Albert Pyun Has Died, Made The 90s Captain America Movie And More
Filmmaker Albert Pyun has died at age 69.
Two weeks ago, comic-book fans were devastated following the news that renowned Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy had tragically passed away. Now, Deadline is reporting the death of Albert Pyun, another notable figure in the world of superheroes. The filmmaker, who was mostly known for directing low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action flicks, helmed the 1990 picture Captain America, which was the first feature-length production based on the character to release in theaters.
According to Deadline, Albert Pyun died on Saturday, November 26 at the age of 69. His wife, Cynthia Curnan, shared the tragic news on social media, stating that the director died in Las Vegas after years of suffering from dementia and multiple sclerosis. He was reportedly working on two unfinished features before he passed away, hoping to rework the projects into a six-part television series.
Albert Pyun was raised in a military family and bounced between bases around the world before his father eventually settled in Hawaii. He attended school in the small town of Kailua, where he made his first 8mm and 16mm movies. He worked for several production houses in Honolulu while he was in high school.
After he graduated, he became a commercial film editor, but eventually Albert Pyun relocated to Los Angeles to become a feature film director. His first motion picture was The Sword and the Sorcerer, which earned nearly $37 million domestically and remains his highest-grossing movie. Following the film’s success, he was attached to direct Total Recall starring Arnold Schwarzenegger for Universal Pictures, but the project ended up going to Paul Verhoeven.
Over the course of his career, Albert Pyun amassed nearly 60 director credits, with his most notable feature being the 1990 live-action adaptation of Captain America. Matt Salinger stars as the titular character in the film, which sees the hero being freed from a block of ice to battle against archcriminal The Red Skull. Penned by Stephen Tolkin, the movie also features appearances by Ronny Cox, Ned Beatty, Darren McGavin, and Scott Paulin.
Albert Pyun is also known for directing the 1989 science-fiction thriller Cyborg, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, who frequently collaborated with the filmmaker. The movie follows a martial artist who hunts a killer in a plaque-infested urban dump of the future. In addition to helming the picture, Pyun also penned the screenplay.
At the time of his death, Albert Pyun was attached to multiple projects including Cyborg: Rise of the Flesh Eaters, The Kickboxer: Algiers, and the action-adventure flick City of Blood. Although the latter project is listed as “announced” on IMDB, the other two features were well into production. There’s no word on what will happen with the unfinished projects following Pyun’s passing, but it’s likely they’ll move forward under the direction of different filmmakers.
Albert Pyun is survived by his wife, Cynthia Curnan. His death comes in a year where we’ve lost several notable stars including Ray Liotta, Kevin Conroy, William Hurt, and Bob Saget. Our hearts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.
