 Savage was Anne V. Coates' first assistant editor for Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962).He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for Lean's 1965 film "Doctor Zhivago", and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Editing for Lean's 1970 film "Ryan's Daughter".Savage died of leukemia while editing the film "Lady Caroline Lamb" (1972).