Green's Party

Pop Culture, etc

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Cleveland Rocks - Part 5

I did so much in under 48 hours on my recent trip to Cleveland, OH that there's still more to write about! In Part 1 I visited the Superman monuments. In Part 2 I visited the House from A Christmas Story. In Part 3 and Part 4 I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. Here’s my continuation of my visit to the Rock Hall!

the 1984 exhibit

In the Rock Hall's exhibit Music of 1984, it examined all of the music of that epic year! I have a special place for 1984 as that was the year I began to learn about and get into music. They showcased, new wave, metal, hip hop, pop, music videos and more!

Eddie Van Halen's guitar

Prince's guitar

relics from the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, i.e. the year of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" performance

Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth's outfit and bass

me at the On the Air exhibit

Next was the On The Air: AM to XM exhibit about famous American disc jockeys. For my V66 documentary Life on the V: The Story of V66, we interviewed radio legend Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg. Prior to being the General Manager of V66, he was an important DJ in the early days of rock and roll radio. When we interviewed him circa 2008, he showed us the plaque from when the Rock Hall saluted him among the 25 Greatest American DJs at a ceremony in 1997. This exhibit was about the most important DJs and Arnie was among them. His write-up on the display screen made reference to V66. I was truly proud to have had this living legend be a part of my documentary and even prouder to see V66 among his career highlights!

me with the Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg bio

They also had a listing for Dale Dorman, who was known as Uncle Dale for fans of channel 56 and Kiss 108 in Boston. We did not interview him for our V66 doc, but he did host the Weekend Break show on V66 and there's some archival footage of him in the doc.

Stay tuned for my next installment of Cleveland Rocks for more of my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame visit!

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Rivkah Reyes "Miss Congeniality"

Sharing the music video for "Miss Congeniality" from NYC indie rocker Rivkah Reyes! If she looks familiar, it's because in 2003 she played Katie in Richard Linklater's excellent School of Rock. Linklater cast actual musicians to play Jack Black's students as opposed to actors who learned to play instruments for the film. Katie was the bassist in the rock band.

Reyes in School of Rock

Reyes today

She's come a long way since then and her music has kind of a cool 90s vibe to it. Check it out!

For info on Rivkah Reyes

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Cleveland Rocks - Part 4

I did so much in under 48 hours on my recent trip to Cleveland, OH that I'm still writing about it! In Part 1 I visited the Superman monuments. In Part 2 I visited the House from A Christmas Story. In Part 3 I started at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. Here's my continuation of my visit to the Rock Hall!

First up was an exhibit on SNL 50 Ladies and Gentleman...Years of Music. Last year there were a ton of 50th anniversary celebrations, events, specials and documentaries to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. Among them was Questlove's excellent doc about SNL's music history. This exhibit is an expansion of that doc.

me hosting on the faux SNL stage

Wayne and Garth's costumes are on display as well as a hat signed by Alice Cooper

Foo Fighters guitar and drumhead from their 2017 Xmas appearance

Eddie Vedder's shirt from Pearl Jam's 1994 appearance

Ringo Starr's suit and guitar from his 1984 appearance

Devo suit from their 1978 performance

I definitely picked up on an emphasis on Ohio musicians at the Rock Hall, notably Devo, Nine Inch Nails, and The Pretenders (I think I counted three or four times I heard "My City Was Gone" during my visit).

As a lifelong SNL fanatic I enjoyed this exhibit and they even had screens you could view music performances from too. I could've spent all day just at that exhibit!

Stay tuned for my next installment of Cleveland Rocks for more of my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame visit!

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Anthony Head, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Star, Dies at 72

The actor also had roles in 'Ted Lasso,' 'Little Britain' and the BBC's 'Merlin.'

