Source: Variety

Director George P. Cosmatos, best known for box-office hits "Rambo: First Blood Part II" and "Tombstone," has died. He was 64.

Cosmatos, who had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, died earlier this week, his friend and fellow director Richard Donner said Saturday.

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.

He got his start as assistant director on Otto Preminger's "Exodus" (1960), played a small role in "Zorba the Greek" (1964) and wrote for the film journal Sight and Sound. His other credits include "The Beloved" (1970); "Cobra" (1986), his second collaboration with "Rambo" star Sylvester Stallone; and the underwater thriller "Leviathan" (1989).

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