Antony Gibbs obit

Antony Gibbs, Editor of ‘Dune,’ ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ Dies at 90

 

He was not on the list.

Antony Gibbs, a British-born film editor who cut dozens of pictures, including such ’60s classics as “Tom Jones” as well as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Rollerball,” “Dune” and “Ronin,” died February 26. He was 90.

The Guild of British Film and Television Editors reported his death on Facebook.

Gibbs was nominated for four of the American Cinema Editors’ Eddie Awards, including for “Tom Jones” in 1964 and “Fiddler on the Roof” in 1972. He won Eddies in 1998 for his work on John Frankenheimer‘s TNT miniseries “George Wallace,” starring Gary Sinise, and in 2002 for his editing of Mark Rydell’s TNT TV movie “James Dean,” starring James Franco (a film for which he also picked up an Emmy nomination). Also in 2002, he received an ACE career achievement award.

The ACE said of Gibbs in 2002: “With ‘Reindeer Games’  he continued his successful collaboration with John Frankenheimer, but his friend director Mark Rydell allowed Tony to accomplish something nobody has ever done in the A.C.E. annals; with his edit of ‘James Dean,’ a MOW for TNT, he is the only editor ever to be nominated for an A.C.E. Eddie Award and chosen to be an A.C.E. Career Achievement Award recipient in the same year. Absolutely deserving for an editor whose career startled us with his editorial innovations in the British New Wave and still amazes us with his ability to stay ahead of the crowd by infusing editing with new ideas.”     

Gibbs received the first of his two Emmy nominations for Rydell’s 1996 HBO TV movie “Crime of the Century,” about the Lindbergh kidnapping case.

Gibbs began his editing career in the mid-1950s, working at first as an assistant to Ralph Kemplen and to Alan Osbiston; through these editors, Gibbs became involved from the beginning in the “New Wave” of British filmmaking of the early 1960s. Osbiston (with Gibbs’ assistance) edited “The Entertainer” (1960), starring Laurence Olivier and directed by Tony Richardson, one of the key British New Wave directors.

Gibbs was principal editor for “A Taste of Honey” (1961), “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” (1962) and “Tom Jones” (1963), all directed by Richardson, as well as Richard Lester’s “The Knack …and How to Get It” (1965) and “Petulia” — all classics of 1960s filmmaking. On Richardson’s 1965 cult classic “The Loved One,” which was produced in Hollywood, Gibbs served as supervising editor.

Gibbs edited 1970’s “Performance,” starring James Fox and Mick Jagger and directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, and Roeg’s Australia-shot “Walkabout,” and around this time relocated to Hollywood, where he began with a very high-profile assignment, editing Jewison’s “Fiddler on the Roof.”

In addition to “George Wallace,” Gibbs worked with director Frankenheimer on 1998 action film “Ronin” and 2000’s “Reindeer Games.”

Gibbs also had a long association with director Norman Jewison beginning with “Fiddler on the Roof” and continuing with musical adaptation “Jesus Christ Superstar” (1973); futuristic sports actioner “Rollerball” (1975); union story “F.I.S.T.” (1978), starring Sylvester Stallone; mercenaries-in-Africa story “The Dogs of War” (1980), starring Christopher Walken; “Agnes of God” (1985), starring Jane Fonda and Meg Tilly; and “In Country” (1989), starring Bruce Willis as a troubled Vietnam veteran.

During the 1970s Gibbs edited films including “The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea” (1976) and Richard Attenborough’s World War II epic “A Bridge Too Far” (1977). In the 1980s his credits included Sean Penn prison drama “Bad Boys” (1983), David Lynch’s controversial adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” and the more intimate films “Stealing Home,” starring Jodie Foster and Mark Harmon, and the Kentucky-set “In Country.”

In the 1990s Gibbs edited films including the Mel Gibson-directed “The Man Without a Face” (1993), also starring Gibson; “Don Juan DeMarco” (1994) with Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway; and Frankenheimer’s “Ronin.”

Gibbs retired after working on “James Dean” in 2001.

“The generation of American editors of which Dede Allen is a part has given considerable credit for the inspiration of their work to Antony Gibbs, the English editor of films directed by, amongst others, Tony Richardson, Nicholas Roeg, and Richard Lester,” writes Roger Crittenden in his 1995 book “Film and Video Editing.” “There is a daring and energetic quality to Tony Gibbs’ work, especially in some sequences of ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner,’ ‘Tom Jones,’ ‘The Knack,’ and ‘Performance,’ which must have given a shot of adrenaline to aspiring editors on both sides of the Atlantic at the time. Dede ascribes her work on ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ directly to the influence of Tony Gibbs.”

Gibbs is survived by his wife, Sherrye; six children; 14 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Editor

James Dean (2001)

James Dean

7.1

TV Movie

Editor (as Tony Gibbs)

2001

 

Charlize Theron and Ben Affleck in Reindeer Games (2000)

Reindeer Games

5.8

Editor

2000

 

Robert De Niro in Ronin (1998)

Ronin

7.2

Editor (as Tony Gibbs)

1998

 

Gary Sinise in George Wallace (1997)

George Wallace

7.1

TV Mini Series

Editor

1997

 

Crime of the Century (1996)

Crime of the Century

7.1

TV Movie

Editor

1996

 

A Case for Life (1996)

A Case for Life

6.1

TV Movie

Editor

1996

 

Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, and Faye Dunaway in Don Juan DeMarco (1994)

Don Juan DeMarco

6.7

Editor (as Tony Gibbs)

