Bill Parker, 64; Film Editor Worked on ‘Columbo’ TV Shows

Bill Parker, 64, motion picture and television film editor who worked with Peter Falk on his two-hour television specials of “Columbo,” died Friday of lung cancer at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

Born in Pittsburgh, Parker began his career as a rock ‘n’ roll singer and recording artist. But when he moved to Los Angeles in 1961, he switched to film editing, beginning as an assistant at Todd-AO Studios. In addition to his work with Falk, he edited such television series as “Emergency,” “Centennial” and “MacGyver” and miniseries and television movies including “Peter the Great” and “Survival of Spaceship Earth.”

In the early 1990s, Parker was put under contract by Jim Choi, president and owner of Fu Nagai Film Productions, to create the film “Shanghai 1920.” Shot entirely in Shanghai, the film was completed in Hong Kong and Japan.

After returning to Hollywood, Parker edited the Emmy-winning “A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story” and several “Columbo” productions. His most recent credit was last year’s “Columbo: Murder with Too Many Notes.”