Gene Ruggiero

Gene Ruggiero
Born	Gene S. Ruggiero (1910-06-20)June 20, 1910 Long Island, New York
Died	Ogden, Utah
Occupation	Film editor
Spouse(s)	Eva Nohavka (1966–1988, divorced)

Gene S. Ruggiero (June 20, 1910 – February 19, 2002) was an American film editor. Originally a golf caddy at an exclusive New York country club, Ruggiero was fired from his job and later went to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer where he was assigned the job of editing. He was initially unhappy with his job and would often skip working to play golf, demoted to assistant editor due to this.

Ruggiero came to prominence after editing the 1939 film Ninotchka. As nobody else would edit the film due to Ernst Lubitsch's reputation, the job was assigned to Ruggiero. He received his first credit on the film, and continued as an editor for the rest of his career. Ruggiero earned an Academy Award for Best Film Editing in 1956 for his work on Around the World in 80 Days, which he shared with Paul Weatherwax. He was also nominated for an Academy Award in 1955 for his editing on Oklahoma!, which he shared with George Boemler.

Early life

Gene S. Ruggiero was born in Long Island on June 20, 1910, the son of Phillip and Teresa Ruggiero. He grew up in Manhasset, New York with his seven siblings. During World War II, he served in the army. Ruggiero enjoyed the sport of golf and, before becoming a film editor, he worked as a caddy at a New York country club. Ruggiero often caddied for American film studio executive Nicholas Schenck. On days where Schenck's group was lacking a fourth player, they often invited Ruggiero to play. However, after playing a game with the group one day, Ruggiero returned to the clubhouse find the head angry with him for neglecting his caddy duties. Ruggiero was fired from his job.

Career

Ruggiero approached Schenck, and requested assistance in becoming employed. Since Schenck was head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on the east coast division, he decided to send Ruggiero there, with a letter written by Schenk that would ensure Ruggiero would earn a job at the studio. When Ruggiero arrived, he was assigned the job of film editor. Ruggiero found himself displeased with the menial work, and often did not show up at the studio, choosing to play golf instead. He was demoted to assistant editor when his skipping was found out, and worked on several Johnny Weissmuller films.

Ruggiero received his first film credit in 1939, on the film Ninotchka. Ernst Lubitsch, the director of the film, had a reputation with the studio which made the other editors refuse to cut the film. Ruggiero was picked as the last option. The film brought Ruggiero to prominence and he worked as a main editor for the rest of his career. After Ninotchka, he edited Richard Thorpe's action film Tarzan Finds a Son! with Frank Sullivan, while editing the comedy Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President by himself.

In 1940, he edited The Shop Around the Corner, another Lubitsch film. Two Dr. Kildare films Strange Case and Crisis were also edited by Ruggiero this year, along with the George B. Seitz film Sky Murder and W. S. Van Dyke's comedy I Love You Again. The next year saw Ruggiero edit Blonde Inspiration by Busby Berkeley and Washington Melodrama by S. Sylvan Simon. He also cut another Tarzan picture by Thorpe entitled Tarzan's Secret Treasure. Ruggiero edited the 1942 films A Yank on the Burma Road, Tarzan's New York Adventure, Andy Hardy's Double Life, and Jackass Mail. His next credit came in 1946 on the film Three Wise Fools, which he co-edited with Theron Warth. He edited the actor Robert Montgomery's Lady in the Lake in 1947. That same year, Ruggiero was the editor for Edward Buzzell's Song of the Thin Man, and the final Dr. Kildare film Dark Delusion.

Big City was Ruggerio's only 1948 credit. He served as editor for The Bribe the following year, as well as That Midnight Kiss; Ruggerio remembered that the film's star Mario Lanza would not do a film unless Ruggerio would edit it. In 1950 he cut Stars in My Crown and The Toast of New Orleans. The following year he was the editor for Lanza's film The Great Caruso, as well as Norman Taurog's Rich, Young and Pretty and John Sturges' The People Against O'Hara. The 1952 film Glory Alley was Ruggierio's next credit, and in 1953 the films The Clown, Rogue's March, and Easy to Love were edited by him. He edited Men of the Fighting Lady, Athena, and The Student Prince in the following year. Along with George Boemler, Ruggiero edited the 1955 film Oklahoma!. Ruggiero earned his first Academy Award for Best Editing nomination for his work on the film; he and Boemler lost to William A. Lyon and Charles Nelson for Picnic.

I told [Todd] to go away for two weeks and leave us alone. And then we cut the monster down to something that made sense.

Ruggiero on the editing process of Around the World in 80 Days.

In 1956 he edited The Catered Affair alongside Frank Santillo, and Around the World in 80 Days with Howard Epstein and Paul Weatherwax. Ruggiero and Weatherwax won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. The Oscar statuette Ruggiero earned for his work on the film was tarnished; its gold coat was removed when Ruggiero sent it out for cleansing and he never had it replated when he was able to afford doing so. Ruggiero said in March 1994 that he considered the film his best work.

The films Ruggiero edited in 1957 were The Seventh Sin and Seven Hills of Rome. He also edited John Ford's The Wings of Eagles that year. Ruggiero recalled Ford as a "cheapskate" and that he offered Ruggiero a new putter to appease him. The following year, he edited Torpedo Run, and in 1959 he edited For the First Time and Tarzan, the Ape Man. In 1960, Ruggiero did Platinum High School and Revak the Rebel, and edited The Thief of Bagdad and The Wonders of Aladdin the next year. His next credit came on the film The Last Man on Earth, released in 1964, which he edited with Franca Silvi. That year he also edited Panic Button and Dog Eat Dog.

