Oscar-winning Film Editors Still With Us

Londoner John Bloom was born on September 12th 1935, the younger brother of the actress Claire Bloom. He began his film career as a script reader in the story department at Pinewood studios but became interested in film editing, starting out as assistant to John Trumper on Heart of a Child (1958). His big break came with the film "The Impersonator (1961)" with his first solo credit as editor and throughout the 60s and 70s he worked on a number of British films, gaining an Oscar for "Gandhi (1982)". However since the mid-1980s he has worked chiefly in America, including three collaborations with director Mike Nichols, the cinema films "Closer (2004)" and "Charlie Wilson's War (2007)" and "Wit (2001)", for which he took an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.

Michael Kahn was born on 8 December 1930 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an editor and cinematographer, known for West Side Story (2021), Minority Report (2002) and Jurassic Park (1993).

Alan Heim was born on 21 May 1936 in The Bronx, New York, USA. He is an editor, known for All That Jazz (1979), Network (1976) and American History X (1998).

Thom Noble was born and raised in London. Educated at Westminster School. He began his professional career in the world of book publishing, then moving to the story department of Pinewood studios. Here he became interested in film editing and in the early1960s worked on several British films as an assistant editor, taking his first credit as sole editor on Francois Truffaut's "Fahrenheit 451". After that he edited and directed 2nd Unit for several Westinghouse pictures until meeting up with Ted Kotcheff. In the 1980s he moved to Hollywood and started working with Ted on a regular basis editing films like "First Blood," "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz", "Who's Killing The Great Chefs of Europe".etc. He went on to win an Oscar for "Witness" and a nomination for "Thelma and Louise". Recently he has been supervising the editing of several Indian and Chinese movies.

Carl Kress is known for The Towering Inferno (1974), Bloodsport (1988) and Meteor (1979).

Thelma Schoonmaker was born on 3 January 1940 in Algiers, Algeria. She is an editor and producer, known for The Departed (2006), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) and The Irishman (2019). She was previously married to Michael Powell.

Richard Chew was born on 28 June 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an editor and cinematographer, known for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Conversation (1974). He is married to Liv Torgerson. He was previously married to Barbara Chew.

Richard Halsey was born to be a film editor. While in junior high school at Bancroft Jr High, they needed someone to run the projectors for different classes so he volunteered in order to get out of class, so started his first experience with film. He was also in the orchestra with Ricky Nelson. Ricky played clarinet and Richard played oboe - not very well.

Richard attended Hollywood High school with John Phillip Law, Salley Kellerman, Mike Farrell,and Yvette Mimieux. After high school Richard got a job at Warner Brothers mail dept and then moved into the music editing dept, and then got a job at 20th Century Fox music editorial with Ken Hall and a lot of great editors.

Richard was then drafted into the army and spent 21 months and 16 days there, getting out early to go to College. That did not last long because he got a job at 20th Century Fox in the editorial dept during summer break and started work on Peyton Place with Editor George Nicholson, who taught him the basics of film editing. Once you learn that the rest is up to your own personal creativity.

Richard then became an editor on Peyton Place at the age of 28 and moved into feature editing, winning the Oscar for Rocky at the age of 36. Some 60 pictures later he continues to live in the Hollywood Hills and edit films. He is married to Editor Colleen Halsey and has two beautiful daughters still at home, to be continued....

Joel Cox was born in 1942 and his film career began at a very early age

• appearing before the cameras, in fact - as a baby in the film 'Random

Harvest'. Some twenty years later he began work as a mail-room boy with Warner Brothers, the company with whom he has worked ever since, and in 1969 moved into the cutting-room, as an uncredited assistant editor on 'Woodstock' and 'The Wild Bunch'. He was a credited assistant on 'The Outlaw Josey Wales', working for the first time with Clint Eastwood. A durable collaboration followed with Cox cutting all films made by Eastwood since.

Walter Murch has been editing sound in Hollywood since starting on Francis Ford Coppola's film The Rain People (1969). He edited sound on American Graffiti (1973) and The Godfather Part II (1974), won his first Academy Award nomination for The Conversation (1974), won his first Oscar for Apocalypse Now (1979), and won an unprecedented double Oscar for Best Sound and Best Film Editing for his work on The English Patient (1996). Most recently he helped reconstruct Touch of Evil (1958) to Orson Welles' original notes, and edited The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). Mr. Murch was, along with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, a founding member of northern California cinema. Mr. Murch has directed --Return to Oz (1985) -- and longs to do so again, but as an editor and sound man he is one of the few universally acknowledged masters in his field. For his work on the film "Apocalypse Now (1979)", Walter coined the term "sound designer", and along with colleagues such as Ben Burtt, helped to elevate the art and impact of film sound to a new level.

