John F. Link

John Frederick Link Jr. (July 16, 1935 – August 9, 2026) was an American film and television editor. He is most well known for his editing work on Predator and Die Hard, the latter of which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

Early life His father, John F. Link Sr., was also a film editor, and was also nominated for an Academy Award: for the 1943 film, For Whom the Bell Tolls. Link was one of several assistant editors on the film.

Career That same year he was the sole editor on the documentary, Footprints on the Moon. Both the film and the documentary have his credit as John F. Link Jr., making attribution easy. His next project was another documentary, Say Goodbye in 1971, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Feature). During the 1970s he worked in both television and film. Notable films he edited during this period include: The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), starring Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, and Ellen Burstyn; the 1973 cult classic Electra Glide in Blue (which he co-edited with two others); Race with the Devil (1975), starring Peter Fonda and Warren Oates; and the 1976 Jeff Bridges' comedy-drama film, Stay Hungry, which also starred Sally Field and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In the 1980s, in addition to his Academy Award-nominated work on Die Hard, Link again worked on two Schwarzenegger films, 1985's Commando and the 1987 blockbuster, Predator. Following these he worked on Die Hard, ending the decade with editing the 1989 cult classic, Road House. The 1990s dawned with Link working on the Steven Seagal action thriller Hard to Kill. This was followed by the action-comedy film If Looks Could Kill starring Richard Grieco. Other notable films he edited during the decade include The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, a psychological thriller starring Annabella Sciorra and Rebecca De Mornay; the Walt Disney production of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, The Three Musketeers; the Keenen Ivory Wayans comedy, A Low Down Dirty Shame, with Charles S. Dutton and Jada Pinkett; another Disney Film, The Big Green in 1995 starring Olivia d'Abo and Steve Guttenberg; and the Jean-Claude Van Damme martial arts film, The Quest; and the superhero action film Steel, based upon the DC Comics character Steel, starring Shaquille O'Neal. The last film for which he received credit as an editor was 1999 slasher film, Cherry Falls, directed by Geoffrey Wright, and starring Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr, and Michael Biehn.

Death Link died in Huntersville, North Carolina, on August 9, 2026, at the age of 91.

Filmography (as per AFI's database, unless otherwise footnoted)

TV movies

TV series