Obituary of Michael D. Grenadier

MICHAEL GRENADIER, FILM & VIDEO EDITOR/PRODUCER, DIES AT 74 Michael Grenadier, a well-known film and video producer and editor, died on November 19 at Norwalk (Connecticut) Hospital from complications following treatment for colon cancer at Memorial Sloane Kettering Hospital in Manhattan. He was 74. Mr. Grenadier was born in New Rochelle, New York, and graduated from Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, and from New York University’s School of the Arts and Institute of Film and Television. In the 1990s, he taught an introductory course in Avid Editing at The School of Visual Arts, where he created an advanced Avid editing class. From there he became well-known in the film industry for his use of Avid Media Composer, a professional video editing software, to edit digital video footage. According to friends and associates, he was adept in almost every area of the film and video production and post-production business. He was able to move quickly between projects and to come up with creative, innovative solutions to a wide range of situations. At the same time he was beloved by clients and by fellow professionals alike, said Peter Christ (pronounced “Krist”), a fine artist and friend of Mr. Grenadier’s for 40 years, 30 of which were spent collaborating on video and film production projects. “Michael was a multifaceted talent—a director, camera person and editor—who raised the creative bar on every project,” Mr. Christ said. “He was also the ‘go-to guy’ for his ability to solve technical problems under pressure. He had vast technical knowledge and was extremely generous with his time and advice.” Together, they created award-winning videos, animations, and interactive programs for healthcare and the arts. Over the course of his career, Mr. Grenadier collaborated with scores of other artists and musicians, producers and directors. The list includes orchestra conductor Jens Nygaard, dancer Meredith Monk, clown extraordinaire Mark Gindick, and folksingers Maggie and Susie Roche. He was particularly adept at organizing large, complex documentary projects. In 2010, he directed and co-produced “High, Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project”, a documentary about the making of folksinger/actor Loudon Wainwright III’s Grammy Award-winning CD on the life and music of Poole, a pioneer of American country music. In 2012, he worked as an editor on Robert Richter’s documentary “The Ultimate Wish: Ending the Nuclear Age,” about the survivors of the Nagasaki and Fukushima bombings. At the time of his death, he was working on the restoration of "Sand in Our Shoes" a 1992 documentary directed by Martin Spinelli about the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Mr. Grenadier is survived by a sister, Lisa Grenadier Connor, of Fairfield, Connecticut; a brother, Jim Grenadier, of Austin, Texas; nephew and godson Jackson Connor of Brooklyn, New York; and nephew Sam Grenadier and niece Elizabeth Grenadier, of San Antonio and Austin, Texas, respectively. He was predeceased by his parents, George Grenadier, Co-Founder and President of The Grenadier Corporation, and mother Del Grenadier of Westport, Connecticut. A memorial service is planned for early next year.