Clik here to view.
John Jarvis, who has died aged 78, was a film editor whose comic timing was behind successful comedy series such as Only Fools and Horses, Ripping Yarns, As Time Goes By, Open All Hours and The Goodies. I was John's assistant during the 1980s, and I remember an occasion when the director Sydney Lotterby came into John's cutting room to see if one of his cuts could be improved. We spent some time moving individual frames, but in the end, there was no argument. John had got it right the first time.
John was born in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, the son of Edward Jarvis, a feature film editor who had worked with Alfred Hitchcock and Alexander Korda. After finishing his national service in the army, he followed his father into the cutting rooms at Rank studios in Denham, Buckinghamshire. In the early 60s he worked with the Shell film unit. When the unit was trimmed down in the 1970s, John set up an editing facility close to the BBC studios at Shepherd's Bush, west London, and never looked back.
Among the first to recognise his skills was Jim Franklin, who directed Ripping Yarns, created by Michael Palin and Terry Jones. John also worked on many series with Lotterby, including Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Ever-Decreasing Circles. According to Lotterby, John "had a gift of very gently suggesting another way to get what you wanted without you thinking that it was his idea".
John is survived by Ann, his wife of 30 years, with whom he enjoyed a long retirement in northern Spain; three daughters from a previous marriage, Naomi, Tina and Samantha; and several grandchildren.
