[Deathwatch] George P Cosmatos, 'Rambo' director, 64

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

'Rambo' director dead at 64
Monday, April 25, 2005 Posted: 8:38 AM EDT (1238 GMT)

VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) -- Director George P. Cosmatos, best
known for box-office hits "Rambo" and "Tombstone," died last week. He
was 64.

Cosmatos had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, his friend and
fellow director Richard Donner said Saturday.

"George was just a wonderful, bigger-than-life character," Donner said.
"You never forgot his entrance and hoped there would never be an exit."


Known for an ability to fix troubled projects and create blockbuster
films, he delivered what many consider his finest achievement in 1993
-- "Tombstone," the film about legendary American lawman Wyatt Earp
starring Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell.

Cosmatos dismissed criticism of violence in "Rambo," the 1985 film
about a U.S. combat veteran who returns to Vietnam on a one-man mission
to rescue soldiers missing-in-action.

"What's with these prejudiced people? They're for censorship, not a
free society," Cosmatos said. "It's a psychological release for people
to have a hero who can do the fighting and dirty work while we eat our
popcorn."

Born in Florence, Italy and raised in Egypt and Cyprus, Cosmatos spoke
six languages and was an avid bibliophile with a passion for cigars and
film restoration.