Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1530856
Manny Kirchheimer contained multi- tudes: He was a filmmaker, an educator, a mentor, a friend, a husband, a father — and, in a role of which he was especially proud, an editor. "He just loved the editing process," his son Gabe Kirchheimer said in an interview with CineMontage. "I mean, he loved all of it. But he really loved editing." As an editor for hire, Kirchheimer, who died on July 16 at age 93, accumulated c o u n t l e s s c r e d i t s o n t e l e v i s i o n n e w s and documentaries, but it was his ad- venturesome and intuitive editing of his o w n i n i m i t a b l e n o n f i c t i o n f i l m s o f which he was proudest and for which he will be remembered. "Manny's films are unique and stylized," said retired sound editor and sound super- visor Stuart Stanley, who studied under Kirchheimer and later worked with him. "His motion picture editorial style conveys a thematic visual canvas. The layering and the rhythms of the sound and music mix require interpretation. A Manny Kirch- heimer film is not a spoon-fed affair. You are presented numerous varied ingredients MANFRED "MANNY" KIRCHHEIMER MARCH 2, 1931–JULY 16, 2024 and the viewer can pick and choose among those ingredients." Yet, like all great meals, Kirchheimer's films required a master chef. "Manny knew exactly what he wanted to assemble and achieve in the three-act struc- ture of his film," said longtime assistant editor William Kruzykowski, who also was a student of the filmmaker and became the production manager, second cameraman, still photographer, and assistant editor of "Stations of the Elevated," released in 1981. In that widely admired f ilm, Kirch- h e i m e r t r a i n e d h i s c a m e r a o n t h e expressive, eye-catching works of graffiti that emblazoned many New York subway trains in the late 1970s and early '80s. "It was almost like Manny had the film already assembled in his mind," Kruzyko- wski said. "He just needed to shoot it. Some 55 W I N T E R Q 4 I S S U E I N M E M O R I A M on the project. Those scenes made the final cut, and she was given the title of associate editor. "It was not a job that either one of us was really thrilled about at the time," Levy said. "But we both needed to work, so I said to him, 'This isn't going to go anyplace. Let me just practice—just give me an opportunity to be an editor and to get an editor credit.' And he said, 'That's fine, you go ahead.'" A s i t t u r n e d o u t , " D i r t y D a n c i n g " was a hit that took everyone by surprise. "Not many films have that kind of staying power," said Levy, who again worked as an associate editor on "Hello Again." Frank was an early adopter of digital editing. "After the Steenbeck and Moviola days, he moved to the Montage system," Mi- chael Frank said. Then, following his work on the comedy "Joe's Apartment" (1996), Frank purchased the Avid system on which he had cut that film. "He kept updating it and renting it out to productions that he was on," his son said. A m o n g t h e h i g h l i g h t s o f F r a n k 's l a te r c a re e r a re a m u l t i - f i l m c o l l a b o - r a t i o n w i t h d i r e c t o r D a r n e l l M a r t i n , including the feature films "Prison Song" (2001) and "Cadillac Records" (2008), and the made-for-television adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watch- ing God" (2005). His last major assignment as a picture editor were multiple seasons of the CBS crime series "Blue Bloods," from 2010 to 2014. Upon Frank's retirement, he had already been working weekends in conflict resolu- tion and mediation. After his run on "Blue Bloods" ended in 2014, he entered Hunter College to receive a master's degree in social work. "He got his professional licensing, got his family therapy certificate, and he worked as a psychotherapist and social worker up until the Friday before he died," Michael Frank said, adding that his father had been suffering from cancer for about four years. "When they put him in hospice, he was so devoted to his clients that he gave them four more sessions," he said. Levy sums up well the exceptional di- versity of her mentor's life. "As editors, we contribute that much more when we have interests outside of simply film, and Peter was always a very curious guy," Levy said. In addition to his son, Peter C. Frank is survived by his wife, Lucy Kantrowitz Frank; his daughter-in-law, Alison Kamhi; a n d h i s g ra n d c h i l d re n , M a d e l i n e a n d Jonah Frank. ■ — Peter Tonguette