Henry Michael Berman (January 1, 1914 – June 12, 1979) was an American film editor for

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

and a film producer for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

Early life

Henry Berman was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Newcastle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Shenango River at the mouth of Neshannock Creek, it is northwest of Pittsburgh near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, approximately so ...

in 1914. His father Henry (Harry) Berman, was general manager of

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

during

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

's formative years.

Career

Henry began his career working in a film laboratory at

Consolidated Film Industries Consolidated Film Industries was a film laboratory and film processing company and was one of the leading film laboratories in the Los Angeles area for many decades. CFI processed negatives and made prints for motion pictures and television. The ...

in the 1930s. He also worked in the lab for

. In 1933, he joined RKO as an editor and worked on musicals, including the

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

films ''

Follow the Fleet ''Follow the Fleet'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film with a nautical theme starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their fifth collaboration as dance partners. It also features Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, wi ...

'' and ''

Swing Time In music, the term ''swing'' has two main uses. Colloquially, it is used to describe the propulsive quality or "feel" of a rhythm, especially when the music prompts a visceral response such as foot-tapping or head-nodding (see pulse). This sens ...

'' (both 1936), which were produced by his older brother

Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal ...

. He became an assistant to Pandro and moved with him to MGM in 1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Berman served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

with the rank of captain and worked with

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

on the documentary film series ''

Why We Fight ''Why We Fight'' is a series of seven propaganda films produced by the US Department of War from 1942 to 1945, during World War II. It was originally written for American soldiers to help them understand why the United States was involved in the ...

''. Some of the films he produced at MGM after the war include '' Just This Once'' (1952), ''

Torch Song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

'' (1953), ''

Men of the Fighting Lady ''Men of the Fighting Lady'' is a 1954 American war drama film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Louis Calhern and Keenan Wynn. The screenplay was written by U.S. Navy Commander Harry A. Burns, who had written a ...

'' (1954), '' Bedevilled'' (1955), '' It's a Dog's Life'' (1955), and '' The Great American Pastime'' (1956). 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 year ...

for ''

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

'' in 1966. He died in Los Angeles of cancer.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

1914 births 1979 deaths American film editors Film producers from Pennsylvania Best Film Editing Academy Award winners Deaths from cancer in California {{California-stub