John G. Avildsen, 'Rocky,' 'The Karate Kid' Director, Dead at 81 according to : Rolling Stone

Like Rocky, The Karate Kid was an unexpected box office and critical success; Avildsen would later direct 1986's The Karate Kid Part II and 1989's The Karate Kid Part III. John G. Avildsen, the Oscar-winning director of Rocky and The Karate Kid, died Friday in Los Angeles following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Avildsen's last big screen feature was the 1999 Jean-Claude Van Damme action film Inferno, which co-starred his longtime Karate Kid actor Pat Morita. Earlier this year, the filmmaker's career was the focus of the documentary John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs. After a pair of low-budget films, Avildsen scored an unlikely hit with the 1970 anti-hippie drama Joe, which starred Peter Boyle and Susan Sarandon in her first big screen role.




Ironically a documentary spotlighting his career is just about to be released on August 1st, titled John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs, from AJ16 Entertainment and directed by Derek Wayne Johnson. His eldest son, Anthony told the Times that John had passed away from pancreatic cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The boxing ring is silent and no-one is running up the steps at the Art Museum in Philadelphia tonight as the Los Angeles Times is reporting that Academy Award winning director John G. Avildsen has passed away at the age of 81. Originally from Oak Park, Illinois, John is survived by sons Anthony, Jonathan, and Ashley and a daughter, Bridget. Other now-classic films include The Karate Kid and Lean on Me.

John G. Avildsen, Rocky & Karate Kid Director, Passes Away at 81

Sylvester Stallone would end up directing Rocky II himself, along with Rocky III and Rocky IV, before John G. Alvidsen returned to the Rocky franchise by directing Rocky V in 1990. John G. Avildsen, who won an Oscar for directing the iconic Rocky and also helmed all three Karate Kid movies, has passed away at 81. He returned to direct The Karate Kid II in 1986, followed by Happy New Year in 1987, starring Peter Falk, For Keeps in 1988 starring Molly Ringwald and two hits in 1989, Lean On Me, starring Morgan Freeman and The Karate Kid III. The filmmaker leaves behind a lasting legacy of telling some of the best underdog stories ever put on film. After Rocky, John G. Avildsen directed Slow Dancing in the Big City (1978) starring Paul Sorvino, The Formula (1980) starring George C. Scott and Marlon Brando, Neighbors (1981) starring John Belushi and A Night in Heaven (1983) starring Lesley Ann Warren, before his blockbuster The Karate Kid became a worldwide sensation in 1984.


collected by :Lucy William

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