Tarantino editor Sally Menke dies in LA heat wave

30 September 2010
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Sally Menke, the Oscar-nominated editor who collaborated with director Quentin Tarantino on all of his films, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 56.

She is thought to have died from heat stroke while hiking in the Hollywood Hills during a record hot spell.

Menke edited every Tarantino film from Reservoir Dogs in 1992 to last year's Inglourious Basterds.

Her husband, Dean Parisot, said she was "truly proud of two things in her life - above all her family [and] her work."

Her two Oscar nominations came for Pulp Fiction in 1995 and for Basterds, which starred Brad Pitt, earlier this year.

MENKE

Speaking in 2007, Tarantino described Menke as "hands down my number one collaborator".

Menke's body was discovered in the early hours of Tuesday in Beachwood Canyon on the west side of Griffith Park.

Her black Labrador retriever was standing near the body.

Officials believe Menke, who had a history of seizures, died from hyperthermia after collapsing from the heat.

Temperatures reached a record high of 48C on Tuesday in parts of the city.

Born in 1953, Menke studied at New York University before going on to edit documentaries for the CBS network.

Her other films include Oliver Stone's Heaven and Earth, Billy Bob Thornton's All the Pretty Horses and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990.

Source: bbc.co.uk