Scott Conrad, the Academy Award-winning film editor (Rocky), began his career in 1964 at 20th Century Fox. Twenty years old at the time, he worked his way up from the mail room. In his search to discover his niche in the studio, he worked for a short time in the Publicity Department covering such films as The Sound of Music and Goodbye, Charlie. The more he learned about the craft of film making, the more he was drawn to film editing. Many of the producers and directors such as Frank Schaffner, Vincente Minelli and Robert Wise encouraged Conrad, explaining that editing was the key to good film making.

Robert Mintz, who was the head of TV Post Production, gave Conrad his opportunity. At that time the Film Editors Union was a closed union membership was coveted and very limited. In the previous five years, only 3 new members had been accepted. It was a Catch 22 situation, said Conrad. In order to be accepted into the Editors Guild, you had to have a job as an editor and in order to have a job as an editor, you had to be in the union. In September of 1964, Robert Mintz told Conrad that he would hire him on a temporary basis and that if he were to remain employed for ninety days, the Editors Guild would accept him.

Soon the temporary job became a permanent job and Conrad was accepted into the Editors Guild. However, according to Conrad, You first served as an apprentice and when you were lucky enough to get the opportunity, you moved up to assistant editor. But at that time, you had to be in the Guild for a minimum of eight years before you could become an editor.

After working as an apprentice and assistant for two years, Conrad became impatient waiting for the opportunity to actually cut a film of his own. In 1966 he returned to college to complete his education, this time majoring in Cinema at the University of Southern California. While at USC he was mentored by some of the legendary professors of the Cinema School such as Bernie Kantor and Herb Farmer and exchanged ideas with fellow students John Milius and George Lucas.

While working on his senior project, Conrad who had been working part time at 20th Century Fox to pay for his tuition, was offered an opportunity which he couldn't turn down. The Film Editor on Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid was fired by director George Roy Hill. The assistant editor, John Howard, was given the job of editor and in turn asked Conrad to move up from apprentice to assistant editor. Needless to say, even though it meant dropping out of USC, he accepted.

George Roy Hills assistant on Butch Cassidy was Ron Preisman, a close friend of Conrad. While on location in Colorado, Preisman asked Hill if he could use Hills 16mm Bolex to shoot a few of the background scenes, such as the trains safe being blown up. Conrad and Preisman began collaborating on what other scenes they could film and came up with the idea of doing a behind the scenes documentary. Cinematographer Conrad Hall taught Preisman how to use the camera and the footage improved. Conrad asked the studio for a 16mm Moviola and stayed late at night playing with the footage and shaping it into a film. That project became The Making of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid and won an Emmy for Best Documentary.

With the success of the Butch Cassidy documentary came what could have been an end to Conrads career as a film editor. He had violated the sacrosanct eight year rule and was brought before the Editors Guild Board to explain why he should not be expelled from the union. Fortunately Conrad was able to persuade the Board that he had begun the project merely as an educational experiment and had no idea that it would become a full-fledged film, garnering such an award.

The Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid documentary launched Conrads career as an editor and in 1972 he was finally able to attain recognized status as a Film Editor. At first he worked as an Associate Editor under the legendary editors Lou Lombardo (The Wild Bunch) and Danford Greene (M.A.S.H). Subsequently he was the sole editor on some low-budget films such as The Messiah of Evil. In 1974 he teamed up with director-actor-producer L.Q.Jones to edit A Boy & His Dog. That film was not only a success at the time it was released, but has gone on to become a cult favorite and is still played in art house theaters.

Finally, in 1976 Conrad was given the opportunity he had been looking for when fellow editor Richard Halsey asked Scott to help him edit Rocky. Their collaboration resulted in an Academy Award for Best Film Editing and his career took off.

He currently resides in Malibu with his wife Aissa Wayne Conrad.

Marcia Lucas was born on 4 October 1945 in Modesto, California, USA. She is an editor and producer, known for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Taxi Driver (1976) and American Graffiti (1973). She was previously married to Thomas Joseph Rodrigues, George Lucas and George Michael Cooper.

Paul Hirsch, A.C.E. has edited over 40 films, among them the first "Star Wars" written and directed by George Lucas, for which he received an Academy Award in 1978, and "The Empire Strikes Back"; 11 films for Brian De Palma, including "Carrie", "Blowout" and "Mission: Impossible"; four for Herbert Ross, including "Footloose", "The Secret of My Success" and "Steel Magnolias"; three for John Hughes, including "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Planes, Trains & Automobiles"; and "Falling Down" for Joel Schumacher. In 2005, he received his second Academy Award nomination for "Ray", a biopic based on the life of Ray Charles, directed by Taylor Hackford. The various genres in his resume include drama, action, horror, musical comedy, fantasy, suspense, mystery and comedy. In 2008, he reunited with Hackford on "Love Ranch." More recently, he edited "Source Code", directed by Duncan Jones, "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol", directed by Brad Bird, "Warcraft", his second picture with Duncan Jones, and has served as additional editor on numerous films. Hirsch was born in NYC. His father, Joseph Hirsch, was a well-known painter whose works are in the permanent collections of major museums in the US, including the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum. His mother and stepfather, Ruth & Leonard Bocour, were important collectors of 20th Century American painting. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Paris and is fluent in French, as well as somewhat conversant in Italian and British. He studied music at the High School of Music & Art in NYC. He majored in Art History at Columbia University. He is married, with two grown offspring both in the film business, and lives in Pacific Palisades. He is the author of a memoir titled "A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away."

