Richard William MITCHELL

MITCHELL Richard William Mitchell (Rick), film and sound editor passed away from natural causes on Oct 2, 2011 in his apartment in Los Angeles. A noted film historian specializing in all things widescreen and anamorphic, Rick was born Sep 9, 1946, in Lexington, KY. His parents were Richard (Dick) O. Mitchell and Minnie S. Mitchell. Rick graduated from Lafayette High School in Lexington, and went on to attend Transylvania University. In 1967, when 20th Century-Fox's "The Flim-Flam Man" came to Lexington for filming, Rick hung around the set so much that he caught director Irvin Kershner's attention, which lead to a letter of introduction to USC's film school. Rick immediately transferred to USC and earned a bachelors and masters degree in film editing. After graduating, Rick got a job at Universal Studios building loops for the looping stage. One of his employment high points was landing an assistant editor job on Robert Wise's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." The crew jacket he earned from that show came to be Rick's movie-going uniform for the rest of his life. Among his assistant film editor credits are "Car Wash," "The Last Remake of Beau Geste," and "The Jesse Owens Story." His film editing credits include "In God We Tru$t," "Legion of Iron," "Breathing Fire," and "Mind, Body and Soul." While his sound editing credits are lengthy, the official listings are incomplete because Rick would only take credit on a show if it was an anamorphic film. Rick had an encyclopedic knowledge of movie history, particularly with the widescreen developments of the 1950s and 60s. He was a regular fixture at American Cinematheque and Academy screenings, and many in the film history community were eagerly awaiting the completion of his magnum opus on widescreen cinema. Sadly, that work will stay unfinished. But his research writings, studies, and monographs have been accepted at the Margaret Herrick library of the Motion Picture Academy, and his sizeable collection of rare 16mm and Super 8mm anamorphic films have gone to the Academy film archives. Poor health plagued Rick in his later years, forcing him to retire from film and sound editing. His film history work, however, continued unabated. Professional organizations to which he belonged: Society of Operating Cameramen, The Widescreen Association, Art Directors Film Society, Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Academy of Science Fiction and Horror Films, Delta Kappa Alpha (the Cinema Fraternity at U.S.C.), University of Southern California Cinema-Television Alumni Association, Motion Picture and Television Editors Guild, Local 700. Rick Mitchell is preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by three sisters, Dorothy Mack, Cincinnati, Ohio; Dr. Janet Mitchell, Fort Collins, Colorado; and Dr. Blanche Hughes, Fort Collins, Colorado and a brother, Ronald Mitchell, Lexington, KY and Florida. Condolences can be sent to Blanche Hughes at Hbmhughes@aol.com