John Jarvis(1932-2011)

John Jarvis, the eminent film editor who worked on comedy classics including Only Fools and Horses and The Goodies, died in Spain on 4 February 2011. John's astounding comic timing was behind some of television's most successful comedy series, from Only Fools and Horses to Ripping Yarns, taking in As Time Goes By, Open All Hours and The Goodies, among many others. When you find yourself laughing at a joke you've seen and heard many times before - well, that was John's specialty. Film editing prowess ran in the family. John's father, Edward Jarvis, was a highly respected feature film editor who worked with Hitchcock, Alexander Korda and other leading directors on movies starring legendary figures including Marlene Dietrich, Rod Steiger, Sidney Poitier, Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan. John was born on 3 December 1932. After finishing his National Service in the army, he followed his father into the cutting rooms at Rank Studios in Denham. He soon realised that the opportunities for aspiring young men were few and far between in the world of feature films. In the early 60s he worked with the Shell film unit on a variety of projects. When the unit was trimmed in the 70s, John set up an editing facility close to the BBC studios in Shepherds Bush, West London, and never looked back. His exceptional ability was soon noticed and he was subsequently sought out by many talented TV directors. Among the first to recognise John's skill was Jim Franklin, a former film editor himself, who had landed a plum job directing the Ripping Yarns series, created by Michael Palin and Terry Jones. These hilarious films have stood the test of time remarkably well. Another person who came to John in those early years was Syd Lotterby; they worked on many series together during their careers, including classics such as Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Ever-Decreasing Circles. Syd says of John: "He was the person you always wanted to work on your programmes, he had flair - kind, considerate, happy & unshowy - even though he probably knew more about putting programmes together than you thought you knew - he had a gift of very gently suggesting another way to get what you wanted without you thinking that it was his idea. "We will all remember with affection and talk about that lovely person who apart from editing programmes was a joy just to sit & talk to." John was also entrusted with the feature-length Christmas specials of Only Fools and Horses. These proved to be among the nation's favourite programmes over the years. One episode still holds the record for the largest audience for a British comedy programme: 24.3 million viewers. John is survived by Ann, his wife of 30 years, with whom he enjoyed a long and very active retirement in northern Spain. He also leaves three daughters from a previous marriage - Naomi, Tina and Samantha - and several grandchildren.