Born in Ogden, UT, the youngest child in a Mormon household. After a rough childhood that included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide, his dropping out of high school, getting married and divorced all before he was 19, he decided to leave Utah for California. Ashby began his film career, thanks to the California State Department of Unemployment, as a mimeograph-machine operator at Universal Studios in 1957. He rose to become a full-fledged editor within a decade and was given his first chance to direct in 1970, when Norman Jewison was unable to carry out his assignment on THE LANDLORD. Ashby went on to earn commercial and critical success, and gained a reputation as a gentle, amiable director who paid meticulous attention to casting. As a director, his other credits include HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971), THE LAST DETAIL (1973), SHAMPOO (1975), BOUND FOR GLORY (1976), BEING THERE (1979), SECOND-HAND HEARTS (1981), LOOKIN' TO GET OUT (1982), LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER (1982), THE SLUGGER'S WIFE (1985), 8 MILLION WAYS TO DIE (1986) and his last project before his untimely death from cancer, the TV movie "Jake's Journey" (1988). As a film editor, he edited THE CINCINNATI KID and THE LOVED ONE (both 1965) and THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968). He was an associate producer of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR and GAILY, GAILY (1969), and he assisted the producer on IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT. In the 1970s, he married actress Joan Marshall (1931-1992), and they remained married until his death in 1988.  Nominated for Film Editing 1966: THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!  Film Editing 1967: IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT  Nominated for Directing 1978: COMING HOME 3 nominations, 1 Award