Marcia Lucas, who won an Oscar as editor of the original 1977 Star Wars, has died, a lawyer for her family said Friday.
Lucas died Wednesday in Rancho Mirage, California, surrounded by loved ones, attorney Deidre Von Rock said. She was 80. Von Rock said the cause of death was metastatic cancer.
Lucas, who was married to Star Wars creator George Lucas from 1969 to 1983, was the editor of 1983’s “Return of the Jedi” and the pre-“Star Wars” George Lucas-directed films “THX 1138” and “American Graffiti.”
She was also part of the editing team for director Martin Scorsese’s 1970s films “Taxi Driver,” “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”, and “New York, New York.”
Marcia Lucas was often called the unsung hero of Star Wars, the original film that, after sequels, prequels and spinoffs, has come to be known by its subtitle, “A New Hope.”
She convinced husband George that he should have Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Alec Guinness, in his light saber battle with Darth Vader and become a spirit guide to Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker.
And she had to make sense of the raw footage that could’ve been a mess in the wrong hands, including the climactic rebel attack on the Death Star.
“It was extremely complex, and we had 40,000 feet of dialogue footage of pilots saying this and that. And she had to cull through all that, and put in all the fighting as well,” George Lucas told Rolling Stone in an interview a few months after the film came out and became a phenomenon. “Nobody really has ever tried to interweave an actual plot story into a dogfight, and we were trying to do that.”
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After her divorce from George Lucas, she was married to Tom Rodrigues, a production manager at the Skywalker Ranch production center, from 1983 to 1993.
She is survived by her daughters, Amanda Lucas and Amy Soper, and grandchildren Felix Hallikainen, Aeliana Hallikainen and Knox Soper.
“Her influence on film is indelible, but those who knew her best will remember the way she made life feel more vivid, more beautiful, more fun, and more full of love,” a family statement said. “Her work was known for its emotional intelligence, rhythm, and humanity — a rare ability to find the truth of a scene and bring heart, momentum, and clarity to the screen.”
