Oscar Winner John G. Avildsen Dies at 81

John G. Avildsen won the Best Director and Best Picture Oscar for Rocky, famously, in 1976 and that win was considered dubious over time. But in the past the few years, there has been much reconsideration of the movie and its place in history. It was a treasured, life changing film at the time and quite unconventional. Avildsen also made The Karate Kid, and Lean on Me, an underrated film starring Morgan Freeman.

Rest in Peace.