Marcia Lucas, the Oscar winning editor of the iconic 1977 film Star Wars and one of the many women editors who played an indispensable role in New Hollywood, has died at the age of 80, according to the lawyer representing her family.
According to AP, a statement released by family lawyer Deidre Von Rock to AP confirmed that Marcia Lucas died from metastatic cancer. She passed away on Wednesday at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, surrounded by loved ones.
A creative force behind Star Wars
Marcia Lucas edited 1983’s Return of the Jedi as well as George Lucas’s earlier films THX 1138 and American Graffiti before Star Wars.
She also worked on several films directed by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese during the 1970s, including Taxi Driver, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and New York, New York.
One of the most influential female editors in Hollywood
Editing was one of the few senior creative positions where women were able to establish themselves in Hollywood. Marcia Lucas was among a generation of female editors whose work helped shape the vision of predominantly male filmmakers during the New Hollywood era from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
Her contemporaries included Dede Allen, editor of Bonnie and Clyde and Dog Day Afternoon; Verna Fields, editor of Paper Moon and Jaws; and Thelma Schoonmaker, who has edited most of Scorsese’s films since Raging Bull.
The unsung hero of Star Wars
Marcia Lucas is often regarded as the unsung hero of Star Wars, the film that later became widely known by its subtitle, A New Hope. She famously persuaded her then husband, George Lucas, that Obi Wan Kenobi, played by Alec Guinness, should die during his battle with Darth Vader and return as a guiding spirit for Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill.
“It was extremely complicated because we had 40,000 feet of dialogue footage of pilots doing this and that, and she had to go through and cut it all and put in all the battles as well,” George Lucas said in an interview with Rolling Stone shortly after the film’s release. “There’s nobody who has ever actually tried to weave a real plot line into a dogfight before, and that’s what we were trying to do.”
Early life and career
Marcia Lucas was born Marcia Griffin in Modesto, California, shortly after the Second World War. Following her parents’ divorce, she moved to Los Angeles with her mother while still a child.
She began her career as a film librarian before moving into editing commercials and promotional films. As an assistant editor, she worked on Journey to the Pacific, directed by Verna Fields. It was during this period that she met George Lucas, then a film student at the University of Southern California. The pair became engaged shortly afterwards.
Personal life
Marcia and George Lucas’s marriage ended in 1982. However, they chose not to make the separation public until after the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983.
She later married Tom Rodrigues, a production manager at Skywalker Ranch, and the couple were together from 1983 to 1993.
Marcia Lucas is survived by her daughters Amanda Lucas and Amy Soper, as well as three grandchildren, Felix Hallikainen, Aeliana Hallikainen and Knox Soper.
Family pays tribute
“Her impact on movies is unforgettable, but for those who loved her most, they’ll remember how she enriched their lives with joy, beauty, colour and love,” the family said in a statement.
The statement continued: “Her talent as an editor was marked by her emotional intelligence, rhythm and humanity. She had a rare gift for finding the truth in a moment and giving it heart, energy and clarity on screen.”
