Harry W. Gerstad (born Harry Donald Gerstad; June 11, 1909 – July 17, 2002) was an American film editor who sometimes directed films. The Academy Award-winning editor also worked on television. He edited as well as directed for the 1950s program '' Adventures of Superman''. In the 1960s he worked for

Bing Crosby Productions Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...

and Batjac Productions. Gerstad retired to

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

, California in 1973 and lived there until his death in 2002.

Awards and nominations

He won the

Academy Award for Best Film Editing The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. For 33 consecutive years, ...

(the "Oscar") twice: for the boxing drama ''Champion'' in 1949 and for

Fred Zinnemann Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and pla ...

's seminal

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

'' High Noon'' in 1952.

Elmo Williams James Elmo Williams (April 30, 1913 – November 25, 2015) was an American film and television editor, producer, director and executive. His work on the film ''High Noon'' (1952) received the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. In 2006, Williams ...

, who was co-editor of ''High Noon'', indicated in his autobiography that Gerstad's credit was a nominal one. At that time the editorial supervisor (Gerstad) was usually (and often contractually) given superior credit to subordinate editors (Williams), and one responsibility of Gerstad's position was selecting and hiring Williams, who only worked on this one Stanley Kramer production. In 1997, Gerstad received the

American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award The American Cinema Editors (ACE) gives one or more Career Achievement Awards each year. The first awards were given in 1988. Article indicates that Milford received the ACE Career Achievement Award in 1987; the actual award year appears to be 1988. ...

. Gerstad was honored with a

Walk of Stars Golden Palm Star in 2003.

Filmography

Editor

* ''

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

'' (film editor – not credited) 1944 * '' The Spiral Staircase'' (film editor) (1946) * '' Till the End of Time'' (film editor) 1946 * ''

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. S ...

'' (film editor) (1947) * ''

So Well Remembered ''So Well Remembered'' is a 1947 British drama film starring John Mills, Martha Scott, and Trevor Howard. The film was based on James Hilton's 1945 novel of the same title and tells the story of a reformer and the woman he marries in a fictional ...

'' (film editor) 1947 * ''

Unknown Island ''Unknown Island'' is a 1948 American adventure film directed by Jack Bernhard and starring Virginia Grey, Phillip Reed and Richard Denning. Shot in Cinecolor it was released by Film Classics and in Britain by General Film Distributors. Plot ...

'' (film editor) 1948 * ''

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

'' (film editor) 1949 * '' Home of the Brave'' (film editor) 1949 * ''

Tough Assignment ''Tough Assignment'' is a 1949 American crime film directed by William Beaudine and starring Don Barry, Marjorie Steele and Steve Brodie. It is regarded as a film noir.Spicer p.421 Plot A Los Angeles reporter and his photographer wife inves ...

'' (film editor) (1949) * ''

Gun Crazy ''Gun Crazy'' (also known as ''Deadly Is the Female'') is a 1950 American crime film noir starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. It was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produced ...

'' (film editor) 1950 * '' The Men'' (film editor) 1950 * ''

Rocketship X-M ''Rocketship X-M'' (a.k.a. ''Expedition Moon'' and originally ''Rocketship Expedition Moon'') is a 1950 American black-and-white science fiction film from Lippert Pictures, the first outer space adventure of the post-World War II era. The film wa ...

'' (film editor) (1950) * ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'' (film editor) 1950 * ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage ...

'' (editorial supervisor) 1951 * '' Eight Iron Men'' (editorial supervisor) 1952 * ''

The Happy Time ''The Happy Time'' is a 1952 American comedy-drama film directed by the award-winning director Richard Fleischer, based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Robert Fontaine, which Samuel A. Taylor turned into a hit play. A boy, played by Bobb ...

'' (editorial supervisor) 1952 * ''

My Six Convicts ''My Six Convicts'' is a 1952 American film noir crime drama directed by Hugo Fregonese. The screenplay was adapted by Michael Blankfort from the autobiographical book ''My Six Convicts: A Psychologist's Three Years in Fort Leavenworth'', written ...

'' (editorial supervisor) 1952 * '' The Sniper'' (editorial supervisor) 1952 * '' High Noon'' (editorial supervisor) 1952 * '' The Four Poster'' (editorial supervisor) 1952 * ''

Combat Squad ''Combat Squad'' is a 1953 American war film directed by Cy Roth and starring John Ireland, Lon McCallister and Hal March. It is set during the Korean War.Edwards p.63 Plot Cast * John Ireland as Sgt. Ken 'Fletch' Fletcher * Lon McCallister a ...

