RIP: Bud Smith

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Bud Smith died Thursday, June 23, 2024.  Mr. Smith died of respiratory failure after a prolonged illness.  Mr. Smith was 88.

Mr. Smith was an editor, director and producer.  He was nominated for two Academy Awards:

  • nominee 1974 Best Film Editing – The Exorcist
  • nominee 1984 Best Film Editing – Flashdance

Television projects that feature Bud Smith’s editing include: The Bold Men; The Incredible World of James Bond; Time-Life Specials: The March of Time (3 episodes); National Geographic Specials (2 episodes); The Big Land; Petula; Tribute to Bogart; Sticks and Bones; A Death in Canaan and C.A.T. Squad.

Feature film projects that feature Bud Smith’s editing include: Putney Swope; Sorcerer; The Brinks Job; Cruising; Personal Best; Flashdance; Deal of the Century; The Karate Kid; Poltergeist II: The Other Side; Some Kind of Wonderful; Gross Anatomy; Darkman; The Replacements; Ladder 49 and The Game of Their Lives.

Television projects that feature Bud Smith’s directing include: C.A.T. Squad (2nd unit);

Feature films that feature Bud Smith’s directing include: Johnny Be Good; Sorcerer (2nd unit); Cat People (2nd unit); To Live and Die in LA (2nd unit); Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot! (2nd unit); Virus (2nd unit) and Driftwood (2nd unit).

My favorite film edited by Bud Smith is The Exorcist.  If the only films he edited were The Exorcist and Flashdance, his reputation as a great editor would be cemented.  It’s a testament to Mr. Smith’s talent that he branched out into directing and producing.  Bud Smith was so good that director William Friedkin collaborated with him on six films.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Bud Smith’s family, friends and fans.