George Folsey Jr., the longtime producer and film editor for director John Landis, has died at the age of 85, according to his family.
The son of 13-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer George J. Folsey, whose credits included “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “Forbidden Planet,” Folsey Jr. got his start in editing at KABC in Los Angeles, where he edited documentaries and news reports for broadcast in the 1960s.
He then moved into cinema by learning the trade at MGM, where his father had worked, alongside “Grand Prix” Oscar-winning editor Henry Berman. His first feature film project was Alexander Singer’s “Glass Houses,” a 1972 film in which Folsey was editor, cinematographer and producer.
A year later, Folsey was hired to edit John Landis’ debut feature film “Schlock,” a sendup of “King Kong” in which an ape man chased out of his cave wanders into a Southern California neighborhood and develops an unrequited crush on a teen girl.
“Schlock” would be the first of a dozen films Folsey would partner with Landis as film editor and/or producer, including “Animal House,” “The Blues Brothers,” “An American Werewolf in London” and “Coming to America.”
That partnership would also become part of an infamous moment in Hollywood history with “Twilight Zone: The Movie,” an anthology film that Landis directed a segment of. During the shooting of that segment, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed in a helicopter crash.
Folsey and Landis were among five defendants charged with manslaughter in connection to the crash, though all were acquitted.
Outside of Landis’ films, Folsey served as an editor on films like Shawn Levy’s “Cheaper By the Dozen” and “The Pink Panther” and Eli Roth’s “Hostel.” His producing work included films like “Spies Like Us,” “Clue,” “The Thing Called Love,” and perhaps most prominently, Michael Jackson’s legendary music video for “Thriller.”
Folsey is survived by his son, Ryan, who is also a film editor on films like “Cabin Fever” and “Renfield.” He is also survived by his wife, Belinda; daughter Erin; son-in-law Doug; daughter-in-law Erica; and granddaughters Lucia, Chloe and Hazel.
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