'' (film editor) 1953 * '' The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.'' (editorial supervisor) 1953 * '' The Juggler'' (editorial supervisor) 1953 * ''

The Member of the Wedding ''The Member of the Wedding'' is a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers. It took McCullers five years to complete, although she interrupted the work for a few months to write the novella '' The Ballad of the Sad Café''.McDowell, Marga ...

'' (editorial supervisor) 1953 * ''

Frontier Gun ''Frontier Gun'' is a 1958 American Western film directed by Paul Landres and written by Stephen Kandel. The film stars John Agar, Joyce Meadows, Barton MacLane, Robert Strauss, Lyn Thomas and James Griffith. The film was released on December ...

'' (film editor) 1958 * ''

The Alligator People ''The Alligator People'' is a 1959 CinemaScope science-fiction horror film directed by Roy Del Ruth.''Midnight Marquee Actors Series: Lon Chaney, Jr.'' by Gary Svehla It stars Beverly Garland, Bruce Bennett, and Lon Chaney Jr. This film was th ...

'' (supervising film editor) 1959 * ''

Five Gates to Hell ''Five Gates to Hell'' is a 1959 American adventure film written and directed by James Clavell in CinemaScope. The film stars Dolores Michaels, Patricia Owens, Neville Brand, Ken Scott, Nobu McCarthy and Benson Fong. It was Clavell's direct ...

'' (supervising editor) 1959 * ''

Here Come the Jets ''Here Come the Jets'' is a 1959 American aviation drama film directed by Gene Fowler, Jr. and written by Louis Vittes. The API, the B picture unit of 20th Century Fox was involved. ''Here Come the Jets'' stars Steve Brodie, Lyn Thomas, Mark Da ...

'' (supervising film editor) 1959 * '' The Rookie'' (supervising film editor) 1959 * ''

Freckles Freckles are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion. Freckles do not have an increased number of the melanin-producing cells, or melanocytes, but instead have melanocytes that ...

'' (supervising film editor) 1960 * ''

13 Fighting Men ''13 Fighting Men'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Harry W. Gerstad and written by Robert Hamner and Jack W. Thomas. The film stars Grant Williams, Brad Dexter, Carole Mathews, Robert Dix, Richard Garland and Richard Crane. The fi ...

'' (film editor) 1960 * ''

Young Jesse James ''Young Jesse James'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by William F. Claxton and written by Orville H. Hampton and Jerry Sackheim. The film stars Ray Stricklyn, Willard Parker, Merry Anders, Robert Dix, Emile Meyer and Jacklyn O'Donnell. ...

'' (film editor) 1960 * '' The Magic Sword'' (film editor) 1962 * '' Walk on the Wild Side'' (film editor) 1962 * ''

Of Love and Desire ''Of Love and Desire'' is a 1963 film directed by Richard Rush and starring Merle Oberon, Steve Cochran and Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He ...

'' (film editor) 1963 * '' Batman'' (film editor) (1966) * '' The War Wagon'' (film editor) (1967) * ''

The Secret Life of an American Wife ''The Secret Life of an American Wife'' is a 1968 comedy film written and directed by George Axelrod. The film was released by 20th Century Fox in 1968, and was considered a box-office failure. It features a music score by Billy May. Edy Will ...

'' (film editor) 1968 * ''

Hard Contract ''Hard Contract'' is a 1969 American drama mystery film written and directed by S. Lee Pogostin and starring James Coburn and Lee Remick. It premiered on April 30, 1969 in Panavision. Plot synopsis CIA assassin John Cunningham ( James Coburn) ...

'' (film editor) 1969 * '' Cover Me Babe'' (film editor) 1970 * ''

Big Jake ''Big Jake'' is a 1971 American Technicolor Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years. It grossed $7.5 million in t ...

'' (film editor) 1971 * ''

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...

'' (film editor) 1972 * '' Walking Tall'' (film editor) (1973) * '' Framed'' (film editor) 1975

Director

* ''

'' (director) (1960)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerstad, Harry W. 1909 births 2002 deaths American film editors Best Film Editing Academy Award winners People from Palm Springs, California