Ted Kotcheff, director of First Blood and Weekend at Bernie’s, has pᴀssed away at 94. 

The Canadian filmmaker, who introduced viewers to Sylvester Stallone’s Vietnam War veteran John Rambo with the 1982 film First Blood, pᴀssed away on Friday. 

Kotcheff died at Hospital Joya in Nuevo Nayarit, Mexico, surrounded by his family, his son Ted confirmed to TMZ. 

The family has not disclosed the cause of death at this time. 

Kotcheff also directed Fun With Dick and Jane, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, and was an executive producer on 13 seasons of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. 

He is best known for casting Stallone as Rambo, a traumatized veteran who brings guerrilla warfare to a quiet Pacific Northwest town, after clashing with local police. Despite the success of the franchise, Kotcheff refused to participate in the sequels. 

Ted Kotcheff, director of First Blood and Weekend at Bernie’s, has pᴀssed away at 94; He is pictured at the Wake In Fright premiere in New York City in 2012

The Canadian filmmaker, who introduced viewers to Sylvester Stallone’s Vietnam War veteran John Rambo with the 1982 film First Blood, pᴀssed away on Friday; Stallone seen in First Blood

First Blood cemented Stallone (who also co-wrote the screenplay) as an American action icon, providing him with another enduring character, alongside Rocky Balboa. 

The film also became Kotcheff’s biggest box office hit.

Made for around $16 million, First Blood grossed more than $125 million worldwide. 

Read More Rambo creator slams Last Blood as a ‘dull, degrading film, filled with post-it-note stereotypes’ and says he’s ’embarrᴀssed’ to be tied to Sylvester Stallone’s new movie 

It finished as the 13th highest-grossing movie of the year, igniting a successful action franchise that spawned four sequels, the most recent arriving in 2019. 

However, Kotcheff chose not to be involved with the sequels.

‘They offered me the first sequel, and after I read the script I said, “In the first film he doesn’t kill anybody. In this film he kills 75 people,”‘ Kotcheff said in a 2016 interview with Filmmaker magazine.

‘It seemed to be celebrating the Vietnam War, which I thought was one of the stupidest wars in history.’ 

‘Fifty-five-thousand young Americans died and so many veterans committed suicide. I couldn’t turn myself inside out like that and make that kind of picture. Of course, I could have been a rich man today — that sequel made $300 million,’ he added. 

The first sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II, was released in 1985. It was followed by Rambo III (1988), Rambo (2008), and Rambo: Last Blood (2019). 

Kotcheff died at Hospital Joya in Nuevo Nayarit, Mexico, surrounded by his family, his son Ted confirmed to TMZ. A cause of death has not been disclosed; seen 2015 in Westwood, CA

He is best known for casting Stallone as Rambo, a traumatized war veteran, though he refused to participate in the successful sequels; pictured in 2013 in Cannes, France

The film became Kotcheff’s biggest box office hit. Made for around $16 million, First Blood grossed more than $125 million worldwide and spawned four sequels; Stallone and Brian Dennehy seen in a still

‘They offered me the first sequel, and after I read the script I said, “In the first film he doesn’t kill anybody. In this film he kills 75 people,”‘ he said in a 2016 interview, explaining why he turned down the sequels; Stallone seen in a 1985 still from Rambo: First Blood Part II 

The first sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II, was released in 1985. It was followed by Rambo III (1988), Rambo (2008), and Rambo: Last Blood (2019); Stallone seen in a Rambo: Last Blood still

Born William Theodore Kotcheff in Toronto, the filmmaker was the son of Bulgarian immigrants.

He graduated from University College, University of Toronto, with a degree in English Literature.

Kotcheff launched his television career at 24, joining the nascent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

As the CBC’s youngest director, he spent two years working on early television programs like General Motors Theatre, Encounter, First Performance, and On Camera. 

Kotcheff later relocated to the United Kingdom to pursue his filmmaking aspirations, and there, he debuted as a director in 1962 with the comedy Tiara Tahiti. 

He broke through to the mainstream with Australian thriller Wake in Fright (1971).

He followed it up with 1974 feature The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, which starred Richard Dreyfuss.

Winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and receiving an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay, the film propelled Kotcheff’s career into the American film industry. 

Kotcheff found Hollywood success with box office hits like the George Segal and Jane Fonda-led marital satire Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), and the Nick Nolte-starring football drama North Dallas Forty (1979). 

Kotcheff was also known for directing Weekend at Bernie’s, (1989) Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), and was an executive producer on 13 seasons of Law & Order: SVU; still from Weekend at Bernie’s

Following another Vietnam-focused film, Uncommon Valor (1983), starring the late Gene Hackman, Kotcheff shifted back to comedy and scored another success with 1989’s Weekend at Bernie’s.

Starring Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman as two employees who manipulate their deceased CEO’s body, the film’s memorable premise surprisingly led to a 1993 sequel, which he declined to participate in. 

Kotcheff married British actress Sylvia Kay in 1960. They had three children before their 1972 divorce. Kay — who had appeared in Wake in Fright — died in January 2019 at age 82.

He later remarried Laifun Chun, who became his producing partner on several projects. They had two children, Thomas and Alexandra. 

Although Kotcheff’s film directing slowed in the 1990s, he transitioned to steady television work, directing TV movies and executive producing Law & Order: SVU for over ten years.

In 2011, the Director Guild of Canada honored him with a lifetime achievement award. He also won a BAFTA award in 1972 for directing Edna, the Inebriate Woman.

A documentary about Kotcheff’s life — The Apprenticeship of Ted Kotcheff —narrated by Dreyfuss, is currently being made.