Dennis Virkler obit

Dennis Virkler, Oscar-Nominated Editor of ‘The Fugitive’ and ‘The Hunt for Red October,’ Dies at 80

Virkler's editing career spanned five decades and included 'Xanadu' and two Batman movies, plus action titles featuring Nicolas Cage, Ben Affleck and Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

He was not on the list.

Dennis Virkler, a two-time Oscar-nominated editor who worked on such prominent actions films as The Hunt for Red October, The Fugitive and multiple entries in the Batman franchise, has died. He was 80.

Virkler passed away from heart failure on Sept. 15, his wife Helen Pollak announced. Among those sharing remembrances was director Andrew Davis, who worked with Virkler on five films, including Under Siege (1992), The Fugitive (1993), A Perfect Murder (1998) and Collateral Damage (2002).

“Dennis came in on a Saturday morning and blew us away Monday with a great cut for the opening of The Fugitive,” Davis said in a statement. “Besides the editorial teams he mentored, the sound and visual effects teams who worked alongside Dennis revered his taste and knowledge.”

Virkler, who has more than 40 credits, was an elected member of the American Cinema Editors. The Fugitive, which earned him Oscar, BAFTA and ACE Eddie nominations, was named the 39th best-edited film in history by a 2012 survey from the Motion Picture Editors Guild.

Born in Cleveland on Nov. 23, 1941, his family moved to Santa Monica when he was 4. He struggled in high school and joined the Air Force, after which he took a job as a night guard at Fox Studios. Virkler then became a teamster and would drive the dailies to the studio until eventually enrolling in the Editors Guild’s apprenticeship program.

He got his start on genre films in the 1970s before going on to edit titles including The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), Xanadu (1980), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) and The River Rat (1984), which featured a starring role for Tommy Lee Jones, who would later win the Oscar for The Fugitive.

Virkler’s first Academy Award nomination came as one of three nods for filmmaker John McTiernan’s Tom Clancy adaptation The Hunt for Red October (1990) that starred Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin.

The editor was also known for his work in the superhero genre, with credits on Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997) and the Ben Affleck flick Daredevil (2003).

Other more recent work includes Vin Diesel vehicle The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Rob Zombie-directed Halloween (2007), Nicolas Cage thriller Bangkok Dangerous (2008) and the Benicio del Toro-Anthony Hopkins monster project The Wolfman (2010). Virkler’s career spanned five decades, with his final credit coming in 2017 on romantic drama The Ottoman Lieutenant, which included Josh Hartnett and Ben Kingsley among its cast.

Virkler is survived by Pollak, his partner of 39 years; son Wilson Virkler; and a sister and brother.

 

Editor

Josh Hartnett, Ben Kingsley, Michiel Huisman, and Hera Hilmar in The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017)

The Ottoman Lieutenant

6.4

Editor

2017

 

Alicia Silverstone, Billy Burke, and AJ Michalka in Angels in Stardust (2016)

Angels in Stardust

5.1

Editor

2016

 

Unati Mangaliso in Stay (2014)

Stay

Short

Editor

2014

 

Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic in Castle (2009)

Castle

8.1

TV Series

Editor

2010–2014

6 episodes

 

Anthony Edwards in Zero Hour (2013)

Zero Hour

6.3

TV Series

Editor

2013

1 episode

 

August 8 (2012)

August 8

5.6

Editor

2012

 

Shark Night (2011)

Shark Night

4.1

Editor (edited by)

2011

 

Jaime King and Josh Cooke in A Fork in the Road (2010)

A Fork in the Road

5.9

Editor

2010

 

Anthony Hopkins, Benicio Del Toro, Hugo Weaving, and Emily Blunt in The Wolfman (2010)

The Wolfman

5.8

Editor

2010

 

Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)

The Guardian

6.9

Editor

2006

 

The Fog (2005)

The Fog

3.7

Editor

2005

 

Jessica Alba and Paul Walker in Into the Blue (2005)

Into the Blue

5.9

Editor

2005

 

Vin Diesel in The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

The Chronicles of Riddick

6.6

Editor

2004

 

Ben Affleck, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jennifer Garner, and Colin Farrell in Daredevil (2003)

Daredevil

5.3

Editor

2003

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Collateral Damage (2002)

Collateral Damage

5.5

Editor

2002

 

Robert De Niro, Rene Russo, Jason Alexander, June Foray, and Keith Scott in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle

4.3

Editor

2000

 

Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen in A Perfect Murder (1998)

A Perfect Murder

6.6

Editor

1998

 

George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alicia Silverstone, Uma Thurman, and Chris O'Donnell in Batman & Robin (1997)

Batman & Robin

3.8

Editor

1997

 

Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford in The Devil's Own (1997)

