, and on numerous other committees, including Peer Review, Public Relations, Medical Malpractice, Medical Economics, Credentials, Legislative Affairs, and Health Planning, of the Lenox Hill Hospital.

He received the Laryngeal Research Award of the American Laryngological Association in 1984. In 1986 he was elected to Honorary Fellowship in the American Laryngological Association and was awarded the Doctor of Music (Honorary) by Oberlin College. He was also Honorary President of the Fondation de la Voix, France.

Dr. Gould's consuming passion and commitment to the voice was unsurpassed in his time. His selfless dedication to the voices of statesmen, professional voice users, entertainers and performers, and countless patients with vocal disorders was legendary. His pioneering efforts in research and education of voice professionals had profound influence over the specialties and practice of otolaryngology, speech pathology, and voice science. Jim will be sorely missed by those who worked closely with him, and by his many patients, friends, and colleagues throughout the world. He is survived by his devoted wife, Maureen, and daughter, Tamara.