Oscar winner Marcia Lucas, the former wife of George Lucas who edited some of the seminal films of the 1970s, including the original “Star Wars,” has died.
Lucas, whose primary residence was in San Francisco, died at her vacation home in Rancho Mirage (Riverside County) on the evening of Wednesday, May 27, her family told the Chronicle through their San Francisco attorney, Deidre Von Rock. The cause was metastatic cancer.
“Marcia was a force,” her family said in a statement. “A true trailblazer for women in film and one of the most influential editors in cinematic history; she helped redefine what film editing could be and paved the way for generations of women who followed.”
Born Marcia Lou Griffin in Modesto but raised in North Hollywood, she met her future husband when both were assistants for pioneering female film editor Verna Fields (1975’s “Jaws”). They married in 1969.
As George Lucas, also a Modesto native, began his directing career working with Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope, Marcia Lucas rose in the ranks to help shape several groundbreaking works by the young auteurs of New Hollywood.
She co-edited George Lucas’ breakthrough film “American Graffiti” (1973) with Fields, and went on to edit “Star Wars” (1977) and “Return of the Jedi” (1983). She also edited Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (1974), “Taxi Driver” (1976) and “New York, New York” (1977).
“She will be remembered as a brilliant storyteller, an incredible friend, a loving mother, a generous host, and a woman whose humor and sparkle filled every room she entered,” her family said. “Her influence on film is indelible, but those who knew her best will remember something even greater: the way she made life feel more vivid, more beautiful, more fun, and more full of love.”
Lucas received her first Academy Award nomination for “American Graffiti” and won her only Oscar for “Star Wars,” which she co-edited with Paul Hirsch and Richard Chew.
Marcia Lucas and George Lucas adopted a daughter, Amanda, who was born in 1981. The couple divorced in 1983.
That same year Marcia married Tom Rodrigues, a stained glass artist. They had a daughter, Amy, in 1985 but divorced in 1993.
Lucas is survived by her daughters Amanda Lucas and Amy Soper; her grandchildren Felix and Aeliana Hallikainen, and Knox Soper; and her chosen family Sarah Dyer and Jon Taylor.
Funeral arrangements are pending. The family has asked for privacy.
