Dede Allen

Dorothea Carothers "Dede" Allen (December 3, 1923 - April 17, 2010) was an American film editor, well-known "film editing doctor" to the major American movie studios, and one of cinema's all-time celebrated 'auteur' film editors.

Allen is known for having edited classic films such as The Hustler (1961), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Reds (1982). She had an extended collaboration (1967–1976) with director Arthur Penn, and over the years had worked with other distinguished directors including Sidney Lumet, Robert Wise, Elia Kazan, and George Roy Hill. She was a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Early life

Allen was born in Cleveland, Ohio; her mother was an actress and her father worked for Union Carbide. She enrolled at Scripps College in Claremont, California.

Career

Allen worked her way up as a production runner, as a sound librarian and then as an assistant film editor at Columbia Pictures. She edited commercial and industrial films before becoming a full-fledged feature film editor. It took sixteen years working in the American film industry before Dede Allen edited her first important feature film, Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). She worked closely with and was mentored by film director Robert Wise, who had also been a film editor himself (most notably having cut Orson Welles' Citizen Kane). Wise encouraged Dede Allen to be brave and experiment with her editing.