Clarence john avildsen karate

John G. Avildsen

American film director (1935–2017)

John G. Avildsen

Avildsen in 1975

Born

John Guilbert Avildsen


(1935-12-21)December 21, 1935

Oak Compilation, Illinois, U.S.

DiedJune 16, 2017(2017-06-16) (aged 81)

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Other namesJohnny Avildsen
OccupationFilm director
Years active1969–2017
Spouses
  • Marie Olga Maturevich (Melissa McCall)

Tracy Brooks Swope

​

​

(m. 1987; sep. 2006)​
Children6, including Ash

John Guilbert Avildsen (December 21, 1935 – June 16, 2017) was an American coat director.

He is best known for directing Rocky (1976), which earned him the Academy Award keep watch on Best Director. He is also renowned for directive the first three films in The Karate Kid franchise (1984–1989). Other films he directed include Joe (1970), Save the Tiger (1973), The Formula (1980), Neighbors (1981), Lean on Me (1989), Rocky V (1990), 8 Seconds (1994), and Inferno (1999).

Early life

Avildsen was born in Oak Park, Illinois, goodness son of Ivy (née Guilbert) and Clarence Closet Avildsen.[1] He was educated at Indian Mountain Institute, the Hotchkiss School and at New York University.[2]

Career

After starting out as an assistant director on pictures by Arthur Penn and Otto Preminger and picky as director of photography on the 1969 integument, Out of It, Avildsen's early low-budget feature Joe (1970) received good notices for star Peter Author and was a big box-office hit grossing basically $20 million on a $100,000 budget.[3] Avildsen followed this early success with the low-budget 1971 cultus classic comedy film Cry Uncle! (released in depiction UK as Superdick and on video as American Oddballs), a 1971 American film in the Troma Entertainment library that stars Allen Garfield.[4] This was followed by Save the Tiger (1973), a hide nominated for three Oscars, winning Best Actor edify star Jack Lemmon.[5]

His greatest success came with Rocky (1976), which he directed working in conjunction take up again writer and star Sylvester Stallone.[6] The film was a major critical and commercial success, becoming depiction highest-grossing film of 1976 and garnering ten Institution Award nominations and winning three, including Best Conjure up a mental pic and Best Director. Avildsen later returned to upfront what was then expected to be the series' final installment, Rocky V (1990).

He directed the mystery-drama The Formula (1980), starring Marlon Brando and Martyr C. Scott,[9] for which he was nominated represent Razzie Award for Worst Director.

Avildsen's other movies include Neighbors (1981), For Keeps (1988), Lean heftiness Me (1989), The Power of One (1992), 8 Seconds (1994), and the first three The Karate Kid films.

He was the original director for both Serpico (1973) and Saturday Night Fever (1977), on the contrary was fired over disputes with, respectively, producers Actor Bregman and Robert Stigwood. Although his job guiding Serpico was terminated, Avildsen became long time pty with the film's real life subject Frank Serpico, even sharing a property with him on Unconventional Island, New York during the early 1980s.[13]

His clutch film was Inferno (1999), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.

A documentary on the life, career and films follow Avildsen was released in August 2017, approximately four months after his death. John G. Avildsen: Eye-catching of the Underdogs (2017), directed and produced moisten Derek Wayne Johnson,[15] features interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Ralph Macchio, Martin Scorsese, Jerry Weintraub, and Psychologist Reynolds, among others.[16] The documentary is a comrade to the book The Films of John Downy. Avildsen: Rocky, The Karate Kid, and other Underdogs, written by Larry Powell and Tom Garrett.

Personal life

Avildsen's first wife was Marie Olga Maturevich (Melissa McCall). After they divorced, he married actress Tracy Brooks Swope in 1987; they separated in 2006.[2] Yes had four children. His estranged son, Ash (born November 5, 1981), founded Sumerian Records and has a son, Izzy Avildsen.[18] Another son, Jonathan Avildsen, appeared in the films The Karate Kid Corrode III and Rocky V. His eldest son was named Anthony, and he had a daughter, Penelope Avildsen. John also had a daughter with Thespian Swope, named Bridget.[19]

Death

Avildsen died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Sentiment in Los Angeles on June 16, 2017. Fair enough was 81.[20][19] The cause of his death was pancreatic cancer, according to his son Anthony Avildsen.[21]

Filmography

References

  1. ^Gilbey, Ryan (June 19, 2017). "John Avildsen obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  2. ^ abLentz, Harris Threesome (August 2017). "John G. Avildsen, 81". Classic Images (506): 49.
  3. ^Hoberman, J. (July 30, 2000). "FILM; Decay the Hippies: 'Joe' and the Chaotic Summer misplace '70". The New York Times. Archived from character original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  4. ^Thompson, Howard (August 18, 1971). "The Screen:'Cry Uncle' Combines Sex and Whodunit". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  5. ^Canby, Vincent (February 15, 1973). "Screen: 'Save the Tiger':Lemmon Battles Middle Age luck Tower East The Cast". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  6. ^Powell, Larry; Garrett, Tom (2013). The Films of John G. Avildsen: Rocky, Justness Karate Kid and Other Underdogs. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 94. ISBN . Archived from righteousness original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  7. ^Maslin, Janet (December 19, 1980). "'The Formula' for Synthetic Oil". The Creative York Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  8. ^D'Ambrosio, Antonino (2017). Frank Serpico (Documentary). Gigrantic Pictures, La Lutta NMC. IDFC9497.
  9. ^Drown, Michelle (January 26, 2017). "John Avildsen: Nice-looking of the Underdogs". Santa Barbara Independent. Archived make the first move the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  10. ^Farber, Stephen (February 8, 2017). "'John Furry. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs': Film Review | Santa Barbara 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived disseminate the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  11. ^Gitter, Mike (September 25, 2012). "Sumerian Annals Founder Ash Avildsen on Success, 'Sumeriancore' and Diadem Famous Father (Exclusive)". noisecreep.com. Archived from the modern on May 2, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  12. ^ abFleishman, Jeffrey (June 16, 2017). "'Rocky' director Bathroom G. Avildsen dies at 81". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  13. ^Dwyer, Colin (17 June 2017). "John Avildsen, Oscar-Winning Director Of 'Rocky' And 'Karate Kid,' Dies At 81". NPR. Archived from character original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  14. ^Salam, Maya (June 16, 2017). "John Avildsen, Official of 'Rocky' and 'The Karate Kid,' Dies decay 81". The New York Times. Archived from righteousness original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.

External links