Rambo Actors You May Not Know Are Dead

The "Rambo" movies are about honor, loving one's country, trauma, and patriotism, for better or worse — and fans of John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) have definitely seen worse. For those new to the series, Rambo is a Vietnam war veteran who is so deeply scarred by his experience overseas that his entire life ends up centering around getting revenge for the boys who went over there to suffer and die. His PTSD and oceanic sense of loss are both shed over the course of the series. What was once bittersweet, sad, and tragic is replaced with an arguably jingoistic take on Cold War politics. The first four movies in the franchise were big hits, and even spawned a memorable — if slightly sanitized — Saturday morning cartoon.

While Sylvester Stallone is still alive and kicking as of this writing, it's been over forty years since the first "Rambo" movie, "First Blood," was released, and some of his co-stars across the five-film series have since passed away. Here's a full listing of every actor who took part in the "Rambo" movies and is no longer with us.

Over the course of his career, Richard Crenna played everything from sweet lunkheads to self-assured military men. In the "Rambo" series, he's John Rambo's former commanding officer, Colonel Samuel Trautman. It's Trautman's job to represent all of the good things about military life — and talk John down whenever he goes too far off the rails. That happens more often than not during the first three "Rambo" movies.

Crenna first came to public notice as clumsy but big-hearted Walter Denton in the sitcom "Our Miss Brooks," a role he originated on the radio. He made a memorable guest-starring appearance in one of the funniest sitcoms in TV history, "I Love Lucy," where he plays Arthur, the boyfriend of Peggy (Janet Waldo), a Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) fangirl in "The Young Fans." He guested in a number of other classic series and films before taking on another sitcom as Luke McCoy, young husband and patriarch of the "The Real McCoys." After that long-running show concluded, Crenna began to move into big-screen leading man roles, where he shocked audiences by playing thief Richard Talman in "Wait Until Dark." He won an Emmy for playing a police officer who suffers sexual assault and takes his abusers to court in "'The Rape of Richard Beck.”

Crenna's later career mixed comedy with drama. In "Hot Shots!: Part Deux," he parodied Trautman by playing Topper Harley's (Charlie Sheen) handler, Colonel Denton Walters. He also appeared in "Judging Amy" as Jared Duff for 4 seasons. Crenna died on January 17, 2003 of heart failure. He had pancreatic cancer at the time as well. 

Jack Starrett's Art Galt is one of many hateful authority figures that John Rambo encounters in "First Blood." He tortures Rambo in the jail where he's assistant deputy. Rambo fights back, escapes, and ultimately takes out Galt when the police persue him. Galt's body is left down in a gorge, a fitting fate for a cruel man.

Starrett had a long career of playing B-movie military men and bikers in films like "Hell's Angels on Wheels" and "The Born Losers." He was marble-mouthed cowpoke Gabby Johnson in "Blazing Saddles," and got to play against type and be the professor whose sleep study ruins his student's lives in the horror movie "Nightwish." His final role was in the film "Hollywood Heartbreak." Starrett also had a prodigious directing career, helming films like "The Losers," "Cleopatra Jones," "Final Chapter: Walking Tall," and multiple episodes of "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "Starsky & Hutch." His final effort behind the camera was "Kiss My Grits" in 1982. Starrett died on March 27, 1989. Kidney failure was the cause of death.

John McLiam's Orval Kellerman is an old coot of a fellow. But he has dogs who can stalk a man down cold with no problem, making him a valuable asset to authorities. When Rambo takes his wrath out on those surrounding him, Orval's on the case with his trusty canines. But Orval's determination to take Rambo down results in the deaths of his beloved animals — and his severe injury. Unlike many of the people in Hope, Washington, who encounter Rambo, he manages to live to tell the tale. 

McLiam made a career of playing cowboys and old salt of the earth types. He debuted on CBS's "Philco Television Playhouse" and appeared frequently on many early television programs. He acted in nine different episodes of "Gunsmoke" as a variety of different characters, though he played Doherty three times on the show. He showed up as the aging Colonel Woody Cooke, a friend of Colonel Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan), in "M*A*S*H*". Potter ends up having to pressure his friend into retiring when his choices begin to result in death and chaos in a "M*A*S*H" storyline that simply disappeared after one episode. Film fans will remember him as the cruel Boss Keen in "Cool Hand Luke," former journalist and full-time dreamer Jimmy Tomorrow in the 1973 version of "The Iceman Cometh," and scientist Dr. Aragon in "Sleeper." He was also a playwright, scripting "The Sin of Pat Muldoon." He acted well into the 1980s. McLiam died on April 16, 1994, at the age of 76, from complications related to Parkinson's Disease and melanoma. 

Captain Dave Kern ends up mainly taking Rambo's side when he's deployed to clean up the mess Will Teasel (Brian Dennehy) has made of Rambo's capture. He's furious when he learns that Teasel's men beat Rambo during his arrest, leading to Kern standing up for the man he's been assigned to track down. In the end, while he does his duty as a police officer, Kern also ends up feeling bad for everything Rambo has been through.

