Elena Maganini, Emmy-Winning Editor of 'Dexter' Pilot, Dies at 70

Elena Maganini, the film editor who won an Emmy for cutting the pilot of "Dexter" and gave John McNaughton's "Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer" its shape, died Oct. 21 in Burbank of complications from breast cancer. She was 70.

Her death closes a career that ran from Chicago's independent fringes to network television's busiest cutting rooms. Not bad for someone whose first job was at a Chicago production company, Sinnot & Associates.

What did she cut?

Maganini's first feature credit landed on McNaughton's influential 1986 "Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer," a film that still unsettles audiences nearly four decades on. She became the director's editor of choice. The McNaughton list runs long:

• "Wild Things," starring Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell and Kevin Bacon
• "Mad Dog & Glory"
• "Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll"
• "The Borrower"
• "Speaking of Sex"
• "Lansky"

Her other feature credits include "Next Friday" and "Ed Gein." A resume spanning serial-killer landmark and studio comedy takes range. Few editors manage both.

What about the Emmy?

Television brought Maganini her trophy. She cut the "Dexter" pilot and won an Emmy for it. Her small-screen credits afterward include "Madam Secretary," "Good Behavior," "Clarice," "Manifest" and "The Cleaning Lady."

She also drew an Emmy nomination and a Cable ACE Award nomination for "If These Walls Could Talk," the abortion anthology directed by Cher and Nancy Savoca, with Catherine Keener, Demi Moore and Shirley Knight in the cast. She was a member of American Cinema Editors.

Where did she come from?

Maganini was born in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Illinois and studied filmmaking at Columbia College in Chicago before joining Sinnot & Associates. The Chicago training stuck: her work on "Henry" helped define the flat, unnervingly calm grammar of American true-crime cinema.

Survivors include her husband, Scott Collins, communications director at the Motion Picture Editors Guild; daughter Gabriella Coronel; and daughter-in-law Adrienne Coronel.

A memorial service is set for Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. Donations may go to Columbia College Chicago, Tree House Humane Society or the Stray Cat Alliance.

Editors rarely get marquee billing. Maganini's reel argues they should — one pilot, one serial-killer classic and a shelf of McNaughton collaborations will do the arguing for her.