# Donn Cambern

Donn Cambern (October 9, 1929 – January 18, 2023) was an American film editor with more than three dozen feature film credits. His editing of Romancing the Stone (1984) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing along with fellow editor Frank Morriss, and his editing of Easy Rider (1969) has been noted as particularly innovative and influential. He was awarded the American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award in 2004.
Cambern was born in Los Angeles, California, and obtained a B.A. in music from UCLA. Cambern began his career as a music editor for The Andy Griffith Show before moving into film editing.
Officially credited with editing The Last Picture Show (1971), Cambern's involvement was called into question in the 1999 documentary, The Last Picture Show: A Look Back. In the documentary, Peter Bogdanovich said that after shooting the film, he went back to Los Angeles to edit it on a Moviola. When finished editing the entire picture, he refused to credit himself as editor, reasoning that credits beyond that of director and co-writer would look 'ridiculous'. After being informed that the Motion Picture Editors Guild required crediting an editor, he suggested Donn Cambern who had been editing another film in the next office over and had helped Bogdanovich with some purchasing paperwork. In the documentary, Cybill Shepherd said that when she went to stay with Bogdanovich during that time, it was disappointing because he was too busy editing the film. Cambern disputes this, stating that Bogdanovich did do an edit of the film, which he screened for a selection of guests, including Jack Nicholson, Bob Rafelson and himself. The consensus was the film was going to be great, but needed further editing to achieve its full potential. Bogdanovich invited Cambern to edit the film further and Cambern made significant contributions to the film's final form.
One of Cambern's favorite stories and something for which he is often remembered is the editing of the final sequence of the Robert Wise film The Hindenburg (1975), in which Cambern manages to keep the Hindenburg blowing up for almost 10 minutes when the actual event lasted little more than 37 seconds.
In 2007, Cambern was senior filmmaker-in-residence at the American Film Institute Conservatory. Cambern had been elected as a member of the American Cinema Editors. Cambern had served twice (1990–94, 1997–99) as Vice-President of the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. From 1991-2002, he was President of the Motion Picture Editors Guild.
Cambern was the inaugural recipient of the Guild's Fellowship and Service Award in 2007.
Cambern died of complications from a fall on January 18, 2023, at the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. He was 93.

## Selected filmography

Editor :
| Year | Film | Director | Notes |
| 1969 | 2000 Years Later | Bert Tenzer | |
| 1969 | Easy Rider | Dennis Hopper | |
| 1971 | Drive, He Said | Jack Nicholson | |
| 1971 | The Last Picture Show | Peter Bogdanovich | |
| 1973 | Blume in Love | Paul Mazursky | First collaboration with Paul Mazursky |
| 1975 | The Hindenburg | Robert Wise | |
| 1976 | Alex & the Gypsy | John Korty | |
| 1977 | The Other Side of Midnight | Charles Jarrott | |
| 1978 | The End | Burt Reynolds | |
| 1978 | Hooper | Hal Needham | First collaboration with Hal Needham |
| 1979 | Time After Time | Nicholas Meyer | |
| 1980 | Willie & Phil | Paul Mazursky | Second collaboration with Paul Mazursky |
| 1980 | Smokey and the Bandit II | Hal Needham | Second collaboration with Hal Needham |
| 1981 | Excalibur | John Boorman | Uncredited |
| 1981 | The Cannonball Run | Hal Needham | Third collaboration with Hal Needham |
| 1981 | Paternity | David Steinberg | First collaboration with David Steinberg |
| 1982 | Tempest | Paul Mazursky | Third collaboration with Paul Mazursky |
| 1983 | Going Berserk | David Steinberg | Second collaboration with David Steinberg |
| 1984 | Romancing the Stone | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1986 | Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling | Richard Pryor | |
| 1986 | Big Trouble | John Cassavetes | |
| 1987 | Harry and the Hendersons | William Dear | |
| 1988 | Casual Sex? | Geneviève Robert | |
| 1988 | Feds | Daniel Goldberg | |
| 1988 | Twins | Ivan Reitman | First collaboration with Ivan Reitman |
| 1989 | Ghostbusters II | Ivan Reitman | Second collaboration with Ivan Reitman |
| 1991 | Eyes of an Angel | Robert Harmon | |
| 1991 | The Butcher's Wife | Terry Hughes | |
| 1992 | The Bodyguard | Mick Jackson | |
| 1993 | Rookie of the Year | Daniel Stern | |
| 1994 | Major League II | David S. Ward | |
| 1994 | Little Giants | Duwayne Dunham | |
| 1996 | The Glimmer Man | John Gray | |
Editorial department :
| Year | Film | Director | Role |
| 1973 | Steelyard Blues | Alan Myerson | Supervising film editor |
| 1973 | Cinderella Liberty | Mark Rydell | Supervising film editor |
| 1993 | Blood In Blood Out | Taylor Hackford | Additional film editor |
| 1997 | A Thousand Acres | Jocelyn Moorhouse | Additional editor |
Producer :
| Year | Film | Director | Credit |
| 1991 | Eyes of an Angel | Robert Harmon | Co-producer |
Second unit director or assistant director :
| Year | Film | Director | Role |
| 1977 | The Other Side of Midnight | Charles Jarrott | Second unit director |
| 1982 | Tempest | Paul Mazursky | Second unit director: Greece |
Thanks :
| Year | Film | Director | Role |
| 1998 | Relax... It's Just Sex | P. J. Castellaneta | Thanks |
| 2007 | The Jinn | Iris Green | Special thanks |
| 2009 | Hurt | Barbara Stepansky | Special thanks |
Documentaries
Editor :
| Year | Film | Director |
| 1969 | Follow Me | Gene McCabe |
| 1969 | A Session with the Committee | Del Jack |
TV movies
Editor :
| Year | Film | Director |
| 1969 | Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children | Marc Breaux |
Music department :
| Year | Film | Director | Role |
| 1999 | Boys Will Be Boys | Dom DeLuise | Composer: Additional musicMusic editor |
TV series
Music department :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | Margie | Music editor | 1 episode |
| 1965 | I Spy | Music editor | 1 episode |
| 1965 | That Girl | Music editor | 1 episode |
| 1963−66 | The Andy Griffith Show | Music editor | 70 episodes |
| 1964−66 | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. | Music editor | 60 episodes |
| 1968 | The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | Music editor | 2 episodes |
TV specials
Editor :
| Year | Film | Director |
| 1968 | The Bob Hope Christmas Special | Morton Lachman |
Thanks :
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2023 | 96th Academy Awards | In memoriam |