Danford B. Greene obit

Film Editor Danford B. Greene Has Died

He was not on the list.

He was a  film and television editor with about twenty five feature film credits. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for MASH (1970-directed by Robert Altman) and, with John C. Howard, for Blazing Saddles (1974-directed by Mel Brooks).

Mayer, he became the head of sound editing at Universal Studios, where he worked on Psycho (1960). In the 1960s Greene worked mostly as an editor for episodes of television series such as Thriller and Judd, for the Defense. He broke into feature films with That Cold Day in the Park (1969), which was directed by Robert Altman. The following year he edited MASH (1970) with Altman, which was an anti-war comedy that became a phenomenal success while the U.S. was still fighting the Vietnam War. The film was the third highest-grossing film in the U.S. in 1970, making more than $36 million in the U.S. on a budget of $3 million. Editing was an important aspect of the film's success. The film spawned a long-running television series, and in 1996 was listed on the National Film Registry.

Following MASH Greene worked regularly editing feature films through 1994, although he did not work with Robert Altman again. He directed one feature film The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud (1984). Other films edited by Greene include Blazing Saddles (1974), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), American Hot Wax (1978), and Rocky II (1979). Greene's last feature credit was for There Goes My Baby (1994), which was his fourth collaboration with director Floyd Mutrux. He then taught editing at the American Film Institute and the Los Angeles Film School.

Very early in his editing career, Greene was nominated for the American Cinema Editors Eddie award for a 1962 episode of the television series It's a Man's World. Greene's editing of MASH (1970) was widely recognized, and he was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award and the Eddie award for the film. He was again nominated for the Academy Award for Blazing Saddles (1974).

 Danford B. Greene, editor of such films as Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles and Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H, among others, was an avid sportsman who had more nicknames than you could shake a golf club at: Danny Boy, Big D, the Irishman, Big Daddy, Dan-O, D.B. Greene, Danny Greene, Pops, Pa and the Big Kahuna. He had a boundless enthusiasm and sense of humor that endeared him to friends, family, colleagues and students throughout the years. His perpetually optimistic outlook on life never left him, even when his body began to suffer the wear and tear of time. While convalescing at the St. John’s Physical Rehabilitation Center in Santa Monica earlier this year, he was heard to remark, “I just can’t seem to get these nurses to make a decent martini.”

Danny was born in Wichita, Kansas. After the family moved to the Los Angeles area, one of his first jobs was working as a bike-runner at Paramount Studios, which is when his preference for short pants began to make itself known. He entered the Marine Corps in 1946. After his tour of duty, he attended the USC School of Cinema, and soon landed a job in the sound effects department at Universal Studios, where his friendly demeanor and gung-ho attitude helped him to rise through the ranks, becoming head of the department at age 30.

It was during this time, while working on the sound design for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, that he made a name for himself by solving a particularly vexing problem that Hitchcock was having with the shower scene: The sound effect of the knife as it stabbed Janet Leigh was not to the director’s liking. In an “aha!” moment, Danny utilized the pot roast intended for his family’s dinner, and when he played the sounds back the next day, “Mr. Hitchcock damn near had a standing orgasm as he listened to it.”

Danny transitioned to picture editing, which proved to be his true calling. Starting in television, he worked his way up to feature films and even managed to direct The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud, a film starring Carol Kane and Bud Cort that was made behind the Iron Curtain in Yugoslavia during the height of the Cold War. His abilities as a negotiator and peacemaker proved quite handy when the production had to track down a particular item for Ms. Kane, who refused to appear on set unless her demands for pink toilet paper were met. That experience changed Danny’s perception of the Black Market. It also cured him of the directing bug. He returned to editing, and never looked back.

In his later years, he embraced the roles of teacher and mentor at the American Film Institute and the Los Angeles Film School, where he could be seen walking the halls in his signature khaki shorts, golf shirt and tennis sneakers.

He is survived by his former wife, Suzanne Greene; sisters Suzi Mason and Nancy Greene; son Jonathan D. Greene; and granddaughter, Katie Cunneff. His much beloved daughter, Nancy Elizabeth Cunneff, passed in 2012.

If he could, he would probably leave us with his favorite sound bite: “Them’s the jokes, kid.”

Editor

Dermot Mulroney and Ricky Schroder in There Goes My Baby (1994)

There Goes My Baby

6.3

Editor

1994

 

Diane Lane, Laura San Giacomo, Jimmy Smits, Jane Adams, and Adrian Pasdar in Vital Signs (1990)

Vital Signs

5.5

Editor

1990

 

John Candy in Who's Harry Crumb? (1989)

Who's Harry Crumb?

