Marcia Lucas, who won an Oscar as editor of the original 1977 Star Wars and was part of a group of women whose editing was essential to film’s New Hollywood era, has died, a lawyer for her family said Friday. She was 80.
Lucas, who was married to Star Wars creator George Lucas from 1969 to 1983, died Wednesday from metastatic cancer, attorney Deidre Von Rock said in an email to The Associated Press. She died in Rancho Mirage, California, surrounded by loved ones, Von Rock said.
Marcia Lucas was the editor on 1983’s Return of the Jedi and the pre-Star Wars George Lucas-directed films THX 1138 and American Graffiti.
She was also part of the editing team for director Martin Scorsese’s 1970s films Taxi Driver, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and New York, New York. Editor was a rare senior creative position where a woman could find a foothold in Hollywood.
Marcia Lucas became one of several women whose work in the editing chair made sense of the work of the overwhelmingly male directors of the New Hollywood of the late 1960s through the early 1980s, including Dede Allen, editor of Bonnie and Clyde and Dog Day Afternoon; Verna Fields, editor of Paper Moon and Jaws; and Thelma Schoonmaker, editor of most of Scorsese’s films starting with 1980’s Raging Bull. ‘Lucas was often called the unsung hero of Star Wars, the original film that after sequels, prequels and spinoffs has come to be known by its subtitle, A New Hope. (PTI)
