Edgar Burcksen, longtime editor of features, documentaries, and TV series, died Sunday in Los Angeles of complications of a heart attack. He was 76.
Burcksen won an Emmy for editing the pilot of “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” as well as an ACE Robert Wise award. He was also honored with the Golden Calf at the Nederlands Film Festival.
Born in Holland, Burcksen started his career editing features in Amsterdam. After moving to the U.S, he served as editor on the animated “Seabert.” He then joined Industrial Light and Magic, where he was the effects editor on “Die Hard 2” and “The Hunt for Red October.” George Lucas selected him to consult on the EditDroid, a precursor to the Avid.
His credits include Jeroen Krabbe’s feature “Left Luggage,” which competed for the Golden Bear, as well as documentaries “Colors Straight Up,” which was Oscar-nominated, “Darfur Now,” “Hollywood Banker,” and Kevin Costner’s “500 Nations.”
His last editing credit was on Ate de Jong’s upcoming feature “Heart Strings,” co-written by Variety executive VP of content Steve Gaydos.
Burcksen was a past board member of America Cinema Editors and long served as a writer and editor-in-chief of Cinema Editor Magazine. He also taught Advanced Film Editing at the Academy of Art University of San Francisco.
An ultramarathon cyclist, he had completed 25 double centuries.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Jana, and their two children.
