JOHN G. AVILDSEN

(21 December 1935 - 16 June 2017)

The American film director John G. Avildsen, who has died aged 81, was not just a director but also in his time a producer, editor, writer and cinematographer. His most famous film was arguably Rocky (1976), for which he won an Oscar and which won many other awards around the world. It was enormously popular and made a star out of Sylvester Stallone. Avildsen also directed Rocky V and hit gold, too, with The Karate Kid (1984) and its sequels, but he also made other, more interesting films such as Joe (1970) with Peter Boyle, Save the Tiger (1973) with Jack Lemmon (who won an Oscar for it) and other titles including W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, Slow Dancing in the Big City, The Formula and The Power of One. As a producer, Avildsen was involved with Arthur Penn’s Mickey One (1965) with Warren Beatty, and at the time of his death was working on The Margarita Man, American Satan and Nate & Al, the last with Richard Dreyfuss and Martin Landau. Derek Wayne Johnson has written and directed a documentary tribute, John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs with contributions from Stallone, Ralph Macchio, Martin Scorsese, Luke Perry etc plus archive footage of Avildsen’s many other actors.

MICHAEL DARVELL