Don Zimmerman obit

Don Zimmerman Dies: Oscar-Nominated ‘Coming Home’ Editor Who Worked On ‘Being There,’ ‘Rocky’ Pics & Dozens More Was 81

 He was not on the list.

Don Zimmerman, a veteran film editor who scored an Oscar nom for Coming Home and worked on dozens of other movies including Being There, The Prince of Tides, Night at the Museum and two Rocky sequels, died July 24 of acute myeloid leukemia at his Studio City home. He was 81.

American Cinema Editors, the group that gave him a Career Achievement Award in 2023, confirmed the news.

Born in 1944 and nicknamed “Big D,” Zimmerman joined the Air Force during the Vietnam War and began working odd jobs — Western Electric, gas stations, insurance — after his discharge. A friend recommended he try being an assistant in show business, which led first to working as a sound editor.

“Then Jimmy, the assistant friend of mine, was working with Hal Ashby,” Zimmerman said in a 2023 interview with ACE’s Cinema Editor magazine. “Hal had just moved from editor to a director by Norman Jewison, and they needed a second assistant editor. [Ashby] had his assistant move up to editing, and Jim was the first assistant. Jim said, ‘Let’s get Don to help as the second editor.’ That was my introduction to Ashby and the group.”

Zimmerman would work with the filmmaker on his 1971 cult hit Harold & Maude and several other movies including Bound for Glory, Shampoo and the Peter Sellers-led Being There. He scored a Best Film Editing Oscar nomination for his first solo credit, the 1978 post-Vietnam classic Coming Home, which also was nominated for Best Picture. That same year, Zimmerman edited another Best Picture Oscar nominee, Warren Beatty’s remake of Heaven Can Wait.

More than a decade later, Zimmerman was the film editor on a third Best Picture Oscar nominee, Barbra Streisand’s The Prince of Tides (1991).

He also served as film editor for other big-name directors including five films for Tom Shadyac (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Liar Liar, Patch Adams, The Nutty Professor, Dragonfly), four for Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest, Fun with Dick and Jane, Bill & Ted Face the Music, RED 2), three for Sylvester Stallone (Rocky III, Rocky IV and Staying Alive), along with Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum and its 2009 sequel), Arthur Hiller (Teachers), Doug Liman (Jumper), Norman Jewison (Best Friends), Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 3) and Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black 3, Nine Lives).

“I learned from these different people that I worked with that it’s mainly your gut,” Zimmerman said in the 2023 Cinema Editor interview. “Above all else, they always taught me to tell the truth. I was fortunate to work with [directors] that would always say, ‘Let me see your interpretation of it first.'”

His five children also have enjoyed careers in the entertainment industry. Sons Dan and Dean are ACE-member editors, Debi is a costumer, Dana works in postproduction and David — who assisted his dad for many years — and is VP of the streaming platform Evercast.

His family said in a statement that Zimmerman was “an incredible husband, father, friend and colleague, and we will miss him dearly. He loved his job so much he would often say he never felt like it was work. He was an artist — a creative, talented editor whose body of work has been cemented in the motion picture industry forever.”

Along with his children, Zimmerman is survived by his wife, Donna, and seven grandchildren.

Editor

Keanu Reeves, William Sadler, Alex Winter, Kristen Schaal, Sharon Gee, Anthony Carrigan, Samara Weaving, Kid Cudi, and Jack Haven in Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)

Bill & Ted Face the Music

5.9

Editor

2020

 

Kevin Spacey, Christopher Walken, Jennifer Garner, Mark Consuelos, Cheryl Hines, Robbie Amell, and Malina Pauli Weissman in Nine Lives (2016)

Nine Lives

5.3

Editor

2016

 

Anthony Hopkins, Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Lee Byung-hun in RED 2 (2013)

RED 2

6.6

Editor

2013

 

Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, and Josh Brolin in Men in Black³ (2012)

Men in Black³

6.8

Editor

2012

 

Marmaduke (2010)

Marmaduke

4.3

Editor

2010

 

Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Ben Stiller, Brad Garrett, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, Alain Chabat, Steve Coogan, Patrick Gallagher, Bill Hader, Mizuo Peck, Jon Bernthal, and Crystal the Monkey in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

6.0

Editor

2009

 

Hayden Christensen in Jumper (2008)

Jumper

6.1

Editor

2008

 

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 3 (2007)

Rush Hour 3

6.2

Editor

2007

 

Robin Williams, Ben Stiller, Pierfrancesco Favino, Patrick Gallagher, Mizuo Peck, Rami Malek, and Crystal the Monkey in Night at the Museum (2006)

Night at the Museum

6.5

Editor

2006

 

Jim Carrey in Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)

Fun with Dick and Jane

6.2

film editor

2005

 

Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi, Miranda Otto, and Tyrese Gibson in Flight of the Phoenix (2004)

Flight of the Phoenix

6.1

Editor

2004

 