1994

 

Mel Gibson and Nick Stahl in The Man Without a Face (1993)

The Man Without a Face

6.7

Editor (as Tony Gibbs)

1993

 

Devlin (1992)

Devlin

5.6

TV Movie

Editor

1992

 

Ken Wahl in The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)

The Taking of Beverly Hills

5.1

Editor

1991

 

Bruce Willis and Emily Lloyd in In Country (1989)

In Country

5.9

Editor

1989

 

Jodie Foster and Mark Harmon in Stealing Home (1988)

Stealing Home

6.6

Editor

1988

 

Joaquin Phoenix, Peter Billingsley, Stefan DeSalle, and Whip Hubley in Russkies (1987)

Russkies

5.5

Editor

1987

 

Tai-Pan (1986)

Tai-Pan

5.6

Editor

1986

 

Agnes of God (1985)

Agnes of God

6.6

Editor

1985

 

Sean Young and Kyle MacLachlan in Dune (1984)

Dune

6.3

Editor

1984

 

Bad Boys (1983)

Bad Boys

7.2

film editor

1983

 

From a Far Country (1981)

From a Far Country

5.3

Editor

1981

 

Christopher Walken in The Dogs of War (1980)

The Dogs of War

6.3

Editor

1980

 

Lisa Vanderpump in The Wildcats of St. Trinian's (1980)

The Wildcats of St. Trinian's

3.7

film editor

1980

 

Suzanne Somers and Ian McShane in Yesterday's Hero (1979)

Yesterday's Hero

5.0

Editor

1979

 

A Bridge Too Far (1977)

A Bridge Too Far

7.4

Editor

1977

 

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1976)

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

6.2

Editor

1976

 

Rollerball (1975)

Rollerball

6.5

Editor

1975

 

Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, Shirley Knight, David Hemmings, Clifton James, and Roy Kinnear in Juggernaut (1974)

Juggernaut

6.6

Editor

1974

 

The Black Windmill (1974)

The Black Windmill

6.3

Editor

1974

 

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Jesus Christ Superstar

7.4

Editor

1973

 

The Ragman's Daughter (1972)

The Ragman's Daughter

6.4

Editor

1972

 

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Fiddler on the Roof

8.0

film editor

1971

 

Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil, and Luc Roeg in Walkabout (1971)

Walkabout

7.6

Editor

1971

 

All the Right Noises (1970)

All the Right Noises

6.1

Editor

1970

 

Mick Jagger and James Fox in Performance (1970)

Performance

6.7

Editor

1970

 

Robert Shaw, Helen Fraser, and Patrick Magee in The Birthday Party (1968)

The Birthday Party

6.4

Editor

1968

 

Petulia (1968)

Petulia

6.8

Editor

1968

 

The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967)

The Sailor from Gibraltar

6.1

Editor (as Anthony Gibbs)

1967

 

Jeanne Moreau in Mademoiselle (1966)

Mademoiselle

7.1

Editor

1966

 

Rita Tushingham in The Knack... and How to Get It (1965)

The Knack... and How to Get It

6.3

Editor

1965

 

Robert Shaw and Mary Ure in The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964)

The Luck of Ginger Coffey

6.8

Editor

1964

 

Girl with Green Eyes (1964)

Girl with Green Eyes

6.9

Editor (uncredited)

1964

 

Tom Jones (1963)

Tom Jones

6.4

Editor

1963

 

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

7.5

Editor

1962

 

Tiara Tahiti (1962)

Tiara Tahiti

5.8

Editor

1962

 

A Taste of Honey (1961)

A Taste of Honey

7.4

Editor

1961

 

The Devil Inside (1961)

The Devil Inside

6.6

Editor

1961

 

The Unstoppable Man (1961)

The Unstoppable Man

6.5

Editor (as Anthony Gibbs)

1961

 

The Snake Woman (1961)

The Snake Woman

4.9

Editor

1961

 

Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)

Doctor Blood's Coffin

4.9

Editor

1961

 

Don Borisenko and Susan Hampshire in Night of Passion (1960)

Night of Passion

6.2

Editor

1960

 

Phyllis Calvert and Robert Morley in Oscar Wilde (1960)

Oscar Wilde

6.8

Editor

1960

 

Michael Rennie in The Third Man (1959)

The Third Man

7.8

TV Series

film editor (as Tony Gibbs)

1959

3 episodes

 

Editorial Department

Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, and Penélope Cruz in Sahara (2005)

Sahara

6.1

additional editor (as Tony Gibbs)

2005

 

John Cleese, Alicia Silverstone, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Woody Harrelson in Scorched (2003)

Scorched

5.9

additional editing (as Tony Gibbs)

2003

 

Ragtime (1981)

Ragtime

7.3

film editor: UK

1981

 

Tom Berenger, William Katt, and Jill Eikenberry in Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979)

Butch and Sundance: The Early Days

5.7

supervising editor

1979

 

Sylvester Stallone and David Huffman in F.I.S.T. (1978)

F.I.S.T.

6.4

supervising editor

1978

 

The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967)

The Sailor from Gibraltar

6.1

editorial adviser

1967

 

Jonathan Winters, Anjanette Comer, and Robert Morse in The Loved One (1965)

The Loved One

6.9

supervising editor

1965

 

A Touch of Larceny (1960)

A Touch of Larceny

6.6

first assistant editor (uncredited)

1960

 

Sound Department

A Touch of Larceny (1960)

A Touch of Larceny

6.6

sound editor

1960