PASSAGES
 Bernard Balmuth, A.C.E. |
Bernard Balmuth, A.C.E.
Picture Editor
May 19, 1918–December 6, 2007
Bernard Allen Balmuth was born in Youngstown, Ohio May 19, 1918 to Joseph and Sadie Balmuth. His father was from New Jersey but his mother was from Russia, so Balmuth was the first generation on that side of the family to be born in America, along with his younger sister Helen.
Balmuth dreamed of one day moving to Hollywood, with all the palm trees, and working in the film business. His dream came true while going to UCLA, when he was employed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, writing fictional and non-fictional adaptations during the 1940s. He also wrote plays for local community playhouses.
After serving in the army during World War II, Balmuth began his film career working in the post-production department at Columbia Pictures. For over 35 years, and at a variety of studios, he edited various television shows and movies, including The Monkees, The Waltons, Taxi, The Partridge Family, The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders II, I Dream of Jeannie, QBVII and Palmerstown, USA. Balmuth was very active in the American Cinema Editors and the American Film Institute, and enjoyed judging the Emmy Awards for many years. He then found great pleasure in teaching a 35mm film editing course for UCLA extension for over a decade, using a book and manual that he wrote himself.
Balmuth wrote that he didn’t want people to be sad at his passing, but happy that we may have known him, learned from him, loved him, been a part of his world and, one day, if we should get into our comfy pajamas, bathrobe, and fuzzy slippers (as he did so often), and sit back to watch an old black-and-white movie (“not tainted by color”) starring Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck or James Stewart, that we would remember him with affection and be happy that we had the chance that “Papa” did––to have a wonderful life!
In the early 1970s, when the TV networks went from 39 to 24 original episodes of series per season, Balmuth initiated STOP (Save Television Original Programming), and was appointed to represent the Editors Guild on the Hollywood Film Council. He was able to gain the support of the Council to help in the fight to curtail re-runs. Balmuth continued as the Guild’s delegate to the Council, which was later renamed The Hollywood Film and Broadcast Labor Council, for more than 30 years, attending monthly luncheons at which he was always a voice for the IA and Hollywood labor.
He is survived by his wife, Rosa Balmuth, daughters Sharon Bernard-Williams, Rhodamary Johnson and Mary Balmuth, and granddaughter Nicole Williams.
 Mary Ruth Smith |
Mary Ruth Smith
Sound Editor
November 4, 1950–January 28, 2008
Sound Editor Mary Ruth Smith died January 28, after courageously fighting pancreatic cancer for 14 months. She was 57.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Smith got her start in editing in the early 1980s and continued working in the business, cutting dialogue, ADR, sound effects and Foley in the course of her career. She worked in both features and TV, receiving an Emmy nomination for her work on Hill Street Blues. She also won Golden Reel Awards from the Motion Picture Sound Editors for her work on Aladdin and Jerry Maguire. Other credits include The Insider, Civil Action, Godzilla, Braveheart, The Devil’s Advocate, The Hunt for Red October and The Prince of Tides.
As much as Smith enjoyed her work, she felt a strong desire to return to college and earn a college degree, so in 2000 she left editing to attend school full time. She received her AA degree from Santa Monica College in Liberal Arts, and then went on to attend the paralegal certification program at UCLA the following year. Both curious and disciplined, she was a natural for the research work involved in being a paralegal, but she discovered that being a paralegal in the working world was not what she was looking for in life. She began working part time for the Art Directors Guild and was supposed to start as a full time employee in October 2006, but earlier that month she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Smith was as passionate about her avocations as she was about her work and education. She loved learning about wine and worked in a wine shop part time while getting her degree. She was also an avid runner and completed the 2004 and 2006 LA Marathons.
Smith will be remembered for her joy, her sense of honor and the exceptional grace with which she handled her illness. She is survived by her life partner of nine years, Nicole Oeuvray, her sister Angel Payne and her brother John Smith.
In Memoriam
Hal G. Davis
Assistant Editor
(June 11, 1926 – December 2, 2007)
52 years as a member
Michael D. Gay
Assistant Editor
(January 21, 1970 – December 24, 2007)
11 years as a member
Peter M. Germansen
Assistant Editor
(May 27, 1958 – January 11, 2008)
17 years as a member
Maggie Ostroff
Assistant Editor
(January 17, 1935 – February 4, 2008)
26 years as a member
Melvin Shapiro
Film Editor
(May 6, 1925 – December 4, 2007)
54 years as a member
Joseph G. Sikorski
Sound Editor
(December 23, 1922 – December 1, 2007)
55 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.