Bill McKinney is yet another character actor turned "First Blood" star who found himself bringing the world of "Rambo" to life. He was infamous for another role, that of the Mountain Man who assaults Bobby (Ned Beatty) in "Deliverance." At one point, McKinney even owned the domain www.squeallikeapig.com, out of which he operated his official website. He appeared in plenty of other B-movies and action flicks, including "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" and "Cleopatra Jones." Later roles include the Acme VP in "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" and death row guard and executioner Jack Van Hay in "The Green Mile." McKinney died on December 1, 2011, of esophageal cancer. He was 80 years old.

Lester (Alf Humphreys) is the last person standing between John Rambo and freedom after Rambo's temporary capture by Teasel's men. Rambo ends up taking him out with a sweep of the leg and an elbow to the face while he's manning a desk in the police station. Though Lester is injured by Rambo, he still recognizes that what Teasel and Galt did to John is wrong, and does his best to protect others from the effects of the violent deeds that Rambo commits in "First Blood."

Alf Humphreys' journeyman acting career took off when he played Howard in "My Bloody Valentine." The film proves Humphrey's range, since he plays a fun-loving romantic whose pranks end up making him a victim for the local serial killer. He appeared in plenty of direct-to-video and television movies after that, and had guest-staring roles in a variety of TV shows, including "The X-Files."  He played Bobby Drake's (Shawn Ashmore) caring father William in the "X-Men" franchise movie "X2: X-Men United," and he's also the worrywart Mr. Jefferson in the first three volumes of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series of movies. He passed away at the age of 65 on January 31, 2018 from brain cancer. 

Rambo is basically Will Teasel's personal white whale. When Rambo escapes capture while in his hold, Teasel considers it his sworn duty to bring Rambo in — while Rambo will do anything to escape. Their battle for control will ultimately lead to Teasel's injury and Rambo's arrest in "First Blood."

Brian Dennehy was a consummate character actor by the time he picked up the part of the loathsome Teasel. A Tony-winning theatrical performer, on screen he's fondly remember for his wide range. Dennehy is the only actor who could play the honorable cop Leo McCarthy in "F/X" and the jocular Big Tom in "Tommy Boy." His wide-ranging career includes roles such as flashy pop Ted Montague in "Romeo + Juliet." He voiced another father — traditional Django — in "Ratatouille." He played heroic cop Jack Reed in a series of TV movies centered around the character. On the small screen, he appeared in six episodes of "Hap and Leonard" as Sherriff Valentine Otis and nine episodes of "The Blacklist" as Dom Wilkinson. The actor was 81 years old when he died on April 15, 2020 of a heart attack stemming from sepsis.

Marshall Roger Murdock is pulling all of the strings in "Rambo: First Blood Part II." Or is he? He may be yet another uncaring military bigwig, but his greed and coldness make him something special even in Rambo's world. During John's journey back into Vietnam, Murdock conceals the fact that this is a sham mission — he has no intent to rescue any POWs. Rambo, understandably, goes on a rampage when he learns that he's been had and threatens to permanently compromise Murdock. In the end, Roger is left with lots of busted equipment and a whole lot of dead Russian soldiers on his hands.

Charles Napier was a famous big-screen tough guy who wasn't afraid to poke fun at himself. He was Lieutenant Boyle in "The Silence of the Lambs," who meets a grisly end at the hands of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). But he was also straight arrow Commander Gilmour in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." That kind of versatility explains how he could voice megalomaniac Duke Phillips in "The Critic" as well as Susan's (Phyllis Davis) nice-guy former fiancé in "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls." He was a character actor's character actor and could do nearly anything. 75-year-old Napier died on October 5, 2011, and his cause of death was not released.

Tony Munafo got the part of Testa — the prison guard who's watching over John Rambo as "Rambo: First Blood Part II" opens — for a very good reason. He was the movie's associate producer, and had worked with Sylvester Stallone on several other films before stepping into Testa's shoes. He went on to be an associate producer on almost every Stallone film released from "Cobra" to "Daylight," and had minor roles in all of them. He also worked as a bodyguard in the industry.

He first acted beside Stallone in "Rocky II," where he played an unnamed boxer; they also performed together in movies like "Rhinestone" and "Nighthawks." Later, he had small parts in "The Wanderers," "Just Tell Me What You Want," "The Idolmaker" and "Author! Author!" among other films. He passed away of undisclosed causes on December 18, 2014, at the age of 69.

Roger Cudney's role in Rambo's adventures is also minor: He plays the head radio operator for Trautman's Rambo-spearheaded operation into Vietnam to save several missing POWs. He's the connecting line between the mission and Rambo, who continues to ignore orders and follow the beat of his own drummer out in the field.

