Dede Allen

Dede Allen
Born	Dorothea Carothers Allen December 3, 1923(1923-12-03) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	April 17, 2010(2010-04-17) (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film editor
Years active	1948–2008

Dorothea Carothers "Dede" Allen^[1] (December 3, 1923 – April 17, 2010)^[2][3] was an American film editor, well-known "film editing doctor" to the major American movie studios, and one of cinema's all-time celebrated 'auteur' film editors.

Allen is known for having edited classic films such as The Hustler (1961), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Reds (1982). She had an extended collaboration (1967–1976) with director Arthur Penn, and over the years had worked with other distinguished directors including Sidney Lumet, Robert Wise, Elia Kazan, and George Roy Hill. She was a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Early life

Allen was born in Cleveland, Ohio;^[2][3] her mother was an actress and her father worked for Union Carbide.^[1] She enrolled at Scripps College in Claremont, California.

Career

Allen worked her way up as a production runner, as a sound librarian and then as an assistant film editor at Columbia Pictures. She edited commercial and industrial films before becoming a full-fledged feature film editor. It took sixteen years working in the American film industry before Dede Allen edited her first important feature film, Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).^[4] She worked closely with and was mentored by film director Robert Wise, who had also been a film editor himself (most notably having cut Orson Welles' Citizen Kane). Wise encouraged Dede Allen to be brave and experiment with her editing.^{[citation needed]}

Much like the raw editing of dadaist filmmaking (an approach followed by René Clair early in his career) or perhaps akin to that of the French New Wave, Allen pioneered the use of audio overlaps and utilized emotional jump cuts, stylistic flourishes that brought energy and realism to characters that until that point had not been a part of classic Hollywood film editing technique. Continuity editing and screen direction (being tied to the constraints of place and time) became the low priority, while using cutting to express the micro-cultural body language of the characters and moving the plot along in an artistic, almost three-dimensional manner became her modus operandi.

Variety's Eileen Kowalski notes that, "Indeed, many of the editorial greats have been women: Dede Allen, Verna Fields, Thelma Schoonmaker, Anne V. Coates and Dorothy Spencer."^[5]

Personal life

Allen was married to film director Stephen Fleischman.^[3] Her son is renowned sound re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman and her daughter is Ramey Ward.

Allen died on April 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, California from a stroke.^[6]

Selected filmography

The director and release date of each film are indicated in parenthesis.

• The Hustler (1961 - Rossen)
• America, America (1963 - Kazan)
• Bonnie & Clyde (1967 - Penn)
• Rachel, Rachel (1968 - Newman)
• Alice's Restaurant (1969 - Penn)
• Little Big Man (1970 - Penn)
• Slaughterhouse-Five (Hill - 1972)
• Serpico (1973 - Lumet)
• Dog Day Afternoon (1975 - Lumet)
• Night Moves (1975 - Penn)
• The Missouri Breaks (1976 - Penn)
• Reds (1981 - Beatty)
• The Breakfast Club (1985 - Hughes)
• Henry & June (1990 - Kaufman)
• The Addams Family (1991 - Sonnenfeld)
• Wonder Boys (2000 - Hanson)
• Have Dreams, Will Travel (2007 - Isaacs)

Academy Awards and nominations

• 1976 – Dog Day Afternoon (nominated) Academy Award Best Editing
• 1982 – Reds (nominated) Academy Award Best Editing (w/ co-editor Craig McKay)
• 2001 – Wonder Boys (nominated) Academy Award Best Editing

Other awards and nominations

• 1962 – The Hustler (nominated) American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie Best Edited Feature Film
• 1968 – Bonnie and Clyde (nominated) American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie Best Edited Feature Film
• 1975 – Dog Day Afternoon (won) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing
• 1982 – Reds (nominated) American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie Best Edited Feature Film (w/ co-editor Craig McKay)
• 1982 – (Recipient) Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.^[7]
• 1994 – American Cinema Editors (ACE) Career Achievement Award (won)
• 1999 – Hollywood Film Festival Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing (won)
• 2000 – Las Vegas Film Critics Association Awards Career Achievement Award (won)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.filmreference.com/film/34/Dede-Allen.html
2. ^ ^{a b} Luther, Claudia (April 18, 2010). "Dede Allen dies at 86; editor revolutionized imagery, sound and pace in U.S. films". Los Angeles Times: p. AA39. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-dede-allen18-2010apr18,0,3471234.story.  This obituary incorrectly states that she was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was subsequently acknowledged in an online correction.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Lee, Felicia R. (April 19, 2010). "Dede Allen, Pioneering Film Editor, Dies at 86". The New York Times: p. A24. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/movies/19allen.html. 
4. ^ Faller, Greg S. (2000). "Dede Allen". In Pendergast, Tom; Pendergast, Sara. International Dictionary of Film and Filmmakers, Edition 4. St. James Press. ISBN 9781558624498. http://www.filmreference.com/Writers-and-Production-Artists-A-Ba/Allen-Dede.html. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
5. ^ Kowalski, Eileen (November 14, 2001). "Tina Hirsch". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117855804.html?categoryid=1013&cs=1. 
6. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100418/ap_en_mo/us_obit_dede_allen
7. ^ http://wif.org/past-recipients

External links

• Film Reference :: Writers and Production Artists A-Ba
• Dede Allen at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Allen, Dede
Alternative names	Allen, Dorothea Carothers
Short description	Film editor
Date of birth	December 3, 1923
Place of birth	Cleveland, Ohio
Date of death	2010-4-17
Place of death	Los Angeles, California, U.S.