Remembering Anthony Head 1954-2026

Actor Anthony Head has died at 72. He was excellent as Rupert Giles the watcher and adult member of the Scooby Gang on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB / UPN 1997-2003). I was a huge fan of Buffy and Rupert was such a great character and it was always cool when there'd be an episode focused about him. But he was always a father figure of sorts, especially for Buffy who moved to Sunnydale only with her mother. Sadly this news comes a few months after the passing of fellow cast member Nicholas Brendon.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Head on Buffy

Head was the brother of musician Murray Head, known for "One Night in Bangkok". Who knew!? In addition to the Buffyverse (he was also the voice of Giles in video games, animated shows and more), Anthony also appeared in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd and on Ted Lasso (Apple TV 2020-present).

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

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Cleveland Rocks - Part 3

I did so much in under 48 hours on my recent trip to Cleveland, OH but it is taking me longer to write and share about everything I did!?!

In Part 1 I visited the Superman monuments. In Part 2 I visited the House from A Christmas Story.

Then it was onto the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. I've been wanting to visit since they opened in 1995, but haven't gotten close until now. My documentary Life on the V: The Story of V66 was added in 2022 to their Permanent Collection at their Library and Archives, which is a separate building that was sadly closed on the weekend. 

For those wondering why Cleveland is the location of this museum

me at the cool looking Rock Hall Museum

CBGB's lives on...at the Rock Hall's cafe!

Stay tuned for my next installment of Cleveland Rocks for more of my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame visit!

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Alan Ginsburg with Paul McCartney, Philip Glass and Lenny Kaye "Ballad of the Skeletons"

Legendary poet and writer Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) was born 100 years ago this week. He was one of the founders of the Beat Movement and I got into his work when I immersed myself into Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and the beats as a teen. In addition to his own writing like "Howl", he had more than a few pop culture moments. In 1996, he had this music video on MTV for "Ballad of the Skeletons", which he recorded with Sir Paul McCartney, Philip Glass and Lenny Kaye. This was definitely a left turn from everything else on MTV at the time, but I always thought it was cool!

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Album Review: Death Cab for Cutie "I Built You a Tower"

In Oct. 2022, I saw WA indie rock veterans Death Cab For Cutie live for the first time at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston. It was one of my Best Concerts of 2022. They were one of the big indie rock bands that were popular on Fuse when I worked there in the mid-00s. I had some friends who were very into DCFC at the time. I always liked them, but never got fanatical about them. Their name was even mentioned in The Beatles’ movie Magical Mystery Tour.  What makes this group unique is singer / guitarist Ben Gibbard’s voice, it is unlike anyone else’s. The band was indie label for a long time, but in the mid 00s they signed to major label Atlantic and had a string of hit albums and 2008′s Narrow Stairs actually went to #1 on the album charts. In 2015, when my documentary Life on the V: The Story of V66 was part of the film series of the Noise Pop festival in San Francisco, one of the headliners was Gibbard solo. But even as a festival participant I couldn’t get in to see him. But I digress. After twenty years on Atlantic, the band is back on an indie label, Anti-, for the first time in twenty years. Their eleventh album I Built You a Tower drops today.

album cover

The current lineup features singer / multi-instrumentalist / band leader Gibbard, bassist Nick Harmer, drummer Jason McGerr, guitarist Dave Depper, and keyboardist Zac Rae. This is the same lineup they have had for ten years now. Grief is a prominent theme throughout this album, which is something they've touched on a bit in the past. In the last few years there's been some anniversary album tours where the band looked back at their 00s magnum opuses while Gibbard has had to navigate this personal life. So this album is like his nexus of both the past and the future meeting. There's the melancholy voice but there's quite a few upbeat bangers too.

DCFC live onstage at Leader Bank Pavilion on 10/1/2022

Bottom line: DCFC have very quietly been one of the most consistently solid indie rock bands of the last twenty years and yet they are still underrated and regarded as a millenial band that peaked in the 00s. I disagree. The last album Asphalt Meadows was one of my Best Albums of 2022. This new one is going to take some more listens much like a lot of their albums, but it is Gibbard showing he and his band still have it after 29 years! Amen!

