Elmo Williams(1913-2015)
- Editor
- Producer
- Director
Elmo Williams was born James Elmo Williams in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma.
Orphaned at 16, he attended schools in Oklahoma and New Mexico before
moving to Los Angeles. In 1933 he struck up a relationship with film
editor Merrill G. White, who hired
Williams as his assistant on a business trip to England. He learned the
basics of film editing from White and soon gained a reputation as a
first-rate editor, doing much work at RKO. In 1947 Williams edited the
documentary
Design for Death (1947), which
earned an Oscar as Best Documentary, and in 1952 he received an Oscar
for his editing of the western classic
Le train sifflera trois fois (1952). He soon branched out
into directing, turning out several low-budget efforts for Lippert
Pictures and Republic Pictures. Williams journeyed to Europe in 1958 to
work as editor and second-unit director on
Les Vikings (1958) and wound up
staying there for several years when he was hired to produce and direct
the TV series
Tales of the Vikings (1959).
Upon his return to the US, Williams was hired by 20th Century-Fox as a second-unit director. In that capacity, and as associate producer, he was sent back to Europe to work on the WW II epic Le Jour le plus long (1962), helping to stage the film's spectacular battle scenes. He had another extended stay in Europe when he was given the job of Managing Director of European Production for Fox, a position he held until 1966, when he returned to the US to work on another World War II epic, Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! (1970). In 1970 Williams was appointed Vice President in charge of Worldwide Production at Fox, a job he left in 1973 to go into independent production.
Upon his return to the US, Williams was hired by 20th Century-Fox as a second-unit director. In that capacity, and as associate producer, he was sent back to Europe to work on the WW II epic Le Jour le plus long (1962), helping to stage the film's spectacular battle scenes. He had another extended stay in Europe when he was given the job of Managing Director of European Production for Fox, a position he held until 1966, when he returned to the US to work on another World War II epic, Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! (1970). In 1970 Williams was appointed Vice President in charge of Worldwide Production at Fox, a job he left in 1973 to go into independent production.
