Cobra Kai pays tribute to Jeff Kay who worked on season 5

After months of anticipation following the cliffhanger ending of season 4, Cobra Kai is back on our screens for its long-awaited fifth instalment.

The new season sees Daniel LaRusso form an unlikely alliance with Chozen Toguchi as they look to fight back against Terry Silver and the growing influence of his ‘No Mercy’ brand of karate.

However, despite all the excitement surrounding the arrival of Cobra Kai season 5, the action-packed series took a moment to pause as it paid tribute to Jeff Kay.

Cobra Kai: Season 5 | Official Trailer | Netflix

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Cobra Kai: Season 5 | Official Trailer | Netflix

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Cobra Kai pays tribute to Jeff Kay

Following the events of episode 3, Cobra Kai season 5 paused for a moment to pay tribute to a much-loved crew member, Jeff Kay.

The episode ended with a touching title card that read: “In Memoriam – Jeff Kay – 1965-2021”

Jeff Kay was a new arrival to the crew for Cobra Kai season 5 and worked as a first assistant director on episodes 3 and 5.

According to Kay’s IMDb profile, he passed away following a heart attack on October 17, 2021. He was 56.

Jeff Kay’s career explored

Born in Los Angeles on April 11, 1965, Jeff Kay began his career in the TV industry in 1991 when he worked as a set production assistant on the TV movie, Wildflower.

A career spanning 30 years then followed with Kay working in a number of roles over the years including production assistant, producer as well as first and second assistant director.

Kay is credited on more than 40 productions according to IMDb with his most notable projects including Rizzoli & Isles, Drop Dead Diva, Numb3rs, Entourage, Profiler and ABC comedy American Housewife.

In 2021, Kay joined the crew of Cobra Kai. Filming for season 5 took place between September 20 and December 10, 2021, meaning Kay passed away while production was ongoing.  

Colleagues pay tribute

Following his sudden death in October 2021, colleagues from across Jeff Kay’s career posted loving tributes on social media.

American Housewife actress Meg Donnelly posted the following:

Diedrich Bader, another actor on American Housewife, wrote:

While Numb3rs co-creator Nicolas Falacci said:

Another of Jeff’s colleagues commented:

And finally, Mike Royce, a colleague of Jeff’s on the Hulu series Enlisted said:

Cobra Kai season 5 is available to stream now on Netflix after releasing on September 9, 2022.

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