For info on I Built You a Tower

3.5 out of 5 stars

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Marjane Satrapi Dead: Iranian-French 'Persepolis' Director Was 56

Iranian French animator and director Marjane Satrapi, best known internationally for her 2007 biographical animated feature Persepolis, has

Remembering Marjane Satrapi 1969-2026

Filmmaker / graphic novelist / author Marjane Satrapi has died at 56. She co-directed the 2007 animated film Persepolis based on her graphic novel of the same name. It was a very unique film and a great example of how animation can be used as a medium to address more adult-oriented themes as it was about an Iranian girl coming of age during the Iranian Revolution. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, with Satrapi becoming the first woman nominated in that category.

Satrapi (center) at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival

She also voiced an appearance as herself on a 2017 episode of The Simpsons.

The link above is the obit from Deadline.

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Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle "A Whole New World"

Singer Peabo Bryson has died at 75 (read the obit from AP News here). He had more than a few pop culture moments including the theme from Beauty and the Beast with Celine Dion. But my favorite was his duet "A Whole New World" with Regina Belle, the theme song to Aladdin. Their version is different from the one sang by Aladdin and Jasmine in the 1992 Disney animated film, but their version played over the end credits and became a #1 song!

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Cleveland Rocks - Part 2

For my recent trip to Cleveland, I'm doing a multi-part recap. In Part 1 I visited the Superman monuments. Here is what we did next:

We stopped by the House From a Christmas Story and did the tour! This house was the exterior film location (and some interiors) for the 1983 holiday classic A Christmas Story. Some fans who were already doing well making and selling novelty leg lamps from the film, bought this house and renovated it to re-create the time period and some scenes from the film.

the house that Ralphie lived in

The tour guide walked us through the house, the backyard, the neighboring Bumpus House and across the street is a museum where they have props and memorabilia.

we opening up the prize lamp leg. Fra-jee-lay it must be Italian!

one of the rooms in the house

in the backyard between Ralphie and Black Bart

Randy's costume on display

Then there was a gift shop as well. This was fun as something in addition to other stuff you're doing in the area, but I don't know that I'd make a trip just for this. But it was a lot of fun.!

the beta and VHS of the movie on display

I learned about this from the documentary The House From... about famous houses from movies and TV shows.

Stay tuned for my next installment of Cleveland Rocks for more!

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‘Twin Peaks’ Actor Owain Rhys Davies Dies at 44; Family Says It Was Sudden and ‘There Are Still Questions That Remain Unanswered’

Owain Rhys Davies, a Welsh actor who appeared in the "Twin Peaks" reboot, died "suddenly" over the weekend, according to his brother. He was

Remembering Owain Rhys Davies 1982-2026

Actor Owain Rhys Davies has died at 44. He played Agent Wilson on David Lynch's 2017 Twin Peaks series. This is sad news for the Twin Peaks fanbase as we lost Lynch last year. The original series was one of the greatest TV shows ever and I named the 2017 revival one of my 10 Best TV Shows of the 2010s.

ORD as Agent Wilson

The link above is the obit from Variety.

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Cleveland Rocks - Part 1

A few days after my birthday, my family whisked me away for a surprise under-48-hour trip to Cleveland, Ohio! I had been to Ohio, but never to Cleveland. I have been wanting to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum since it opened in 1995. 31 years later I got to visit the Rock Hall and much more! Here is part 1 of some of the cool things I got to do during my visit:

me at the Superman display at the airport

Cleveland was the home of Jerry Siegel (1914-1996) and Joe Shuster (1914-1992), who created Superman. The city celebrates these legendary comic book creators as Cleveland seemed to inspire Metropolis. There was a display at the airport and by my hotel that had statues and plaques.

shots of the Superman Plaza

Last year's Superman movie actually filmed some scenes in Cleveland including The Arcade.

The Arcade IRL

scene from 2025's Superman

Stay tuned for my next installment of Cleveland Rocks for more!