5.9

Editor

1989

 

Linda Fiorentino and Steven Bauer in Wildfire (1988)

Wildfire

4.5

Editor

1988

 

18 Again! (1988)

18 Again!

5.7

Editor

1988

 

Love at Stake (1987)

Love at Stake

5.0

Editor

1987

 

Danny DeVito, Eddie Albert, Rick Moranis, Judge Reinhold, Merritt Butrick, Lori-Nan Engler, Ron Frazier, John Kapelos, and Richard Masur in Head Office (1985)

Head Office

5.4

Editor (edited by)

1985

 

Partners (1982)

Partners

5.3

Editor

1982

 

Voices (1979)

Voices

6.7

Editor

1979

 

Richard Pryor in Which Way Is Up? (1977)

Which Way Is Up?

6.2

film editor

1977

 

Outlaw Blues (1977)

Outlaw Blues

6.0

Editor

1977

 

Fun with Dick and Jane (1977)

Fun with Dick and Jane

6.4

Editor

1977

 

The Killer Inside Me (1976)

The Killer Inside Me

5.9

Editor

1976

 

Tom Laughlin in The Master Gunfighter (1975)

The Master Gunfighter

4.5

Editor

1975

 

Dianne Hull and Paul Le Mat in Aloha Bobby and Rose (1975)

Aloha Bobby and Rose

6.3

Editor

1975

 

Mel Brooks and Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles (1974)

Blazing Saddles

7.7

Editor (as Danford Greene)

1974

 

Hex (1973)

Hex

4.7

Editor (uncredited)

1973

 

Deadhead Miles (1972)

Deadhead Miles

5.6

Editor (uncredited)

1972

 

Telly Savalas, Ivan Dixon, John Marley, and Tom Stern in Clay Pigeon (1971)

Clay Pigeon

5.0

Editor

1971

 

Myra Breckinridge (1970)

Myra Breckinridge

4.5

Editor

1970

 

Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Sally Kellerman, and Jo Ann Pflug in M*A*S*H (1970)

M*A*S*H

7.4

Editor

1970

 

That Cold Day in the Park (1969)

That Cold Day in the Park

7.0

Editor

1969

 

Carl Betz and Stephen Young in Judd for the Defense (1967)

Judd for the Defense

7.7

TV Series

Editor

1967–1969

13 episodes

 

John McGiver and Stephen Strimpell in Mr. Terrific (1967)

Mr. Terrific

6.8

TV Series

Editor

1967

4 episodes

 

Bob Hope and Eva Renzi in A Bob Hope Comedy Special (1966)

A Bob Hope Comedy Special

8.5

TV Special

Editor

1966

 

James Drury, Doug McClure, and John McIntire in The Virginian (1962)

The Virginian

7.6

TV Series

Editor

1966

1 episode

 

Yvonne De Carlo, Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, and Pat Priest in The Munsters (1964)

The Munsters

7.8

TV Series

Editor

1966

1 episode

 

Broadside (1964)

Broadside

7.9

TV Series

Editor

1964–1965

29 episodes

 

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963)

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

7.6

TV Series

Editor

1964

1 episode

 

McHale's Navy (1962)

McHale's Navy

7.4

TV Series

Editor

1964

2 episodes

 

Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963)

Kraft Suspense Theatre

7.7

TV Series

Editor

1963–1964

5 episodes

 

Nightmare in Chicago (1964)

Nightmare in Chicago

6.4

TV Movie

Editor

1964

 

Alfred Hitchcock in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962)

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

8.5

TV Series

Editor

1963–1964

2 episodes

 

Ted Bessell, Randy Boone, Michael Burns, Glenn Corbett, Harry Harvey, and Peter Tewksbury in It's a Man's World (1962)

It's a Man's World

7.9

TV Series

Editor

1962

8 episodes

 

Thriller (1960)

Thriller

8.2

TV Series

Editor

1961–1962

6 episodes

 

Shotgun Slade (1959)

Shotgun Slade

6.9

TV Series

Editor

1960

2 episodes

 

Man in the Vault (1956)

Man in the Vault

5.9

Editor

1956

 

Editorial Department

To Beauty (2011)

To Beauty

7.6

Short

supervising editor

2011

 

John Stamos and Vanity in Never Too Young to Die (1986)

Never Too Young to Die

4.8

additional editor (as Danford Greene)

1986

 

Surfacing (1981)

Surfacing

4.4

editorial consultant

1981

 

History of the World: Part I (1981)

History of the World: Part I

6.8

additional editor

1981

 

The Hollywood Knights (1980)

The Hollywood Knights

6.2

supervising editor

1980

 

Rocky II (1979)

Rocky II

7.3

supervising film editor

1979

 

Coming Attractions (1978)

Coming Attractions

4.6

editorial supervisor

1978

 

American Hot Wax (1978)

American Hot Wax

6.9

supervising film editor

1978

 

Georg Stanford Brown in Black Jack (1972)

Black Jack

5.9

supervising editor

1972

 

Director

Bud Cort and Carol Kane in The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud (1984)

The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud

4.4

Director

1984