John Carter (film editor)

John Carter
John Carter
	Portrait of John Carter
Born	September 22, 1922; Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	August 13, 2018 (aged 95); White Plains, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Film editor
Years active	1956–2018

John Neares Carter (September 22, 1922 – August 13, 2018) was an American

film editor.^[1]^[2] He rose to the ranks at CBS on the Ed Sullivan Show

, becoming the first African-American film editor to be employed by network television in New York. For the last four of his twelve years with CBS, he was the supervising film editor for the award-winning documentary unit, Eye On New York. John left CBS to form his own company John Carter Associates, Inc.

Personal life

John was born in Newark, New Jersey to William and Marie Carter on September 22, 1922. He was the third of four children. His family moved to

World War II Victory Medal, European African Middle Eastern Service Medal and Good Conduct Medal

.

After his honorable discharge in 1946 John trained at the

Signal Corps Pictorial Center for film editing. During this time, he met the love of his life Carole at a dance in Harlem at the Hotel Theresa on the top floor in the Skyline Ballroom. They were married on August 22, 1954, in Idlewild, Michigan

. They had 3 children, and 6 grandsons.

He died at his White Plains, New York home on August 13, 2018, aged 95.^[3]

Career

In 1956 John left the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. He was also the editor for the original film “Solomon Northup’s Odyssey”, directed by Gordon Parks which was later made into a film called “12 years a Slave”. John has mentored many young film makers and has worked with many prominent directors including Tyler Perry, Tim Story, Bill Duke, John G. Avildsen, Elaine May and George Tillman Jr. to name just a few. In 1984, he made his sole directorial effort, Zombie Island Massacre, a slasher

film set on a Caribbean island.

Carter was the first

African-American to join the American Cinema Editors

society.

In 1972, he received a

BAFTA Award nomination for best editing for Miloš Forman's Taking Off.^[4]

He was a member of: American Cinema Editors (the first Black ACE member), Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and Motion Picture Editors Guild and the Westchester Clubmen. At the age of 85, John retired after editing more than 50 feature films.