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Remembering Joe Negri and Ronald LaPread

Here is my combined remembrance of two entertainers we lost this weekend:

Remembering Joe Negri 1926-2026

Musician Joe Negri has died at 99 (just days away from his 100th birthday). He was a jazz guitarist and educator. Between 1968 and 2001, he appeared on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood as Handyman Negri. It was a PBS children's show I loved as a kid and all his series regulars (both people and puppets) added a bit to the fun!

Negri in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe

The link above is the obit from EW.

Remembering Ronald LaPread 1950-2026

Musician Ronald LaPread has died at 75. He was a founding member in Alabama R&B group the Commodores. He was the bassist from 1970 to 1986, playing on such hits as "Machine Gun" (later featured in a montage in Boogie Nights and sampled by The Beastie Boys for "Hey Ladies"), "Easy" (later covered by Faith No More), "Brick House" (which he co-wrote), "Three Times a Lady", and "Nightshift" (later covered by Bruce Springsteen for Only the Strong Survive) to name a few.

LaPread on bass (far right) with the Commodores circa late 70s

The link above is the obit from EW.

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Stuff I'm Looking Forward To in June

Can't believe it's almost the half-way point of 2026. In addition to Flag Day (6/14), Juneteenth (6/19), Father's Day (6/21), First Day of Summer (6/21) as well as the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, and the World Cup from 6/11 - 7/19 (including games in Foxborough, MA from 6/13 - 7/9), here is what's on my radar:

Movies:

Earth, Wind & Fire: To Be Celestial vs. That's the Weight of the World

Questlove has very quietly become one of the great documentarians of the now after his Oscar-winning Summer of Soul, last year's Sly Lives! and his excellent SNL music doc. Now he's profiling Earth, Wind and Fire. Premieres on HBO on 6/7.

Disclosure Day

When Steven Spielberg makes films about aliens, it's always worth dropping everything and checking it out, i.e., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and War of the Worlds. Now his new one (which he wrote the story for) is about the government disclosing their UFO files (how's that for timing). Opens June 12.

Toy Story 5

I've enjoyed all of the Toy Story movies and this new one looks at toys competing with technology. Looking forward to seeing Woody, Buzz and the gang! Opening June 19.

Supergirl

Superman's cousin Supergirl has had a few pop culture moments, i.e. 1984's mixed bag of a movie with Helen Slater. Then she made an appearance in 2023's The Flash. She was brought into last year's Superman with Milly Alcock playing her. Now Alcock as Supergirl is getting her own movie. Since I was impressed with last year's Superman movie, I'm hoping the character gets the big screen treatment she finally deserves. Opens 6/26 (review to come).

Music:

Death Cab For Cutie I Built You a Tower

The 11th studio album from indie-rock vets Death Cab For Cuties is also their first since 2022, when I saw them in concert in Boston. They are consistently good and hopes are high. Album drops 6/5 (review to come).

The Strokes Reality Awaits

The Strokes are one of those bands I listened to non-stop in the 00s and even saw them multiple times. Their 7th album drops 6/26!

TV:

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Unhappiness

Only two years after the finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, comic genius Larry David returns to HBO with this sketch series about historic moments. David was a History major in college and there's loads of history references throughout Seinfeld, so I'm very excited for this new series that's produced by the Obamas. Premieres on HBO on 6/26!

Music Festival:

Solid Sound Festival

It is music festival season right now and Wilco's annual music fest is returning to Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA from 6/26-28. Featured performers include Wilco as well as Jeff Tweedy and The Breeders! (coverage to come).

Conventions:

Collectibles Extravaganza

The team that run the Northeast Comic Con are back with their Collectibles Extravaganza in Boxborough, MA on 6/27-28.

Books:

Kim Thayil A Screaming Life

Guitarist Kim Thayil has been the standout in Soundgarden as well as the No WTO Combo, MC50, 3rd Secret and more, but now he is telling his telling his own story in his memoir which is being released 6/9!

