Dede Allen

Dede Allen
Born Dorothea Carothers Allen
(1923-12-03)December 3, 1923
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Died April 17, 2010(2010-04-17) (aged 86)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Occupation Film editor
Years active 1948–2008
Spouse(s) Stephen Fleischman (1945 – April 17, 2010) (her death)
Children Tom Fleischman (son)
Ramey Ward (daughter)

Dorothea Carothers "Dede" Allen[1] (December 3, 1923 – April 17, 2010)[2][3] was an American film editor, well-known "film editing doctor" to the major American movie studios, and one of cinema's all-time celebrated 'auteur' film editors.

Allen is known for having edited classic films such as The Hustler (1961), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Reds (1982). She had an extended collaboration (1967–1976) with director Arthur Penn, and over the years had worked with other distinguished directors including Sidney Lumet, Robert Wise, Elia Kazan, and George Roy Hill. She was a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Early life

Allen was born in Cleveland, Ohio;[2][3] her mother was an actress and her father worked for Union Carbide.[1] She enrolled at Scripps College in Claremont, California.

Career

Allen worked her way up as a production runner, as a sound librarian and then as an assistant film editor at Columbia Pictures. She edited commercial and industrial films before becoming a full-fledged feature film editor. It took sixteen years working in the American film industry before Dede Allen edited her first important feature film, Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).[4] She worked closely with and was mentored by film director Robert Wise, who had also been a film editor himself (most notably having cut Orson Welles' Citizen Kane). Wise encouraged Dede Allen to be brave and experiment with her editing.

Much like the raw editing of dadaist filmmaking (an approach followed by René Clair early in his career) or perhaps akin to that of the French New Wave, Allen pioneered the use of audio overlaps and utilized emotional jump cuts, stylistic flourishes that brought energy and realism to characters that until that point had not been a part of classic Hollywood film editing technique. Continuity editing and screen direction (being tied to the constraints of place and time) became the low priority, while using cutting to express the micro-cultural body language of the characters and moving the plot along in an artistic, almost three-dimensional manner became her modus operandi.

In 1992, Allen accepted the position of Vice-President in Charge of Creative Development at the Warner Bros. Studio. In 2000 she returned to editing with the film Wonder Boys, for which she was nominated for her third Academy Award.[5]

On a 2012 listing of the 75 best edited films of all time, compiled by the Motion Picture Editors Guild based on a survey of its members, three films edited by Allen appear: Bonnie and Clyde, Dog Day Afternoon, and Reds. Only George Tomasini had more films on this listing.[6]

Variety's Eileen Kowalski notes that, "Indeed, many of the editorial greats have been women: Dede Allen, Verna Fields, Thelma Schoonmaker, Anne V. Coates and Dorothy Spencer."[7]

Personal life

Allen was married to film director Stephen Fleischman.[3] Her son is renowned sound re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman and her daughter is Ramey Ward.

Allen died on April 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, California from a stroke.[2]

Selected filmography

The director and release date of each film are indicated in parenthesis.

Academy Awards and nominations

Other awards and nominations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.filmreference.com/film/34/Dede-Allen.html
  2. 1 2 3 Luther, Claudia (April 18, 2010). "Dede Allen dies at 86; editor revolutionized imagery, sound and pace in U.S. films". Los Angeles Times. p. AA39. This obituary incorrectly states that she was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was subsequently acknowledged in an online correction.
  3. 1 2 3 Lee, Felicia R. (April 19, 2010). "Dede Allen, Pioneering Film Editor, Dies at 86". The New York Times. p. A24.
  4. ↑ Faller, Greg S. (2000). "Dede Allen". In Pendergast, Tom; Pendergast, Sara. International Dictionary of Film and Filmmakers, Edition 4. St. James Press. ISBN 978-1-55862-449-8. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  5. ↑ DiMare, Philip C., ed. (2011). "Dede Allen". Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 550. ISBN 9781598842968.
  6. ↑ "The 75 Best Edited Films". Editors Guild Magazine. 1 (3). May 2012.
  7. ↑ Kowalski, Eileen (November 14, 2001). "Tina Hirsch". Variety.
  8. ↑ "Past Recipients". Women in Film. Retrieved 2013-07-18.

Further reading

External links

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