Ruggiero's next film was Cast a Giant Shadow by Melville Shavelson which was released it 1966; he edited the film alongside Bert Bates. He edited Marlowe and Hell's Angels '69 in 1969, and in 1972 he served as editor on William Girdler's Asylum of Satan. The 1974 television pilot Wonder Woman was his next credit; he also edited Black Eye that same year. He edited the 1975 film Boss Nigger; he also worked with Eva on 1976's Adiós Amigo. He worked on The World through the Eyes of Children in 1975 and Paco in 1977. Ruggiero's final editing credit came in 1977 for his work on Gus Trikonis' Moonshine County Express.

Ruggiero was elected as a member of the American Cinema Editors. In 1994, he earned an American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award, presented by Martin Scorsese. He criticized the low amount of money he was being paid each year; in 1994 the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan was only giving him $242.71 a month - by contrast, younger editors were earning around $1,250. Ruggiero believed that since he had worked his whole life in the film industry, he was owed a higher amount.

Personal life

Ruggiero married Eva Nohavka in Italy on April 9, 1966. They divorced in 1988. By 1994, Eva had brought Gene back to live with her. By this time, he had been suffering from herpes zoster and nearly all of his teeth were missing. He then lived in Ogden, Utah for four years before his death on February 19, 2002. Ruggiero is survived by his two children, four grandchildren, two brothers, and a sister.

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1939	Ninotchka	Ernst Lubitsch
1939	Tarzan Finds a Son!	Richard Thorpe	With Frank Sullivan
1939	Joe And Ethel Turp Call On The President	Robert B. Sinclair
1940	The Shop Around the Corner	Ernst Lubitsch
1940	Dr. Kildare's Strange Case	Harold S. Bucquet
1940	I Love You Again	W. S. Van Dyke
1940	Sky Murder	George B. Seitz
1940	Dr. Kildare's Crisis	Harold S. Bucquet
1941	Blonde Inspiration	Busby Berkeley
1941	Washington Melodrama	S. Sylvan Simon
1941	Tarzan's Secret Treasure	Richard Thorpe
1942	A Yank on the Burma Road	George B. Seitz
1942	Tarzan's New York Adventure	Richard Thorpe
1942	Andy Hardy's Double Life	George B. Seitz
1942	Jackass Mail	Norman Z. McLeod
1946	Three Wise Fools	Edward Buzzell	With Theron Warth
1947	Lady in the Lake	Robert Montgomery
1947	Dark Delusion	Willis Goldbeck
1947	Song of the Thin Man	Edward Buzzell
1948	Big City	Norman Taurog
1949	The Bribe	Robert Z. Leonard
1949	That Midnight Kiss	Norman Taurog
1950	Stars in My Crown	Jacques Tourneur
1950	The Toast of New Orleans	Norman Taurog
1951	The Great Caruso	Richard Thorpe
1951	Rich, Young and Pretty	Norman Taurog
1951	The People Against O'Hara	John Sturges
1952	Glory Alley	Raoul Walsh
1953	The Clown	Robert Z. Leonard
1953	Rogue's March	Allan Davis
1953	Easy to Love	Charles Walters
1954	Men of the Fighting Lady	Andrew Marton
1954	The Student Prince	Richard Thorpe
1954	Athena	Richard Thorpe
1955	Oklahoma!	Fred Zinnemann	With George Boemler Nomination: Academy Award for Best Film Editing
1956	The Catered Affair	Richard Brooks	With Frank Santillo
1956	Around the World in 80 Days	Michael Anderson	With Howard Epstein and Paul Weatherwax Won: Academy Award for Best Film Editing
1956	The Great American Pastime	Herman Hoffman
1957	The Wings of Eagles	John Ford
1957	The Seventh Sin	Ronald Neame
1957	Seven Hills of Rome	Roy Rowland
1958	Torpedo Run	Joseph Pevney
1959	For the First Time	Rudolph Maté
1959	Tarzan, the Ape Man	Joseph M. Newman
1960	Platinum High School	Charles F. Haas
1960	Revak the Rebel	Rudolph Maté
1961	The Thief of Bagdad	Arthur Lubin
1961	The Wonders of Aladdin	Henry Levin Mario Bava
1964	The Last Man on Earth	Ubaldo Ragona Sidney Salkow	With Franca Silvi
1964	Panic Button	George Sherman
1964	Dog Eat Dog	Richard E. Cunha Gustav Gavrin Ray Nazarro Albert Zugsmith
1966	Cast a Giant Shadow	Melville Shavelson	With Bert Bates
1969	Marlowe	Paul Bogart
1969	Hell's Angels '69	Lee Madden
1970	Noon Sunday	Terry Bourke
1972	Asylum of Satan	William Girdler
1973	The Mad Bomber	Bert I. Gordon
1974	Wonder Woman	Vincent McEveety
1974	Black Eye	Jack Arnold
1975	Boss Nigger	Jack Arnold	With Eva Ruggerio
1975	The World through the Eyes of Children	Jimmie Rodgers Bob Williams
1976	Adiós Amigo	Fred Williamson	With Eva Ruggerio
1976	Paco	Robert O'Neil
1977	Moonshine County Express	Gus Trikonis

External links

• Gene Ruggiero at the Internet Movie Database