About George P. Cosmatos
George Pan Cosmatos (4 January 1941 – 19 April 2005) was a Greek-Italian film director and screenwriter. Following early success in his home country with drama films such as Massacre in Rome with Richard Burton (based on the real-life Ardeatine massacre), Cosmatos retooled his career towards mainstream "blockbuster" action and adventure films, including The Cassandra Crossing and Escape to Athena, both of which were British-Italian co-productions. After relocating to North America, he directed the horror film Of Unknown Origin. This was followed by some of his best-known work, including the action films Rambo: First Blood Part II and Cobra (both of which star Sylvester Stallone), the science-fiction horror film Leviathan, and the critically acclaimed Western movie Tombstone. Kurt Russell, who played Wyatt Earp, said Stallone recommended Cosmatos to him after the removal of the first director, writer Kevin Jarre, but Cosmatos had also worked with Tombstone executive producer Andrew G. He then directed the box-office hit Rambo: First Blood Part II starring Sylvester Stallone, and Cobra, another Stallone film, in 1986. Following early success in his home country with drama films such as Massacre in Rome with Richard Burton, Cosmatos retooled his career towards mainstream "blockbuster" action and adventure films, including The Cassandra Crossing and Escape to Athena, both of which were British-Italian co-productions.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.