Jamie Selkirk is known for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), King Kong (2005) and Heavenly Creatures (1994).

Conrad Buff IV was born on 8 July 1948 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an editor, known for Titanic (1997), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and The Abyss (1989).

Lisa Fruchtman is known for The Right Stuff (1983), Apocalypse Now (1979) and The Godfather Part III (1990).

Gabriella Cristiani was born in 1949 in Foggia, Puglia, Italy. She is an editor and director, known for The Last Emperor (1987), Beyond the Trek (2017) and Last Tango in Paris (1972).

Zach Staenberg was born in 1954 in the USA. He is an editor and producer, known for The Matrix (1999), In Time (2011) and Nowhere to Run (1993).

James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University before switching to English, and eventually dropping out. He then drove a truck to support his screenwriting ambition. He landed his first professional film job as art director, miniature-set builder, and process-projection supervisor on Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and had his first experience as a director with a two week stint on Piranha II: The Spawning (1982) before being fired.

He then wrote and directed The Terminator (1984), a futuristic action-thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton. It was a low budget independent film, but Cameron's superb, dynamic direction made it a surprise mainstream success and it is now regarded as one of the most iconic pictures of the 1980s. After this came a string of successful, bigger budget science-fiction action films such as Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). In 1990, Cameron formed his own production company, Lightstorm Entertainment. In 1997, he wrote and directed Titanic (1997), a romance epic about two young lovers from different social classes who meet on board the famous ship. The movie went on to break all box office records and earned eleven Academy Awards. It became the highest grossing movie of all time until 12 years later, Avatar (2009), which invented and pioneered 3D film technology, and it went on to beat "Titanic", and became the first film to cost two billion dollars until 2019 when Marvel took the record.

James Cameron is now one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. He was formerly married to producer Gale Anne Hurd, who produced several of his films. In 2000, he married actress Suzy Amis, who appeared in Titanic, and they have three children.

Martin Walsh was born on 8 November 1955 in Manchester, England, UK. He is an editor, known for Chicago (2002), Tetris (2023) and V for Vendetta (2005).

Daniel P. Hanley is an American film editor. His career spans three decades in film editing, starting from the early 1980's. He started his career with the TV series, Laverne & Shirley (1976) in the year 1980. Some of his notable work include Parenthood (1989), Problem Child (1990), Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), The Da Vinci Code (2006), and Angels & Demons (2009) Many of his movies have been made in association with Ron Howard, a leading film director for whom he, along with 'Mike Hill (I)'qv), have edited many movies, some of which include Night Shift (1982), Willow (1988), Cinderella Man (2005) and The Dilemma (2011). Together 'Daniel P Hanley' and 'Mike Hill (I)'qv) have won an Academy Award for the film Apollo 13 (1995) in the year 1996 and were nominated nine times for various other awards including thrice for Academy Awards. They have also won the Editors of the Year award in the Hollywood Film Festival in the year 2008 and Sierra Award in the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards in the same year.

Christopher Rouse was born on 28 November 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an editor and writer, known for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), Captain Phillips (2013) and United 93 (2006).

William Goldenberg was born on 2 November 1959 in the USA. He is an editor and director, known for Argo (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Miami Vice (2006).

Though he's cut celluloid for some of the best in the business, chances are many film lovers wouldn't even recognize the name Pietro Scalia in a lineup of Hollywood's best film editors. Born in Sicily in 1960, Scalia resided in Switzerland before heading to Los Angeles to continue his education. After receiving his M.F.A. in Film and Theater Arts from U.C.L.A. in 1985, Scalia began his career as an assistant editor to Oliver Stone on such features as Wall Street (1987) and Talk Radio (1988). Later coming into his own with such films as JFK (1991) (for which he received a Best Editing Oscar) and Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead (1995), Scalia continued to work on such high-profile films as Stealing Beauty (1996) and G.I. Jane (1997). Scalia also received Best Editor Oscar nominations for Good Will Hunting (1997) and Gladiator (2000), though he would have to wait until the following year for his next win at the Oscars, as he received the Best Editing Award for director Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (2001).

Lee Smith was born in 1960 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is an editor, known for Inception (2010), Dunkirk (2017) and 1917 (2019). He is married to Kimberly.