Jump to content

John G. Avildsen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mr. 57 (talk | contribs) at 05:13, 23 July 2012. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

John G. Avildsen
Born (1935-12-21) December 21, 1935 (age 88)
Oak Park, Illinois, USA
OccupationFilm director
Years active1969 - present
Signature

John Guilbert Avildsen (born December 21, 1935) is an Academy Award winning American film director.

Life and career

Avildsen was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Ivy (née Guilbert) and Clarence John Avildsen.[1] After starting out as an assistant director on films by Arthur Penn and Otto Preminger, John Avildsen received his first success with the low budget feature Joe (1970) which received critical acclaim for star Peter Boyle and moderate box office business.

This was followed by another critical success, Save the Tiger (1973), that was nominated for three Oscars, winning Best Actor for star Jack Lemmon.

Avildsen's greatest success was Rocky (1976), garnering ten Academy Award nominations and winning three, including Best Picture and Best Director. He later directed what was expected to be the series' final installment, Rocky V (1990). His other films include Cry Uncle! (1970), Neighbors (1981), The Karate Kid (1984) The Karate Kid, Part II (1986), The Karate Kid, Part III (1989), Lean on Me (1989), and 8 Seconds (1994).

Avildsen was the original director for both Serpico (1973) and Saturday Night Fever (1977), but was fired over disputes with producers Martin Bregman and Robert Stigwood, respectively.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/48/John-G-Avildsen.html

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_G._Avildsen&oldid=503714146"