Stanford Tischler

Editor
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The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

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About
About this interview

In his two-hour Archive interview, Stanford Tischler (1921-2014) talks about his early start in the business as an apprentice sound effects editor at RKO Studios. He speaks in detail about the regime at RKO (presided over by Howard Hughes) and shares his personal experiences working on the film "Hard, Fast, and Beautiful" directed by Ida Lupino. He describes his transition into full-fledged editing as the editor for The Filmmakers production company, run by Collier Young and Ida Lupino. Tischler speaks about his entry into television on the dramatic anthology TV Reader's Digest and talks about his work at syndication giant Ziv Productions, editing Sea Hunt and The Everglades. He briefly outlines his work editing Peyton Place and Judd for the Defense. Tischler then discusses editing the long-running series M*A*S*H. He recalls working with the producers and editing specific episodes of the hit series. B-roll consists of several photos relating to M*A*S*H, including shots from the editing suites. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on November 19, 2003 in Sherman Oaks, CA.

"Comedy is harder to cut than straight stuff. I don't think you have to know more, but you have to have a feel for it. There's a mixture between being objective and subjective when you're putting something together. You've got to feel what is good and what your view is, and in a comedy, what is funny and what is not. How to temper it and cut it so that if it's a boom, boom, boom, you're building up to it. It's a wonderful way to cut."

People Talking About ...
Stanford Tischler
Highlights
Stanford Tischler on getting hired on M*A*S*H and his experience editing the pilot
Stanford Tischler on his experiences and work on the series TV Reader's Digest
Stanford Tischler on M*A*S*H as his proudest career achievement
Stanford Tischler on how the racy reputation of Peyton Place lost his daughter one of her friends
Stanford Tischler on his experience working with Frank Capra, while working as a sound effects editor on "It's A Wonderful Life"
Stanford Tischler on winning an Emmy for editing M*A*S*H
Full Interview

Chapter 1
On his childhood and early influences; on moving to California in 1940 and becoming a sound effects editor at RKO; on serving in World War II as a film editor
On editing sound effects on "It's A Wonderful Life"; on the process of cutting sound
On sound editing on the feature film "Hard, Fast, and Beautiful" (1951); on working with Ida Lupino and Collier Young at The Filmmakers; on leaving RKO to join The Filmmakers at Republic
On editing the film "The Bigamist"; on the process of film editing in the 1950s
On his early memories of television

Chapter 2
On his start in TV with Revue Productions; on editing TV Reader's Digest
On not knowing any editors affected by the Hollywood Blacklist; on editing Bachelor Father (and occasionally Leave it to Beaver) at Revue Studios
On working for Ziv Productions; on editing Sea Hunt; on working on the pilot Medicine Man starring Ernie Kovacs, which was being shot at the time of Kovacs' death
On the stock footage available at Ziv; on shooting his own stock footage; on editing syndicated shows at Revue; on being hired to edit Peyton Place after turning to real estate when he was out of work

Chapter 3
On editing Peyton Place; on starting as an associate producer on Judd For the Defense after salvaging the pilot
On editing The New People, Storefront Lawyers, and The Partners
On getting hired on M*A*S*H and his experience editing the pilot; on assembling the opening titles shots and working with the producers
On the tone of M*A*S*H; on a typical work week and working with the cast

Chapter 4
On winning an Emmy for editing M*A*S*H; on his recollections of editing specific episodes
On editing Peyton Place: The Next Generation and The Paper Chase
On his proudest achievement, advice to aspiring editors, and how he would like to be remembered
B-roll photos from his time editing M*A*S*H
Shows

AfterMASH

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Stanford Tischler the series AfterMASH and how it was edited

Bachelor Father

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Stanford Tischler on his work editing Bachelor Father (and occasionally Leave it to Beaver) at Revue Studios
Stanford Tischler on being let go from Revue Studios (where he worked on Bachelor Father) because his salary was too high

Code 3

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Stanford Tischler on shooting stock footage on his weekends and providing specific shots for Code 3

Everglades!

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Stanford Tischler on the 16mm color syndicated film series Everglades!

