PASSAGES
James E. Blakeley, ACE
Picture Editor
1910-2007
 James E. Blakeley, ACE Picture Editor 1910-2007 |
Veteran Picture Editor James E. Blakeley, ACE, passed away January 30 from cardiac-related problems––weeks short of his 97th birthday. Formerly the oldest living Guild member still working, Blakeley was still reporting to work at his longtime job at 20th Century Fox until days before his death.
Born in London, England in 1910, he was the son of the famous British actor James Blakeley. He himself was an actor, appearing in 13 films from 1934 and1940, including The Captain Hates the Sea (1934), Paris in the Spring (1935), The Gay Desperado (1936) and The Shadow Strikes (1937), and acted alongside such stars as Lucille Ball, Bing Crosby, Ida Lupino and Fred MacMurray. It was this period when he met his wife-to-be, film star Mary Carlisle. They were married in 1942 and have been together ever since.
When World War II broke out, Blakeley enlisted in the US Army Air Corps and became the director and general manager of the Embry Riddle School of Aviation in Miami, Florida, which trained Army pilots and ground crews. He was later sent to São Paulo, Brazil, to build and manage a similar facility, Escola Technica de Aviacão. After the war, Blakeley helped his friend, Elizabeth Arden, get her cosmetic company off the ground and served briefly as general manager for Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics. During that time, he was sent to South America where he built factories in Rio de Janeiro, as well as in Mexico City and Havana. Following his time with Elizabeth Arden, he returned to Hollywood in 1950.
Mentored by Carlisle’s uncle, Grant Whytlock––a well-known film editor who worked on the 1921 classic The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Blakeley was initiated into the craft of film editing in 1952. His first job as an editor was on the Lassie series, which began its long run in 1954. Blakely went on to work with many of the great editors, such as Hugh Fowler, Dorothy Spencer, Barbara McLean and Robert Golden at such studios as MGM, Columbia, Universal, Warner Bros. and, of course, Fox, for which he worked over 50 years and served as head of post-production.
Among the countless films Blakeley worked on are such classics as Les Misérables (1952), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Monkey on My Back (1957) and Patton (1970), as well as such TV series as Rawhide (1959-66), Peyton Place (1964-69), Batman (1966-68) and The Green Hornet (1966-67). Blakeley joined the Motion Picture Editors Guild in 1952 and sat on its Board of Directors from 1971 to 1973. He also served a four-year term as President of the American Cinema Editors (ACE) in the early 1980s.
Considered an elegant gentleman of impeccable taste and style, Blakeley lived an extraordinary life. While continuing to work at Fox, re-editing movies for the airline and syndication markets with his assistant of 30 years, Rudy Freeman, Blakeley found the time to teach a weekly post-production class at UCLA for 15 years. “He was a giver, not a taker,” commented Carlisle. “Jim helped so many young people, and when he taught at UCLA, all his students were so well prepared that when they left his class, they were all able to find work.”
For his part, Blakely always credited his wife and his mother for
making him what he was. His life is perhaps best exemplified
by his own explanation: "Reputation
is what we seem. Character is what we are." When
asked in 2005 if he and his assistant ever considered retiring, he
told Editors Guild Magazine, “Why should we? We’re
having way too much fun…”
Blakeley is survived by his wife, Mary Carlisle, and son, James Blakely,
Jr. At press time, a celebration of Blakeley’s life was
being planned for late February at the Darryl F.
Zanuck Theatre on the Fox lot in West Los Angeles.
(Sharon Benoit contributed to this story)
In Memoriam
Richard Belding
Picture Editor
(October 27, 1919 – January 4, 2007)
62 years as a member
Christopher Greenbury
Picture Editor
(September 24, 1951 – January 4, 2007)
29 years as a member
Howard Kunin
Picture Editor
(June 15, 1931 – January 1, 2007)
50 years as a member
Nicholas Myers
Music Editor
(February 2, 1942 – December 28, 2006)
43 years as a member
James A. Williams
Sound Editor
(March 31, 1966 - December 21, 2006)
9 years as a member
NOTICE
In order for Editors Guild members or retirees who have passed away
to be listed in Editors Guild Magazine’s “In Memoriam,”
the deceased’s family must notify the Guild of the death. Please
call Fred Arteaga at 323-876-4770, ext. 243 with information.
Also, if family members or friends would like to write an obituary for their loved ones in the “Passages” section of the magazine, please contact Tomm Carroll at 323-876-4770, ext. 222 for guidelines and due dates.