Oscar-winning director of ‘Rocky’, ‘Karate Kid’ passes away

American director of iconic films ‘Rocky’ and ‘Karate Kid’ has passed away at a hospital in the US state of California.

Oscar-winning director John G. Avildsen died after complications from pancreatic cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the city of Los Angeles on Friday.

The director was most famous for his contribution to the original ‘Rocky’ (1976), starring Sylvester Stallone, as well as the three original ‘Karate Kid’ films.

He has won numerous awards, including an Oscar and a DGA Award for directing ‘Rocky’, which also won Oscars for best picture and film editing.

“We were greatly saddened to learn of the passing of beloved director John Avildsen. His iconic ‘Rocky,’ which won the DGA Feature Film Award in 1976, has been lionized throughout our culture as the quintessential underdog story,” the Director’s Guild said in a statement.

In 1983, he was nominated for another Oscar for his documentary short ‘Traveling Hopefully’.

Avildsen developed a reputation for directing films about losers, or underdogs, who somehow become winners.

Avildsen started in show business as a cinematographer, while going on to direct very famous films. He died at the age of 81.

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