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Caitlin O’Heaney, Actress in ‘He Knows You’re Alone’ and ‘Tales of the Gold Monkey,’ Dies at 73

The Milwaukee native also worked with Katharine Hepburn on Broadway, starred in a Norman Lear sitcom and played Snow White in ‘The Charmings

Remembering Caitlin O'Heaney 1952-2026

Uggh - sad news this weekend! Actress Caitlin O'Heaney has died at 73. I was connected to her on Facebook as I had been a fan of some of her performances and I had a few brief social media interactions with her and she was always cool!

O'Heaney on right on Tales of the Gold Monkey

After starting out in theater, one of her early film roles was in the horror film He Knows You're Alone, which was notable for being Tom Hanks' debut film. Then, she landed one of the lead roles on the short-lived TV show Tales of the Gold Monkey (ABC 1982-83). The adventure series was one of the best Indiana Jones rip-offs of the 80s (the series debuted a year after Raiders of the Lost Ark). O'Heaney was the love interest on the series. It was an early non-childrens TV show I watched and got into as a kid. In 1987, she was on the first season of The Charmings (ABC 1987-88) as Snow White is a sitcom where Snow White and her family drop into modern day L.A. Such an oddity for a network TV show, but it had its moments.

O'Heaney as Miss Farmer

Her greatest role was as Miss Farmer in one of my all-time favorite movies, 1987's Three O'Clock High. Teen Jerry Mitchell gets challenged to a fight after school by the new bully in town Buddy Revell and building up to the end of the day, he tries to figure out how he can get out of it. One plan he concocts is to get himself into trouble so he'll be in detention and can't fight, so he decides to do a disruptive and inappropriate book report in Miss Farmer's class and he even tries to seduce Miss Farmer, but to his surprise she's into him. It took a certain actress to be slightly older than the students, have a degree of sensuality, and comedic timing to pull off a role that would've fallen apart in a lesser actor's hands.

Around the time of the #MeToo movement, O'Heaney broke an NDA and spoke out about Val Kilmer's treatment of her during an audition for The Doors.

The link above is the article from Hollywood Reporter.

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Album Reviews: Smashing Pumpkins / Violet Grohl

This week I got to review a 35th anniversary reissue and a debut album!

Smashing Pumpkins Gish

Hard to believe there was a time in the 1990s when Smashing Pumpkins were new and just starting out when you consider that by the mid 90s they were possibly the biggest band on the planet. The quartet formed in Chicago in 1988. The band's debut album Gish was released on indie label Caroline Records on May 28, 1991. It was a few months before the alt-rock explosion of Fall 1991 album releases (i.e. Pearl Jam’s Ten, Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Majik, and or course Nirvana’s Nevermind). The album was recorded at Butch Vig’s Smart Studios in  Madison, WI. I remember seeing a segment about this new band out of Chicago on MTV News around the time of the album release. I really dug the name, but I liked their unique sound too. A few months later in high school, a friend lent me the cassette tape. While I wouldn’t call this their best album (that goes to Siamese Dream or Mellon Collie..), this did announce the band to the world as a band to watch for. It also become one of the most successful independently released album of all time. That album is being reissued this week.

album cover

There's various formats being released, but the one I got to review is the standard black vinyl. The visionary of Smashing Pumpkins was and always has been singer / guitarist / primary songwriter Billy Corgan, but this classic lineup showed they were bigger than the sum of their parts: guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. That was a musical meeting of the minds for sure! The album itself was very unique for its time, like they were making an artistic statement through this underground music. While later albums showed the band swinging for the fences more, this one shows they were ambitious even for a small indie band, unafraid to bring in violins and cellos. Gish is unlike anything else from 1991, part grunge, part psychedelic, part art rock, but all Billy Corgan in his prime. Highlights for me are "I Am One" and "Rhinoceros". There's no bonus tracks on this reissues (go back to the 2011 edition for that), but the music still sound spectacular!

