Robert Swink (June 3, 1918 – August 15, 2000) was an American

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film ed ...

who edited nearly 60 feature films during a career that spanned 46 years. Born in

Rocky Ford, Colorado Rocky Ford is a statutory city located in Otero County, Colorado, United States. The population was 3,957 at the 2010 census. The community was named for a rocky ford near the original town site. Geography Rocky Ford is located at (38.0510 ...

, Swink and his family moved to Hollywood in 1927. After graduating from

North Hollywood High School North Hollywood High School (NHHS) is a public high school in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is located in the San Fernando Valley and enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Several neighborhoods, in ...

in 1936, he joined RKO Pictures as an editing apprentice. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he edited training films for the Army Special Services. His first screen credit was the 1943 comedy short ''Double Up''. For the next five years, Swink edited mostly B movies until

George Stevens George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Obituary '' Variety'', March 12, 1975, page 79. Films he produced were nominated for the Academy Award for ...

hired him for '' I Remember Mama'' (1948). He edited several

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

in 1950, and the following year was hired by

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of ...

to work on ''

Detective Story Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

''. It was the first of 11 projects on which the two men collaborated. Swink left RKO to join Wyler at Paramount in 1952, and his credits at the studio include '' Carrie'' (1952), ''

Roman Holiday ''Roman Holiday'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress f ...

'' (1953), and '' The Desperate Hours'' (1955). Among his assistants in this era was

Hal Ashby William Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an American film director and editor associated with the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. Before his career as a director Ashby edited films for Norman Jewison, notably ''The R ...

, who became a distinguished editor and director. In 1964, Swink edited '' The Best Man'' for Franklin J. Schaffner. They worked together on four additional films, including '' Papillon'' (1973), '' Islands in the Stream'' (1977), '' The Boys from Brazil'' (1978), and ''

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

'' (1981). Swink came out of retirement to edit the 1989 film '' Welcome Home'' when Schaffner died right after completing principal photography on the project. Swink worked as a second unit director on ''

The Big Country ''The Big Country'' is a 1958 American epic Western film directed by William Wyler, starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, and Burl Ives. The supporting cast features Charles Bickford and Chuck Connors. Filmed in ...

'' (1958), ''

The Collector ''The Collector'' is a 1963 thriller novel by English author John Fowles, in his literary debut. Its plot follows a lonely, psychotic young man who kidnaps a female art student in London and holds her captive in the cellar of his rural farmhous ...

'' (1965), ''

How to Steal a Million ''How to Steal a Million'' is a 1966 American heist comedy film directed by William Wyler and starring Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Eli Wallach, Hugh Griffith, and Charles Boyer. The film is set and was filmed in Paris, though the character ...

'' (1968), '' The Only Game in Town'' (1970), and '' The Liberation of L.B. Jones'' (1970). Swink was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Film Editing The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. For 33 consecutive years, ...

for ''Roman Holiday'' (1953), '' Funny Girl'' (1968), and ''The Boys from Brazil'' (1978). He received the

American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award The American Cinema Editors (ACE) gives one or more Career Achievement Awards each year. The first awards were given in 1988. Article indicates that Milford received the ACE Career Achievement Award in 1987; the actual award year appears to be 1988. ...

in 1993. Swink died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish for "St. Mary") is a city near the Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County. It is approximately northwest of Santa Barbara and northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Its population was 109,707 at the 202 ...

Selected filmography

* ''

(1953) * '' Funny Girl'' (1968; co-nominated with Maury Winetrobe and William Sands) * '' The Boys from Brazil'' (1978)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swink, Robert People from Rocky Ford, Colorado 1918 births 2000 deaths People from Santa Maria, California American film editors North Hollywood High School alumni

Selected filmography

See also

References

External links