This busy former TV editor (e.g., "Hogan's Heroes") has cut most of the hits--and a few of the misses--directed by Steven Spielberg. Kahn's most successful collaboration began with the heavenly "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), led to his first Oscar for the thrilling "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), reached a peak with the harrowing "Schindler's List" (1993, for which he earned his second Academy Award) and may have achieved its zenith with his Oscar-winning cutting of the WWII epic "Saving Private Ryan" (1998). He did not always occupy such a lofty position in the industry; his early credits included blaxploitation and other modest fare including two films helmed by actor-turned-director Ivan Dixon ("Kinch" on Kahn's old gig, "Hogan's Heroes")--"Trouble Man" (1972) and "The Spook Who Sat By the Door" (1975). Kahn also edited two features directed by George C. Scott: an ecological revenge flick, "Rage" (1972) and the desert island Oedipal melodrama, "The Savage Is Loose" (1974). His best remembered TV credit was the acclaimed biopic miniseries "Eleanor and Franklin" (ABC, 1976), for which he earned an Emmy.
In between Spielberg assignments, Kahn has worked his rhythmic magic on various mainstream entertainments from Amblin and elsewhere including "Poltergeist" (1982), "Fatal Attraction" (1987), "Arachnophobia" (1990) and "Alive" (1993). The latter two were the first features helmed by producer-director Frank Marshall.