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Multiple Emmy-Winning TV Editing Pioneer Dies

Dec 30, 2013  •  Post A Comment

A veteran television editor who worked on a string of popular series and was a pioneer of a major editing system has died. Deadline.com reports that former TV repairman Marco Zappia died Dec. 22 in Ventura, Calif. He was 76.

Zappia received 15 Primetime Emmy nominations for his editing work, including five for his work on "Home Improvement." He won Emmys in 1971 for "Hee Haw" and in 1981 for the special "Christmas in the Holy Land."

Zappia, who started out owning a TV repair shop, joined CBS in 1968 as an engineer in the videotape department. His first editing job was on CBS’s “Hee Haw,” which earned him his first Emmy. It was also CBS’s first-ever win for editing.

He later edited many TV specials and series, including "All in the Family" and “Maude.” He had prolific sitcom credits in the 1990s, working on “Who’s the Boss?,” “Boy Meets World” and “Dinosaurs,” among others.

“Zappia also contributed to the development of the multi-cam Avid Editing System, which he was the first to use to edit a multi-cam sitcom while on ‘Home Improvement,’” the story notes. “Earlier this year he published his memoir ‘Smartest Guy in the Room’ detailing his career in entertainment.”

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One Comment

  1. Although editing of TV shows on film and live switching of video cameras existed for decades, Marco was a true pioneer when he started creatively cutting 2″ videotape, which until then was used only repair damaged tape.
    When computers replaced physical cutting, he continued to be a creative force in video editing for many decades.

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