Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1525212
BUD S. SMITH DECEMBER 6, 1935–JUNE 23, 2024 58 C I N E M O N T A G E I N M E M O R I A M Picture editor Bud S. Smith, ACE, con- sidered editing one big adventure. Smith, who died on June 23 at the age of 88, did not confine himself to editing suites in Hollywood, often joining a production on location. His assignments took him to shoots near and far, including Pittsburgh, Boston, and, perhaps most remarkably, the Dominican Republic. He relished the oppor- tunity to serve as a second-unit director, and on numerous films, he earned credits as an associate producer or co-producer. Above all, Smith sought out collabo- rations with several of the most exciting filmmakers of the New Hollywood era, espe- cially the late William Friedkin, for whom he worked as an editor on seven films, includ- ing "The Exorcist" (1973), for which he and fellow editors Jordan Leondopoulos, Evan A. Lottman, ACE, and Norman Gay received Academy Award nominations. "Billy loved Bud and greatly admired his talent," said Sherry Lansing, Friedkin's widow and the former chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, in a statement to CineMontage. "It was more than just a professional relationship; they were really close friends and kept in touch throughout their lives," Lansing said. "Billy always gave Bud a lot of credit for the artistic success of the films they worked on together: 'The Exor- cist,' 'Sorcerer,' 'Cruising,' 'To Live and Die in L.A.' Bud's passing is a huge loss for the creative community and for all of us who knew him." Smith, who loved fast-moving vehicles and loved cutting kinetic car chases, ap- proached editing not just as a job, a trade, or even a craft, but as the predominant passion of his life, said his widow, dialogue editor Lucy Coldsnow-Smith. "He loved filmmaking. He loved to be a part of it," Coldsnow-Smith said. "He wanted to be on location as much as he could. He didn't want to stay and have the dailies shipped to him. He wanted to be there where the action was — in the thick of it. And he was." Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to John and Beatrice Smith, Bud was the younger of two