John Avildsen was an American film director, best known for directing Sylvester Stallone starrer Rocky (1976) that got him the Academy Award for Best Director. He made his directorial debut with the 1969 movie Turn on to Love. He subsequently directed films like The Formula (1980), Traveling Hopefully (1982), The Karate Kid (1984), The Karate Kid II (1986) and The Karate Kid III (1989). He also directed Rocky V (1990), the fifth instalment of the Rocky franchise. His last film credit includes Inferno (1999) that stars Van Damme, Danny Trejo and Pat Morita in pivotal roles. John Avildsen passed away in June 2017.