Glen Trotiner, a prolific assistant director known for his work on over 100 feature films and countless television shows, including Captain America: The First Avenger, Independence Dayand Mozart in the Jungle, died at the age of 65. The news broke on Monday, with reports indicating that Trotiner died on Thursday, June 16 in New York City. No further details are available at this time. Born in 1957 in the Bronx, NY, Trotiner attended the University at Albany and DJed at the campus radio station, WSUA. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in reading, Trotiner attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and earned his Juris Doctor. He then enrolled in the prestigious Directors Guild of America training program and eventually entered the program.

Trotiner’s first credit as an assistant director is as the second AD on The IncorruptiblesBrian de Palma’s iconic 1987 film. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Trotiner’s work as the second AD included Rent-a-Cop, Last Exit to Brooklyn, She-Devil, About Henry, Miracle on 34th Street, and Biloxi Blues.

“Collaboration is so integral to the success of every project,” Trotiner explained in a 2017 interview with UAlbany Magazine. “As a member of the film crew, you create your own personal contribution, but your particular piece must also blend seamlessly with everyone else’s in order to create a satisfying, finished work of art. Everyone , from the scriptwriter, director, director of photography, assistant director, editor – up to the fifth take, the production assistant who takes care of the extras in the waiting area, the assistant editor who records the Eve images – bring their own brand of sorcery to a unique story to life, turning what was once just an idea into the best possible version of itself.”

Trotiner would later work as a prolific AD debut in the 1990s and beyond, with projects such as Big Daddy, maid in Manhattan, because of Winn-Dixie, Reservation Road and Halloween 2, as well as six episodes of Oz. His later works included Life on Mars, Bride Wars, Captain America: The First Avenger, Blue Bloods, Mozart in the Jungle, and American Gothic. He was also a co-producer on a number of his projects and even starred on screen in things like Grandpa and vampire. His most recent credits include the first AD on Morbiusas well as the driver Emergence.

Our thoughts are with family, friends and Trotiner fans at this time.