Thomas Stanford, a film editor who won an Oscar for his work on the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story, died December 23 at the age of 93.
Born in Germany in 1924, Mr. Stanford studied in Switzerland and England before beginning his career in Los Angeles as an editor. Prior to West Side Story, which earned him his Academy Award in 1962, he worked on another film with theatrical roots: the 1959 screen adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly, Last Summer.
Mr. Stanford subsequent credits include 1972’s Jeremiah Johnson, 1974’s The Yazuka, and 1988’s Split Decisions and Born to Race. Just prior to the release of the latter two, he retired and moved to Santa Fe.
Mr. Stanford is survived by his partner Sherry Bendickson, son Adam and his wife Lyn, daughter Nina and her husband Brendt Mullan, and two grandchildren.