Judd for the Defense

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Stanford Tischler on starting as an associate producer on Judd For the Defense after salvaging the pilot 
Stanford Tischler on the underrated talents of Judd for the Defense lead Carl Betz

Leave it to Beaver

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Stanford Tischler on his work editing Bachelor Father (and occasionally Leave it to Beaver) at Revue Studios

M*A*S*H

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Stanford Tischler on getting hired on M*A*S*H and his experience editing the pilot
Stanford Tischler on assembling the opening titles shots for M*A*S*H 
Stanford Tischler on the challenges of editing M*A*S*H
Stanford Tischler on Larry Gelbart's penchant for "fixes" on M*A*S*H  
Stanford Tischler on working with executive producer Gene Reynolds on M*A*S*H  
Stanford Tischler on Larry Gelbart's talents on M*A*S*H  
Stanford Tischler on the tone of M*A*S*H and its message
Stanford Tischler on the laugh track on M*A*S*H  
Stanford Tischler on working with executive producer Burt Metcalfe on M*A*S*H  
Stanford Tischler on a typical work week on M*A*S*H  
Stanford Tischler on the overlapping of episodes in production on M*A*S*H  
Stanford Tischler on becoming an associate producer on M*A*S*H  
Stanford Tischler on working with M*A*S*H star Alda Alda
Stanford Tischler on working with M*A*S*H star McLean Stevenson
Stanford Tischler on the classic M*A*S*H episode "Abyssinia, Henry" and when he was informed about the show's ending
Stanford Tischler on being on the set of M*A*S*H
Stanford Tischler on not laughing while screening dailies with cast and crew because he was concentrating on his work on M*A*S*H
Stanford Tischler on the classic M*A*S*H episode "The Interview"
Stanford Tischler on winning an Emmy for editing M*A*S*H
Stanford Tischler on being proud of his work editing M*A*S*H
Stanford Tischler on editing the blooper reels for M*A*S*H
Stanford Tischler on the M*A*S*H episode "Point of View"
Stanford Tischler on the M*A*S*H episode "Old Soldiers" with a moving speech by Harry Morgan
Stanford Tischler on the classic M*A*S*H episode "Life Time," shown in real time, and how it compared to the 1949 feature film The Set-Up that he worked on, which was also presented in real time
Stanford Tischler on the M*A*S*H episode "Dreams" and censorship issues on the show
Stanford Tischler on the high standard for quality on M*A*S*H
Stanford Tischler the M*A*S*H series finale, and how he noticed that the streets were empty while it aired
Stanford Tischler on the legacy of M*A*S*H
Stanford Tischler on how actor Harry Morgan disliked performing the racist moment required of his character in his guest appearance on M*A*S*H in "The General Flipped at Dawn" (which preceded his regular role)
Stanford Tischler on M*A*S*H as his proudest career achievement
Stanford Tischler on photos from his time editing M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H: "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen"

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Stanford Tischler the M*A*S*H series finale, and how he noticed that the streets were empty while it aired

M*A*S*H: "The Interview"

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Stanford Tischler on editing the classic M*A*S*H episode "The Interview"

Medicine Man

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Stanford Tischler on working on the pilot Medicine Man that starred Ernie Kovacs, which was being shot at the time of Kovacs' death

New People, The

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Stanford Tischler on editing The New People

Only in America

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Stanford Tischler on how the mid-70s pilot Only in America was not picked up by ABC because it was considered too "ethnic"

Our Man Higgins

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Stanford Tischler on editing Our Man Higgins

Paper Chase, The

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Stanford Tischler on editing The Paper Chase

Partners, The

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Stanford Tischler on how stars Don Adams and Rupert Crosse had a falling out and didn't work together outside of shooting their master shots, making scenes difficult to edit on The Partners

Peyton Place

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Stanford Tischler on being hired on Peyton Place after turning to real estate when he was out of work
Stanford Tischler on the use of long takes on Peyton Place  
Stanford Tischler on editing Peyton Place and working with writer/producer Paul Monash
Stanford Tischler on how the racy reputation of Peyton Place lost his daughter one of her friends
Stanford Tischler on the failure of the TV movie Peyton Place: The Next Generation

Peyton Place: The Next Generation

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Stanford Tischler on the failure of the TV movie Peyton Place: The Next Generation

Sea Hunt

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Stanford Tischler on editing Sea Hunt

Storefront Lawyers, The

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Stanford Tischler on editing The Storefront Lawyers

TV Reader's Digest

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Stanford Tischler on editing TV Reader's Digest
Topics

Advice

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Stanford Tischler on advice to an aspiring editor

Bloopers

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Stanford Tischler on editing the blooper reels for M*A*S*H

Censorship / Standards & Practices

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Stanford Tischler on censorship issues on M*A*S*H and how decades earlier in the 1950s the word "condominium" was deleted from a script

