Picture Editor Stanley Frazen, a Pioneer of Early Television, Dies at 91

Stanley Frazen, a film and television picture editor whose career spanned five decades, died January 23, 2011, at his home in Studio City. He was 91.

According to news reports, the cause was complications from pneumonia.

A pioneer in the early days of television, Frazen served as president of the America Cinema Editors and the Motion Picture Editors Guild, As a postproduction supervisor and supervising editor at McCadden Productions, he worked on such 1950s shows as The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, I Married Joan, The Bob Cummings Show, The People’s Choice and The Jack Benny Program.

He earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for his work on The Bob Cummings Show.

With actor Edmund O’Brien, Frazen formed his own production company, Tiger Productions, and earned a producer credit on the 1961 Paramount films Man-Trap, starring Jeffrey Hunter and David Janssen.

Frazen continued to edit and worked on such television series as The Beverly Hillbillies, My Favorite Martian, The Monkees, Get Smart, Columbo, Charlie’s Angels and The Fall Guy.

His feature film credits included Young Doctors in Love and The Milagro Beanfield War.

In 2001, Frazen received a career achievement award from ACE.

Frazen was born in Chicago and moved with his mother to Los Angeles as a child. At 18, he worked as a messenger at Warner Bros. When the U.S. entered World War II, he enlisted and served in the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Corps. This experience helped to lainch his editing career.

Survivors include his wife, three children, four grandchildren and his first wife.

The family asks that donations be made to the Motion Picture Home.

On July 17, 2001, Frazen had the distinction of being interviewed by the Television Academy Foundation’s Archive of American Television. During the two-hour interview, conducted as part of a joint venture with American Cinema Editors by the director of the Archive, Karen Herman, at Universal Studios in Universal City, California, Frazen began by talking about his World War duty, then his job with Warner Bros. Studios in the mailroom, followed by a period of time in publicity.

He went on to talk extensively about the various positions he held at Warner Bros. and the stars who he came in contact with there.

He then progressed to his first editing experiences as a music cutter, then as a freelance editor. He recalled working for George Burns, Bob Cummings and editor Dann Cahn, and briefly discussed the craft of editing.

Frazen ended the interview by talking about his experience on The Beverly Hillbillies, My Favorite Martian, Get Smart, Kojak and The Fall Guy, and about his professional and personal relationship with producer/director Garry Marshall.

The entire interview may be viewed online here.