Ted Kotcheff: “Rambo” director died at the age of 94

The Canadian director Ted Kotcheff (1931-2025), who was known primarily for the films “Rambo” (1982) and “Always Trouble with Bernie” (1989), died in Mexico a few days after his 94th birthday. This was confirmed by his family.

The filmmaker, born in Toronto, began his career in the 1960s in Great Britain, where he staged episodes for the BBC series “Armchair Theater”. He achieved his international breakthrough with the thriller “Vacation in Hell” (1971), which is considered the milestone of the Australian cinema. In 1982 Kotcheff staged the first part of the “Rambo” series with Sylvester Stallone (78) in the leading role.

Kotcheff also celebrated success in the area of ​​comedy: in 1989 he made the slapstick comedy “Always Trouble with Bernie”, which achieved cult status. His further work includes the film “Joshua then and now”, for which Kotcheff was nominated in Cannes in 1985, and “Duddy wants to go high”, which received the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 1974 and was awarded the Canadian Film Awards as the “Film of the Year”. In 1975 the film was also nominated for a Golden Globe and at the Oscars in the “Best Screenplay” category.

From the 1990s, Kotcheff increasingly worked for television. Most recently, he worked primarily as a producer and director in the series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”.

Kotcheff lived privately with his wife Laifun in Beverly Hills. The two have the daughter Alexandra and son Thomas Kotcheff (36), who composed the soundtrack for “Oppenheimer” (2023) and was awarded an Oscar. From his previous marriage to actress Sylvia Kay, the filmmaker had three other children, two sons and one daughter.