Glen Trotiner, a prolific assistant director known for his work on more than 100 feature films and countless television shows including Captain America: The First Avenger, Independence Day, and Mozart in the Jungle, has passed away at the age of 65. The news was broken on Monday, with reports indicating that Trotiner had passed away on Thursday, June 16th in New York. No other details are available at this time. Born in 1957 in The Bronx, NY, Trotiner attended the University of Albany and was a DJ at the campus radio station, WSUA. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in reading, Trotiner attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and received his Juris Doctor. He then enrolled in the prestigious Directors Guild of America Training Program, and ultimately got into the program.
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Trotiner’s first credit as an assistant director is as the second AD on The Untouchables, Brian de Palma’s iconic 1987 film. Across the late 1980s and early 1990s, Trotiner’s work as a second AD included Rent-a-Cop, Last Exit to Brooklyn, She-Devil, Regarding Henry, Miracle on 34th Street, and Biloxi Blues.
“Collaboration is so integral to the success of each project,” Trotiner explained in a 2017 interview with UAlbany Magazine. “As part of the filmmaking team, you create your own personal contribution, but your particular piece also has to fit seamlessly with everyone else’s in order to create a satisfying, finished piece of art. Everyone, from the writer, director, cinematographer, assistant director, editor – all the way to the fifth grip, the production assistant dealing with the extras in the holding area, the assistant editor logging the previous day’s footage – contributes their own particular brand of sorcery. In the end, the entire group endeavor brings a unique story to life, transforming what was once just an idea into the best possible version of itself.”
Trotiner would later operate as a prolific First AD across the 1990s and beyond, with projects such as Big Daddy, Maid in Manhattan, Because of Winn-Dixie, Reservation Road and Halloween II, as well as six episodes of Oz. His later work has included Life on Mars, Bride Wars, Captain America: The First Avenger, Blue Bloods, Mozart in the Jungle, and American Gothic. He also served as a co-producer on a number of his projects, and even acted onscreen in things like Big Daddy and Vamps. His most recent credits include serving as a first AD on Morbius, as well as the pilot of Emergence.
Our thoughts are with Trotiner’s family, friends, and fans at this time.
