Don Zimmerman, a film editor known for his work on the Rocky movies, Jumper, Night at the Museum and Men in Black 3, who also received an Oscar nomination for 1978’s Coming Home, has died. He was 81.
The public relations and marketing agency, Perception PR, announced his death on social media, writing, “Rest in Peace Don Zimmerman … He will be greatly missed.”
Having grown up in Los Angeles, Zimmerman made his way into the entertainment industry in the early 1970s, working in the editorial department for several projects, such as The Landlord, Harold and Maude, The Last of Sheila, The Nickel Ride, Shampoo and Bound for Glory.
After assisting filmmaker Hal Ashby’s 1971 movie Harold and Maude, he teamed up with him again on the 1978 drama Coming Home, which served as Zimmerman’s first solo editor credit. The film, starring Jane Fonda and Jon Voight, also earned Zimmerman his first Oscar nomination for best film editing.
He later collaborated with Ashby again on his 1979 film Being There.
Zimmerman’s other credits included A Change of Seasons (1980), Barbarosa (1982), Best Friends (1982), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Cobra (1986), The Prince of Tides (1991), Leap of Faith (1992), Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), The Nutty Professor (1996), Liar Liar (1997), Patch Adams (1998), The Cat in the Hat (2003), Flight of the Phoenix (2004), Night at the Museum (2006), Rush Hour 3 (2007), Jumper (2008), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), Marmaduke (2010), Men in Black 3 (2012) and RED 2 (2013).
In 2023, Zimmerman received the American Cinema Editors’ prestigious Career Achievement Award.