Donn Cambern

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Donn Cambern (born October 29, 1929), is an Academy Award nominated film editor. Cambern was born in Los Angeles, California, and obtained a B.A. in music from UCLA. Cambern is presently (2007) senior filmaker-in-residence at the American Film Institute Conservatory.^[1]

Cambern began his career as a Music Editor for The Andy Griffith Show, before moving into the field of film editing. He has edited such films as Easy Rider (1969) and Romancing the Stone (1984), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Film Editing along with fellow editor Frank Morriss. Cambern was awarded the American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award in 2004.

Officially credited with editing The Last Picture Show (1971), Cambern's involvement was called into question in the 1999 documentary, The Last Picture Show: A Look Back. In the documentary, Peter Bogdanovich said that after shooting the film, he went back to Los Angeles to edit it on a Moviola. When finished editing the entire picture, he refused to credit himself as editor, reasoning that credits beyond that of director and co-writer would look 'ridiculous'. After being informed that the Motion Picture Editors Guild required crediting an editor, he suggested Donn Cambern who had been editing another film in the next office over and had helped Bogdanovich with some purchasing paperwork.^[2] In the documentary, Cybill Shepherd said that when she went to stay with Bogdanovich during that time, it was disappointing because he was too busy editing the film.^[3]

One of Cambern's favorite stories and something for which he is often remembered is the editing of the final sequence of the Robert Wise film The Hindenburg, in which Cambern manages to keep the Hindenberg blowing up for almost 10 minutes when the actual event lasted little more than 37 seconds.^[4]

Cambern has served twice (1990-94, 1997-99)as Vice-President of the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Since 1991, he has been President of the Motion Picture Editors Guild.^[1]