John Grover, Film Editor on James Bond and 2001, Dies at 87
John Grover, the British film editor who worked on James Bond films and 2001: A Space Odyssey, has died at his Buckinghamshire home at 87.
John Grover, the British film editor whose credits include six James Bond films and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, died Monday at his home in Buckinghamshire, England. He was 87.
His son, Tim, said Grover died following a short illness. In April, Grover received the British Film Editors Lifetime Achievement Award.
Grover served as film editor on three 007 films: For Your Eyes Only (1981), The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989). He also helped put together The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979) and Octopussy (1983). Across his career he worked on six films starring Roger Moore, among them The Wild Geese (1978) and The Sea Wolves (1980).
Early in his career, Grover was an uncredited assistant editor on The Haunting (1963), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Grand Prix (1966), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969). At a 2016 editing conference, he discussed his difficult experience working with Kubrick on 2001. In his 2018 book Space Odyssey, Michael Benson wrote that Grover accompanied editorial assistant David de Wilde to record Kubrick breathing heavily for the film; Grover claimed the heavy breathing heard in the movie was his, not Kubrick's. A spokesperson for the British editors guild said both men were recorded, and it is thought Grover's recording was used.
A decade later, Grover was assembly editor on Moonraker, working with editor John Glen to assemble the final cut from 800,000 feet of film over 10 months. On The Spy Who Loved Me, he edited the pre-credit sequence featuring Moore skiing and parachuting off a cliff, and incorporated a music box playing "Lara's Theme" from Doctor Zhivago into the film.
His other credits include The Final Option (1982), Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce (1985), the 1984 NBC miniseries The First Olympics and Jim Henson's Labyrinth (1986), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Quick answers
How old was John Grover when he died?
He was 87. He died Monday at his home in Buckinghamshire, England, following a short illness, according to his son, Tim.
Which James Bond films did John Grover edit?
He was film editor on For Your Eyes Only (1981), The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989), and helped put together The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979) and Octopussy (1983).
What was John Grover's connection to 2001: A Space Odyssey?
He was an uncredited assistant editor on the 1968 film. He later claimed he, not Stanley Kubrick, did the heavy breathing heard in the movie; the British editors guild said both were recorded and it is thought Grover's recording was used.