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Tucker Wiard. 76 C I N E M O N T A G E I N M E M O R I A M P icture editor Tucker Wiard, ACE, loved editing. On classic network television series ranging from "The Carol Burnett Show" to "Murphy Brown," he loved making a scene sing, and he em- braced the technical challenges that came with the job. Wiard, who died on August 28 at the age of 80, loved editing so much that he chose not to pursue the occasional directing op- portunity that came his way. "Tucker had such a passion for editing that he didn't want to go and do anything else," said his widow Nancy, a now-retired longtime producer on "The Young and the Restless," in a recent interview with CineMontage. "If that's your passion, and that's what you want to do, then stay with that passion and enjoy the heck out of it." For pursuing his passion, Wiard was honored and revered within the industry. "Murphy Brown" creator Diane English first worked with Wiard on the series "My Sister Sam" before tapping the editor to join her new show from the pilot through the series f inale. In a statement to CineMontage, English described Wiard as an ideal cutting room collaborator. "One of the most important aspects of choosing an editor is not only how compat- ible they are with the material but how well you get along in the editing room," English said. "I loved how much he loved the show — how his laughs were so genuine." Wiard was a child of the Midwest. He was born in Detroit and grew up in Lan- sing, Michigan, where he attended J.W. Sexton High School. In 1962, he graduated with a degree in radio and television from Michigan State University. Even then, his long-range goal was clear. "He wanted to be in television — always," Nancy Wiard said. While at Michigan State, Wiard was a member of the National Society of Pershing Rifles, and upon graduation, he entered the U.S. Army. At Fort Benning in Georgia, Wiard developed and saw through to com- pletion the Studio and Remote Videotape TUCKER WIARD NOVEMBER 10, 1941–AUGUST 28, 2022 Department. "He talked about buying these huge, behemoth machines, and flying back in the aircraft," Nancy Wiard said. After leaving the Army, Wiard worked at stations in Chicago and Michigan before, in 1968, moving to Los Angeles, where he gained employment in the Videotape De- partment at CBS. "He started out doing the technical stuff," Nancy Wiard said. "He did not start out as an editor, but he was very in- terested in editing." When a colleague took a sabbatical, Wiard seized an opportunity to work as a videotape editor on "The Red Skelton Hour." "He was actually editing [by inputting] the hour, the minute, the frame, and dubbing to another machine," Nancy Wiard said. "At that point, things became a little more creative, and the editor main- tained total control on a show." Wiard ascended the ranks quickly at CBS, working on the pioneering sitcom "Good Times" from 1974 through 1976 and on the variety program "The Carol Burnett Show" from 1976 through 1978. That year, Wiard won the first of five Primetime Em- mys for Outstanding Achievement in Video Tape Editing for a Series for the finale of the Burnett program, "The Final Show." Although Wiard excelled at comedic material throughout his career, he received considerable attention for his work in other genres. With picture editors Ken Denisoff and Janet McFadden, Wiard co-edited the public-television miniseries version of Na- thaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" in 1979 and, with picture editors Bill Breshears