John F. Burnett, Film Editor on ‘Grease,’ ‘The Goodbye Girl’ and ‘The Way We Were,’ Dies at 90

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John F. Burnett, the seasoned movie editor who worked on films like “Grease,” “And Justice for All,” and “Murder by Death,” as well as projects for filmmakers George Cukor, Blake Edwards, and Sydney Pollack, has passed away at the age of 90.

Burnett passed away on October 24th due to natural causes in Lincoln, California, as confirmed by his son, cinematographer and producer John Earl Burnett, to The Hollywood Reporter. He mentioned that his father was a victim of elder abuse, and for legal reasons, the family had to keep his death secret until now.

Burnett collaborated with directors Robert Ellis Miller on “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” (1968), “The Girl From Petrovka” (1974), and “Bed & Breakfast” (1991) as well as Herbert Ross on “The Owl and the Pussycat” (1970), “The Sunshine Boys” (1975), and “The Goodbye Girl” (1977).

In simpler terms, Burnett worked with several different directors on various movies.

He made significant changes to two expansive television miniseries based on Herman Wouk’s grand novels, “The Winds of War” from 1983 and “War and Remembrance” from 1990. For his work on the latter, he was awarded an Emmy (which he shared with Peter Zinner).

Initially, Burnett found his footing at Warner Bros. Then, on weekends, he assisted director Cukor with a 1962 production called “The Chapman Report”. Impressed by his work, Cukor hired him to edit the 1964 film “My Fair Lady”, starring Katharine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier. Additionally, Burnett worked on two of Cukor’s later projects: a 1975 ABC telefilm titled “Love Among the Ruins” and the director’s final film, “Rich and Famous” in 1981.

Burnett made edits to the following films: “The Great Race” by Edwards (1965), “Wild Rovers” and “A Fine Mess”, both by Edwards (1971 and 1986) respectively, “The Way We Were” directed by Pollack (1973), “And Justice for All” by Norman Jewison (1979), “Murder by Death” from Robert Moore (1976), “Grease” by Randal Kleiser (1978), and “Leap of Faith” edited by Richard Pearce (1992).

His son shared that he’d follow instructions given by directors, such as Cukor who provided him with vast amounts of footage daily due to his ability to work from the top. He had a unique knack for arranging it all,” according to the CineMontage magazine.

In addition, Burnett held the position of president for the Motion Picture Editors Guild from 1975 to 1976. This esteemed professional was also honored with a career achievement award by the American Cinema Editors in 2003.

John Forbes Burnett hailed from Kansas City, Missouri, on March 5, 1934. During his early years, he along with his family shifted base to Southern California, as his father, Gilbert, worked as an engineer at the Lockheed Corporation.

Having completed my education at John Burroughs High School, I found myself working as a messenger at Warner Bros. Studios. After serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1952 to 1954, I was given an opportunity to work as an assistant film editor on Billy Wilder’s production of “The Spirit of St. Louis” (1957).

After that, he moved on to work on films such as “The Helen Morgan Story” from 1957, “The FBI Story” in 1959, Mervyn LeRoy’s “Gypsy” in 1962, “The Music Man” the same year, and Mike Nichols’ “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” in 1966. It wasn’t until he worked on “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,” a film starring Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke, that he earned his first editor credit (excluding assistant roles).

Miller agreed on a multiple-film agreement with him, yet chose to free him from the obligation, enabling him to collaborate with different movie directors.

Back in the day, I’ve worked my magic with the film edits for some memorable projects. These include “The Culpepper Cattle Co.” from way back in ’72, “Can’t Stop the Music” in ’80, followed by “Grease 2” in ’82, and lastly, “Leviathan” in ’89. I also had a hand in editing and producing the TV series “Baywatch Nights” from ’95 to ’97, and produced the PTEN show “Pointman” featuring Jack Scalia, which aired in ’95.

As the president of MPEG, Burnett managed contract discussions leading to what was then the biggest wage hike ever recorded in IATSE, according to his son. These negotiations also led to editors receiving individual, upfront credits for feature films.

From 1975 to 1985, he was part of the governing body at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Additionally, he served as executive secretary from 1983 to 1984. He also developed a film editing course for the American Film Institute (AFI) and instructed there for multiple years.

2000 saw Burnett stepping away from Hollywood life. After a span of 43 years, he also retired from his role as a reserve commander within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. In Lincoln, he became a landowner of a sprawling 20-acre ranch.

Living on are another son named Stephen, as well as his brother David. Regrettably, he was preceded in death by his wives, Rosemarie in 1998 and Margie in 2018.

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2025-01-13 23:25