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Richard Marks death: Oscar-nominated film editor who worked on 'Apocalypse Now' and 'You've Got Mail' dies, aged 75

Marks has died at the age of 75, the American Cinema Editors society has confirmed

Clémence Michallon
New York
Friday 04 January 2019 17:35 EST
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Celebrated film editor Richard Marks (pictured during a 2014 talk) has died at the age of 75.
Celebrated film editor Richard Marks (pictured during a 2014 talk) has died at the age of 75. (Youtube / Michael Horton)

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Revered film editor Richard Marks, whose best known works include Apocalypse Now and You've Got Mail, has died at the age of 75.

The American Cinema Editors society's executive director confirmed the news to Deadline.

Over the course of his five-decade career, Marks earned four Oscars nominations and left his mark on many classics such as Julie & Julia, Pretty in Pink and Terms of Endearment.

Richard Marks, one of the greatest movie editors ever and always, died on New Year's Eve," director Richard Brooks tweeted.

"Very few others have contributed as much to as many great screen performances. He was brilliant. God rest his gifted soul."

In addition to Terms of Endearment, Marks worked on several of Brooks's films, including As Good as It Gets, Spanglish, and How Do You Know.

As Good as It Gets (1997) and Terms of Endearment (1983) earned Marks two of his nominations for the Oscar for Best Film Editing.

The other two came for Broadcast News (1987), another Brooks film, and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979).

Marks, born on 10 November, 1943 in New York City, also received a Career Achievement Award from the ACE in 2013, honouring his filmography.

During a 2014 talk, Marks recounted how he embraced a career in the editing room almost by chance, after someone suggested he get "into the movies".

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He said he didn't experience an epiphany until "a year or two later" and did "grunt work" for a while.

Eventually, though, he came to love editing. "I found it was a very good mix for me," he said. "It was something I really enjoyed and something I could really put my heart into."

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