# John F. Link

John F. Link Jr., also known as John F. Link II or simply John F. Link, is an American film and television editor. He is most well known for his editing work on Die Hard, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

## Life and career

His father, John F. Link Sr., was also a film editor, and was also nominated for an Academy Award: for the 1943 film, For Whom the Bell Tolls. Link was one of several assistant editors on the film. That same year he was the sole editor on the documentary, Footprints on the Moon. Both the film and the documentary have his credit as John F. Link Jr., making attribution easy. His next project was another documentary, Say Goodbye in 1971, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Feature). During the 1970s he worked in both television and film. Notable films he edited during this period include: The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), starring Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, and Ellen Burstyn; the 1973 cult classic Electra Glide in Blue (which he co-edited with two others); Race with the Devil (1975), starring Peter Fonda and Warren Oates; and the 1976 Jeff Bridges' comedy-drama film, Stay Hungry, which also starred Sally Field and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In the 1980s, in addition to his Academy Award-nominated work on Die Hard, Link again worked on two Schwarzenegger films, 1985's Commando and the 1987 blockbuster, Predator. Following these he worked on Die Hard, ending the decade with editing the 1989 cult classic, Road House. The 1990s dawned with Link working on the Steven Seagal action thriller Hard to Kill. This was followed by the action-comedy film If Looks Could Kill starring Richard Grieco. Other notable films he edited during the decade include The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, a psychological thriller starring Annabella Sciorra and Rebecca De Mornay; the Walt Disney production of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, The Three Musketeers; the Keenen Ivory Wayans comedy, A Low Down Dirty Shame, with Charles S. Dutton and Jada Pinkett; another Disney Film, The Big Green in 1995 starring Olivia d'Abo and Steve Guttenberg; and the Jean-Claude Van Damme martial arts film, The Quest; and the superhero action film Steel, based upon the DC Comics character Steel, starring Shaquille O'Neal. The last film for which he received credit as an editor was 1999 slasher film, Cherry Falls, directed by Geoffrey Wright, and starring Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr, and Michael Biehn.

## Filmography

(as per AFI's database, unless otherwise footnoted)
Editor :
| Year | Film | Director | Notes |
| 1961 | The Sergeant Was a Lady | Bernard Glasser | |
| 1965 | The Desert Raven | Alan S. Lee | |
| 1972 | The King of Marvin Gardens | Bob Rafelson | First collaboration with Bob Rafelson |
| 1973 | Electra Glide in Blue | James William Guercio | |
| 1974 | Chosen Survivors | Sutton Roley | |
| 1975 | Sunburst | James Polakof | |
| 1975 | Race with the Devil | Jack Starrett | |
| 1976 | Stay Hungry | Bob Rafelson | Second collaboration with Bob Rafelson |
| 1977 | Handle with Care | Jonathan Demme | |
| 1980 | Borderline | Jerrold Freedman | |
| 1985 | Commando | Mark L. Lester | |
| 1987 | Predator | John McTiernan | First collaboration with John McTiernan |
| 1988 | Die Hard | John McTiernan | Second collaboration with John McTiernan |
| 1989 | Road House | Rowdy Herrington | |
| 1990 | Hard to Kill | Bruce Malmuth | |
| 1991 | If Looks Could Kill | William Dear | |
| 1992 | The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | Curtis Hanson | |
| 1992 | The Mighty Ducks | Stephen Herek | First collaboration with Stephen Herek |
| 1993 | The Three Musketeers | Stephen Herek | Second collaboration with Stephen Herek |
| 1994 | D2: The Mighty Ducks | Sam Weisman | |
| 1994 | A Low Down Dirty Shame | Keenen Ivory Wayans | |
| 1995 | The Big Green | Holly Goldberg Sloan | |
| 1996 | The Quest | Jean-Claude Van Damme | |
| 1997 | Steel | Kenneth Johnson | |
| 1999 | Cherry Falls | Geoffrey Wright | |
Editorial department :
| Year | Film | Director | Role | Notes |
| 1957 | The Storm Rider | Edward Bernds | Supervising editor | |
| 1959 | The Immoral Mr. Teas | Russ Meyer | Assistant editor | Uncredited |
| 1969 | Mackenna's Gold | J. Lee Thompson | Associate film editor | |
Sound department :
| Year | Film | Director | Role |
| 1967 | Hurry Sundown | Otto Preminger | Sound effects editor |
Documentaries
Editor :
| Year | Film | Director |
| 1969 | Footprints on the Moon – Apollo 11 | Bill Gibson |
| 1971 | Say Goodbye | David H. Vowell |
| 1979 | The Bermuda Triangle | Richard Friedenberg |
TV movies
Editor :
| Year | Film | Director |
| 1971 | They've Killed President Lincoln! | Robert Guenette |
| 1971 | Revenge! | Jud Taylor |
| 1972 | Heat of Anger | Don Taylor |
| 1973 | The Norliss Tapes | Dan Curtis |
| 1973 | The President's Plane Is Missing | Daryl Duke |
| 1973 | Message to My Daughter | Robert Michael Lewis |
| 1974 | The Last Angry Man | Jerrold Freedman |
| 1974 | The Day the Earth Moved | Robert Michael Lewis |
| 1975 | Someone I Touched | Lou Antonio |
| 1977 | Murder at the World Series | Andrew V. McLaglen |
| 1977 | I'm a Fool | Noel Black |
| 1977 | Incredible Rocky Mountain Race | James L. Conway |
| 1978 | Lawman Without a Gun | Jerrold Freedman |
| 1979 | The Streets of L.A. | Jerrold Freedman |
| 1980 | Make Me an Offer | Jerry Paris |
| 1981 | Killing at Hell's Gate | Jerry Jameson |
| 1982 | The Renegades | Roger Spottiswoode |
| 1982 | Skeezer | Peter H. Hunt |
| 1983 | Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land | Jerry Jameson |
| 1983 | Tiger Town | Alan Shapiro |
| 1984 | Threesome | Lou Antonio |
| 1985 | Lace II | William Hale |
| 1986 | Harem | William Hale |
| 1988 | Promised a Miracle | Stephen Gyllenhaal |
| 1988 | Nightmare at Bittercreek | Tim Burstall |
TV series
Editor :
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1954−56 | Cavalcade of America | 8 episodes |
| 1974 | Firehouse | 1 episode |
| 1984 | Lace | 2 episodes |
| 1985 | Lace II | 2 episodes |
| 1987 | The Hitchhiker | 7 episodes |
Editorial department :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1954−55 | Cavalcade of America | Supervising editor | 5 episodes |
| 1955 | The Christophers | Supervising editor | 1 episode |
Producer :
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
| 1969 | Public Eye | Associate producer | 7 episodes |