Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1468810
LEA BERKELEY FILM TECHNICIAN (NOVEMBER 1, 1927 – JANUARY 24, 2022) 48 YEARS A MEMBER JEFFREY BERLIN ENGINEER (APRIL 19, 1951 – MARCH 31, 2022) 37 YEARS A MEMBER DAVID BRENNER ON CALL EDITOR (NOVEMBER 3, 1962 – FEBRUARY 17, 2022) 34 YEARS A MEMBER JERINE CARR UNKNOWN CLASSIFICATION (MAY 1, 1944 – JANUARY 29, 2022) 55 YEARS A MEMBER TERRY CHAMBERS SOUND EDITOR (NOVEMBER 29, 1939 – FEBRUARY 9, 2022) 55 YEARS A MEMBER RICHARD DOTSON FILM TECHNICIAN (JULY 6, 1944 – FEBRUARY 1, 2022) 56 YEARS A MEMBER LEONARD GESCHKE SOUND EDITOR (JUNE 22, 1943 – JANUARY 26, 2022) 53 YEARS A MEMBER DAVID PESTANO UNKNOWN CLASSIFICATION (JULY 24, 1938 – FEBRUARY 3, 2022) 27 YEARS A MEMBER RUDY PI JR. RE-RECORDING MIXER (FEBRUARY 21, 1970 – JANUARY 20, 2022) 30 YEARS A MEMBER KENNETH WANNBERG MUSIC EDITOR (JUNE 28, 1930 – JANUARY 27, 2022) 65 YEARS A MEMBER T H E G U I L D ' S M E M O R I A L R O L L C A L L 59 S P R I N G Q 2 I S S U E I N M E M O R I A M Brummer spent much of the late 1950s developing a new camera system, Cinema 160, but by the end of the decade, he was ready to work more steadily in filmmaking. In 1963, Brummer picked up stakes for Southern California, where his brother, composer and music editor Andre Brum- mer, had already crossed paths with Meyer. "Andre was supposed to work on a Russ Meyer film, but was unable because his wife went into labor," Alison Brummer said. "He suggested that my dad step in, and so he did it." Although their personalities differed — Meyer was freewheeling while Brummer exacting in his approach to his work and in how he led his life — the director was appreciative of what his editor brought to his films. "Meyer respected Brummer because he was such a technician and such a stickler for detail," recalled actor Charles Napier, a frequent Meyer collaborator, in the book "Big Bosoms and Square Jaws: The Biography of Russ Meyer." E v e n s o , B r u m m e r w a s n ' t a l w a y s fully acknowledged for his contributions to Meyer's films, especially as a picture editor. "Russ was always great at creating movement through editing, but it was Dick who made every cut meaningful," said Murawski, who met Brummer several years ago. "Russ often took the editing credit on most of his movies, but Dick was always working with him, keeping things clear and on track." Perhaps the occasional lack of credit damaged Brummer's career prospects, but he enjoyed working under the radar. The editor would frequently be called upon to fix a movie that had problems and such work, by definition, is usually uncredited. "Sometimes he would be hired after some- body made a film and then tried to cut it themselves, or they did something and the producer would say, 'Wait a minute, there's a story problem,'" Alison Brummer said. "He could see the film and see where the story needed clarification, and then he could jot down what scene was missing or offer ideas on how to fix it, either with the footage they had or maybe they needed a visual element." Brummer's other films as picture editor include Joe Viola's "The Hot Box" (1972), with a screenplay co-written by Jonathan Demme; David Paulsen's "Schizoid" (1980); and "Lovely But Deadly" (1981) and "Grizzly Adams and the Legend of Dark Mountain" (1999), the latter two for director David S h e l d o n , w h o d e s c r i b e d B r u m m e r a s a passionate collaborator who was al- ways honest in what needed to be done on a project. "Working next to him in the cutting room was always a joy," said Sheldon, who learned important lessons from his time with Brummer. "In 'Lovely But Deadly,' the fight between the women on top of the din- ing table was most challenging. His cutting of the footage made the scene work. And he taught me that it doesn't matter what the room really looked like. The audience only knows what they see on the screen." Brummer, who was fascinated by devel- opments in postproduction technology and took classes through the Editors Guild to learn about new systems, never considered himself retired; he has "consulting editor" credits on several recent projects. "He had less and less calls because the people he worked with retired," Alison Brummer said. Even so, she added, "there was talk about a movie this past year, and Dad was very excited by the idea." From cutting his teeth as an indepen- dent filmmaker in New York to teaming with Russ Meyer on a run of cult classics to still seeking artistic challenges even amid a global pandemic, Richard S. Brummer led a career — and a life — like few others. M u r a w s k i d e s c r i b e d B r u m m e r a s "one of the nicest guys I ever met." He adds: "We immediately bonded over our love of movies, editing, and Russ Meyer." — Peter Tonguette