Mike Myers and Sean Hayes in The Cat in the Hat (2003)

The Cat in the Hat

4.1

film editor

2003

 

Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy in Just Married (2003)

Just Married

5.5

Editor

2003

 

Dragonfly (2002)

Dragonfly

6.1

Editor

2002

 

Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, and Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest (1999)

Galaxy Quest

7.4

Editor

1999

 

Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale in Brokedown Palace (1999)

Brokedown Palace

6.4

Editor (uncredited)

1999

 

Robin Williams in Patch Adams (1998)

Patch Adams

6.8

Editor

1998

 

Jim Breuer and Dave Chappelle in Half Baked (1998)

Half Baked

6.6

Editor

1998

 

Jim Carrey in Liar Liar (1997)

Liar Liar

6.9

film editor

1997

 

Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996)

The Nutty Professor

5.7

Editor

1996

 

Keanu Reeves and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón in A Walk in the Clouds (1995)

A Walk in the Clouds

6.7

Editor

1995

 

Brendan Fraser and Albert Brooks in The Scout (1994)

The Scout

5.4

Editor

1994

 

Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

6.9

film editor

1994

 

Leap of Faith (1992)

Leap of Faith

6.2

Editor

1992

 

Diggstown (1992)

Diggstown

6.9

Editor

1992

 

Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand in The Prince of Tides (1991)

The Prince of Tides

6.8

Editor

1991

 

Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn in Navy Seals (1990)

Navy Seals

5.6

Editor

1990

 

The Package (1989)

The Package

6.4

Editor

1989

 

Dennis Quaid and Jessica Lange in Everybody's All-American (1988)

Everybody's All-American

6.2

Editor

1988

 

Fatal Beauty (1987)

Fatal Beauty

5.4

Editor

1987

 

Sylvester Stallone, David Mendenhall, and Rick Zumwalt in Over the Top (1987)

Over the Top

5.8

film editor

1987

 

Sylvester Stallone in Cobra (1986)

Cobra

5.8

Editor

1986

 

Sylvester Stallone, Tony Burton, and Burt Young in Rocky IV (1985)

Rocky IV

6.9

film editor

1985

 

My Man Adam (1985)

My Man Adam

5.1

Editor

1985

 

Teachers (1984)

Teachers

6.1

Editor

1984

 

John Travolta in Staying Alive (1983)

Staying Alive

4.8

film editor

1983

 

Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds in Best Friends (1982)

Best Friends

5.5

Editor

1982

 

Sylvester Stallone in Rocky III (1982)

Rocky III

6.9

film editor

1982

 

Gary Busey and Willie Nelson in Barbarosa (1982)

Barbarosa

6.3

Editor

1982

 

Bo Derek, Anthony Hopkins, and Shirley MacLaine in A Change of Seasons (1980)

A Change of Seasons

5.2

Editor

1980

 

Being There (1979)

Being There

7.9

Editor

1979

 

Warren Beatty in Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Heaven Can Wait

6.9

Editor

1978

 

Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern in Coming Home (1978)

Coming Home

7.3

Editor

1978

 

Sound Department

Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973)

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

5.7

sound editorial staff

1973

 

Editorial Department

Sam Worthington and Odeya Rush in The Hunter's Prayer (2017)

The Hunter's Prayer

5.6

additional editor

2017

 

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

6.3

additional editor: ace

2015

 

Tim Meadows in The Ladies Man (2000)

The Ladies Man

5.2

supervising film editor

2000

 

Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Robert Redford in Indecent Proposal (1993)

Indecent Proposal

6.0

additional film editor

1993

 

Bound for Glory (1976)

Bound for Glory

7.2

assistant editor

1976

 

Shampoo (1975)

Shampoo

6.4

assistant film editor

1975

 

The Nickel Ride (1974)

The Nickel Ride

6.6

assistant film editor

1974

 

James Mason, Raquel Welch, James Coburn, Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, Joan Hackett, and Ian McShane in The Last of Sheila (1973)

The Last of Sheila

7.2

assistant editor

1973

 

Darren McGavin in 43: The Richard Petty Story (1972)

43: The Richard Petty Story

6.4

editorial consultant

1972

 

Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon, Cyril Cusack, Judy Engles, Ellen Geer, Vivian Pickles, Shari Summers, and Charles Tyner in Harold and Maude (1971)

Harold and Maude

7.9

editorial apprentice

1971

 

The Landlord (1970)

The Landlord

6.9

editorial consultant

1970

 

Thanks

Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels (2010)

Gulliver's Travels

4.9

the producers wish to thank

2010

 

Liar Liar: Bridging the Comedy Chasm

6.5

Video

special thanks

1999

 

Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale in Brokedown Palace (1999)

Brokedown Palace

6.4

special thanks

1999

 

Roxanne (1987)

Roxanne

6.6

special thanks

1987

 

Self

Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary (2019)

Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary

7.7

Self - Editor

2019