For info on Gish

5 out of 5 stars

Violet Grohl Be Sweet To Me

You know an album is highly anticipated when you feel like you already know the singer before their debut album is out. At 20, Violet Grohl, the oldest daughter of Dave Grohl, has already shown she’s not just riding the coattails of her last name, she has a killer voice. She rose to the challenge of singing Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” at a 2020 fundraiser where she performed with her dad and former Nirvana members. In 2021, she and her dad did a cover of X’s “Nausea” that I included in my Best Songs of 2021. In 2023 when I spoke to X’s Exene Cervenka, she praised Violet’s singing on that version. She has sang backup with Foo Fighters at many of their shows, including their 2018 Fenway Park show and the 2023 Boston Calling show I saw. She sang with her dad on his 2021 and 2022 Hanukkah Sessions and she sang backup on some songs on the band’s 2021 album Medicine at Midnight and 2023’s But Here We Are. Last year, she joined her dad and Nirvana bandmates again for a cover of "All Apologies" at Fire Aid. For her first debut album she brought in producer Justin Raisen, known for Yeah Yeah Yeah's Cool It Down. Be Sweet To Me drops today from Aurora and Republic.

album cover

Something I have talked about a bit is how a child of a music legend often unfairly has to live up to their parent. Any child of a much-loved musician has had to live up to their parent’s musicianship, just ask Julian Lennon, Jakob Dylan, or Jason Bonham, all of whom are great musicians on their own, but had to live up to their legendary parents, which set the bar so unrealistically high. So because of this, I tried to listen to this album on its own and not compare it to Dave Grohl's music. Some are going to listen to Violet Grohl's album and try to draw parallels to Nirvana or Foo Fighters. I made an effort to listen without the family context (as hard as that may be for some listeners). I noticed more of an influence from 90s alt-rock in line with P.J. Harvey or Tracy Bonham and at times similarities to Lana Del Rey. The previously released singles "THUM" and "Applefish" are here and there's some serious bangers on the rest of the album! The 90s influence is heard throughout and her voice is so powerful. I know I said I wasn't going to compare her to Foo Fighters, but I do feel I should point out that on the closing song "Plastic Couch", the drums are from Shane Hawkins, the son of the late great Foo Fighter drummer Taylor Hawkins, who has sat in as a guest with Foo Fighters before (including the 2023 Boston Calling show that Violet also performed at) and who has since performed with his dad's other band Chevy Metal. Kind of a cool passing-the-torch moment hear Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins' kids performing together and they make the music fully their own. Bottom line: Violet might have a famous last name, but her voice and her music are very much worth checking out. One of the best rock debut albums in a while!

For info on Be Sweet To Me

4 out of 5 stars

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Marcia Lucas, Oscar-Winning ‘Star Wars’ Editor, Dies at 80

Marcia Lucas, George Lucas' former wife and Oscar-winning editor of 'Star Wars,' died Wednesday. She was 80.

Remembering Marcia Lucas 1945-2026

Film editor Marcia Lucas has died at 80. She was married to George Lucas from 1969 to 1983. Normally I hate obits that define someone based on who they were married to, but I say this at the onset for context of the work she did with her former husband. She was assistant editor on George's debut THX 1138, then served as editor on George's next film American Graffiti and she later edited the George-produced sequel More American Graffiti.

Marcia and George editing

Her biggest contribution to film was on Star Wars Episodes 4-6, the original trilogy. On Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, she was editor as well as Script and Story Coordinator. She shared an Oscar for Best Editing with Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch. She was uncredited, but edited Star Wars: Episode V - Empire Strikes Back. Her last collaboration with George was editing Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. Say whatever you want about any number of aspects of Episodes 4-6, but the editing was tight and among the best of the 70s and 80s. Many credit her contributions with truly making the films!

Other films she edited or assistant edited include Medium Cool, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and Taxi Driver. That is quite an editor's reel she had!

The link above is the obit from Variety.