The Devil's Own

6.2

Editor

1997

 

Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones, Nicole Kidman, Val Kilmer, and Chris O'Donnell in Batman Forever (1995)

Batman Forever

5.4

Editor

1995

 

Mark Dacascos and Sergio Kato in Only the Strong (1993)

Only the Strong

6.5

Editor

1993

 

Harrison Ford in The Fugitive (1993)

The Fugitive

7.8

Editor (edited by)

1993

 

Steven Seagal in Under Siege (1992)

Under Siege

6.5

Editor

1992

 

Tales from the Crypt (1989)

Tales from the Crypt

8.0

TV Series

Editor

1990–1992

2 episodes

 

Mariel Hemingway, Kay Lenz, and John Mellencamp in Falling from Grace (1992)

Falling from Grace

5.5

Editor

1992

 

Anthony Hopkins, Emilio Estevez, Rene Russo, and Mick Jagger in Freejack (1992)

Freejack

5.4

Editor

1992

 

Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October (1990)

The Hunt for Red October

7.5

Editor

1990

 

F. Murray Abraham, Maud Adams, and Amber O'Shea in The Favorite (1989)

The Favorite

4.5

Editor

1989

 

John Lithgow and Ralph Macchio in Distant Thunder (1988)

Distant Thunder

5.7

Editor

1988

 

Big Shots (1987)

Big Shots

5.7

Editor

1987

 

The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.4

TV Series

Editor

1987

1 episode

 

Nobody's Fool (1986)

Nobody's Fool

5.4

Editor

1986

 

Miracles (1986)

Miracles

5.2

Editor

1986

 

C. Thomas Howell in Secret Admirer (1985)

Secret Admirer

6.5

Editor

1985

 

Gorky Park (1983)

Gorky Park

6.7

Editor

1983

 

Independence Day (1983)

Independence Day

6.5

Editor

1983

 

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

Airplane II: The Sequel

6.1

Editor

1982

 

Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning, and Bernie Casey in Sharky's Machine (1981)

Sharky's Machine

6.3

Editor

1981

 

John Belushi and Blair Brown in Continental Divide (1981)

Continental Divide

6.2

Editor

1981

 

Olivia Newton-John in Xanadu (1980)

Xanadu

5.3

film editor

1980

 

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang (1979)

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang

5.6

TV Movie

Editor

1979

 

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978)

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan

3.7

Editor

1978

 

When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978)

When Every Day Was the Fourth of July

7.3

TV Movie

Editor

1978

 

Cruise Into Terror (1978)

Cruise Into Terror

5.0

TV Movie

Editor

1978

 

Dog and Cat (1977)

Dog and Cat

6.7

TV Movie

Editor

1977

 

Dead of Night (1977)

Dead of Night

6.2

TV Movie

Editor

1977

 

Kim Basinger in Dog and Cat (1977)

Dog and Cat

6.1

TV Series

Editor

1977

1 episode

 

Burnt Offerings (1976)

Burnt Offerings

6.4

Editor

1976

 

The Kansas City Massacre (1975)

The Kansas City Massacre

6.0

TV Movie

Editor

1975

 

Kim Novak and Doug McClure in Satan's Triangle (1975)

Satan's Triangle

5.9

TV Movie

Editor

1975

 

Chosen Survivors (1974)

Chosen Survivors

5.4

Editor

1974

 

The Turn of the Screw (1974)

The Turn of the Screw

6.1

TV Movie

Editor

1974

 

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973)

The Picture of Dorian Gray

6.3

TV Movie

Editor

1973

 

Polly Bergen, Donna Mills, Paul Burke, Judy Carne, and Barbara Feldon in The Wide World of Mystery (1973)

The Wide World of Mystery

7.3

TV Series

Editor

1973

2 episodes

 

Producer

Wings Over the Rockies

6.2

Short

associate producer

2009

 

Stunts Unlimited (1980)

Stunts Unlimited

5.2

TV Movie

associate producer

1980

 

Joey Aresco, Ilene Graff, and Harrison Page in Supertrain (1979)

Supertrain

4.4

TV Series

associate producer

1979

4 episodes

 

Editorial Department

Michael Madsen in Outrage: Born in Terror (2009)

Outrage: Born in Terror

3.2

consulting editor

2009

 

Brad Dourif, Malcolm McDowell, Danny Trejo, Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Lew Temple, and Daeg Faerch in Halloween (2007)

Halloween

6.0

additional film editor

2007

 

The 13th Warrior (1999)

The 13th Warrior

6.6

additional film editor

1999

 

Tommy Lee Jones and Martha Plimpton in The River Rat (1984)

The River Rat

6.3

supervising editor

1984

 

Necromancy (1972)

Necromancy

4.6

assistant film editor

1972