John G. Avildsen
Director
1977 Academy Award winner for Best Director, which he earned for his work on the iconic first film in the Rocky franchise.
He started out as an assistant director before making his official directorial debut with Joe in 1970.
He was originally slated to direct Serpico and Saturday Night Fever but was fired over disputes with the films' producers.
His son Ash was the founder of Sumerian Records.
He directed Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, which was also written by Stallone.