Classic TV series episodes

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Stanford Tischler on the classic M*A*S*H episode "Abyssinia, Henry" and when he was informed about the show's ending

Diversity in Television

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Stanford Tischler on how the mid-70s pilot Only in America was not picked up by ABC because it was considered too "ethnic"

Emmy Awards

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Stanford Tischler on winning an Emmy for editing M*A*S*H

Historic Events and Social Change

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Stanford Tishchler on serving in World War II as a film editor
Stanford Tischler on how the mid-70s pilot Only in America was not picked up by ABC because it was considered too "ethnic"

Hollywood Blacklist

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Stanford Tischler on not knowing any editors affected by the Hollywood Blacklist

Industry Crossroads

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Stanford Tischler on not knowing any editors affected by the Hollywood Blacklist

Memorable Moments on Television

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Stanford Tischler on the classic M*A*S*H episode "Abyssinia, Henry" and when he was informed about the show's ending

Television Industry

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Stanford Tischler on not knowing any editors affected by the Hollywood Blacklist
Stanford Tischler on censorship issues on M*A*S*H and how decades earlier in the 1950s the word "condominium" was deleted from a script
Stanford Tischler on advice to an aspiring editor

War

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Stanford Tishchler on serving in World War II as a film editor

We Cried

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Stanford Tischler on the classic M*A*S*H episode "Abyssinia, Henry" and when he was informed about the show's ending

World War II

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Stanford Tishchler on serving in World War II as a film editor
Professions

Editor

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Stanford Tishchler on the process of film editing in the 1950s
Stanford Tischler on editing comedy
Stanford Tischler on editing Westerns and his thoughts on editing
Stanford Tischler on advice to an aspiring editor

Post-Production Professionals

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Stanford Tishchler on the process of film editing in the 1950s
Stanford Tischler on editing comedy
Stanford Tischler on editing Westerns and his thoughts on editing
Stanford Tischler on advice to an aspiring editor

Producers

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Stanford Tischler on the role of an associate producer

Sound Editor

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Stanford Tishchler on not enjoying cutting sound

Sound Professionals

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Stanford Tishchler on not enjoying cutting sound
Genres

Comedy Series

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Stanford Tischler on editing M*A*S*H
Stanford Tischler on editing specific episodes of M*A*S*H
People

Harry Ackerman

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Stanford Tischler on working with producer Harry Ackerman

Alan Alda

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Stanford Tischler on working with M*A*S*H star Alda Alda

Carl Betz

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Stanford Tischler on the underrated talents of Judd for the Defense lead Carl Betz

Frank Capra

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Stanford Tischler on his experience working with Frank Capra, while working as a sound effects editor on "It's A Wonderful Life"

Larry Gelbart

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Stanford Tischler on Larry Gelbart's penchant for "fixes" on M*A*S*H  
Stanford Tischler on Larry Gelbart's talents on M*A*S*H  

Howard Hughes

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Stanford Tischler on Howard Hughes' attempts to lengthen the production of the feature film "Hard, Fast, and Beautiful" (1951)

Ernie Kovacs

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Stanford Tischler on working on the pilot Medicine Man that starred Ernie Kovacs, which was being shot at the time of Kovacs' death

Ida Lupino

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Stanford Tischler on working with Ida Lupino and Collier Young at The Filmmakers
Stanford Tischler on Ida Lupino never losing battles (re: Don Siegel) and her talent/respect by crews

Burt Metcalfe

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Stanford Tischler on working with executive producer Burt Metcalfe on M*A*S*H  

Paul Monash

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Stanford Tischler on editing Peyton Place and working with writer/producer Paul Monash

Harry Morgan

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Stanford Tischler on how actor Harry Morgan disliked performing the racist moment required of his character in his guest appearance on M*A*S*H in "The General Flipped at Dawn" (which preceded his regular role)
Stanford Tischler on M*A*S*H 's Harry Morgan

Gene Reynolds

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Stanford Tischler on working with executive producer Gene Reynolds on M*A*S*H  

Don Siegel

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Stanford Tischler on working with Don Siegel

McLean Stevenson

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Stanford Tischler on working with M*A*S*H star McLean Stevenson

Loretta Swit

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Stanford Tischler on M*A*S*H star Loretta Swit

Collier Young

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Stanford Tischler on working with Ida Lupino and Collier Young at The Filmmakers

All Interviews

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