Cudney had a very unique career in that he became well-known for playing ugly Americans  in Mexican telenovas and films. If there was a rich oil baron, a greedy millionaire, or a cruel archeologist to be played, Cudney got the job done. He appeared in dozens of productions south of the border, going back to the late 1970s and ending in 2019. Stateside, he appeared in supporting roles in the "Mystery Science 3000" staple "Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell" as Inaros, an agent in "Total Recall," Captain Young in "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins," and Capps in "Cattle Annie and Little Britches." He died of a heart attack on July 5, 2021, in the wake of a car accident.

Playing heavies — typically Russian heavies — was Yugoslavian Vojislav Govedarica's bread and butter. in "Rambo: First Blood Part II," he is the evil Russian mercenary Yushin who tortures Rambo and is part of the Vietnamese-Russian alliance which keeps the film hopping. He ends up meeting his maker at Rambo's hands, much like Teasel's wicked men in "First Blood."

Govedarica worked in several Russian productions before coming to America and appearing in several bit roles as a bodyguards or tough guys in a variety of films. In real life, he was Stallone's bodyguard for a period. That led to him being offered the part of Yushin, and opened the door to him playing several other Russian baddies during the Cold War, including in the movies "Russkies," "Little Nikita," and "Lion Heart." He ended up scoring a number of other minor roles before passing away on December 5, 2023 of unnamed causes.

In "Rambo III," our titular hero finds himself involved in the Soviet–Afghan War. Russian Colonel Alexei Zaysen (Marc de Jonge) makes the cardinal mistake of trying to torture Rambo for information after John leaves behind life in a peaceful Buddist enclave to save a kidnapped Trautman. As in every single "Rambo" movie, justice is served and bad guy Zaysen doesn't survive the picture — he's shot to death by a machine gun. 

Alexi is the most prominent role that de Jonge ever had the privilege of playing in a mainstream English language film, though he had minor supporting parts in American films such as "Empire of the Sun." He was much more well-known for his work in French language films, which stretched from the 1970s to the 1990s. His real death was as startling as the fate that claims Alexi: He fell to his death on March 10, 1996 from the second story of his home while climbing up the side of the building to get back inside. He was only 47.

Khalid is filled with dignity. An Afghan Mujahideen, he's one of the soldiers who explains to Rambo just how far afield the Soviet offense in Afghanistan has gone. Khalid joins with his fellow men to help Rambo rescue Trautman from the Russians. While Khalid survives the Russian retaliatory attack on his camp, many of his friends do not, further cementing Rambo's determination.

The man who played Khalid, Yosef Shilaoch, was a very well-known Israeli actor. Interestingly, many of his parts were in comedies, contrasting well with his role in "Rambo III" as a voice of displeased reason. Other English language films include "Sahara," and "I Love You Rosa." Shilaoch was so popular in Israel, he became a voice actor for the Israeli version of "Sesame Street," "Rechov Sumsum." His character? Arik, their take on Ernie. Shilaoch died on January 3, 2011 at the age of 69 from cancer.

Nissem is another member of the Mujahideen who becomes loyal to Rambo during his attempt at rescuing Trautman from the enemy. While he doesn't become as prominent as his friends in the narrative do, he still manages to make an impression on Rambo during John's brief time in the country.

Alon Aboutboul is another Israeli star playing an Afghan in "Rambo III." Aboutboul had plenty of stateside success after "Rambo" came out — he also played the nuclear physicist Dr. Leonid Pavel, who finds himself the quarry of Bane (Tom Hardy) in "The Dark Knight Rises." His lengthy career included appearences in both Israeli television and American screens, guest-starring on "The Mentalist," "Castle" and "Burn Notice." He also had a recurring role on "NCIS: Los Angeles" and was a regular cast member on "Snowfall," where he played Avi Drexler. Aboutboul died abruptly on a beach in Tel Aviv on July 29, 2025. He was 60 years old.

Masoud, leader of the Mujahideen, is at first fairly resistant to helping Rambo out in rescuing Trautman. But just when things seem most hopeless, he arrives with his troops. While Rambo makes many friends in the region, no one else quite stands up for Rambo or helps him on his way as Masoud does, in spite of his initial reluctance.

Masoud is played by Spyros Fokas, a Greek actor who gained fame in his own country through the lead role in the drama "Bloody Twilight." Best known for his work on Greek television, Fokas nonetheless made an impact with American audiences. He played the wicked Omar Khalifa in "Jewel of the Nile," and was Zorro in "Zorro in the Court of England." He also appeared as Vincenzo Parondi in the classic French film "Rocco and his Brothers." Fokas died on November 10, 2023 of unnamed causes at the age of 86.

The Reverend Arthur Marsh (Ken Howard) takes over as a Trautman-like figure in 2008's "Rambo." A holy man whose missionary team Rambo has contracted to lead them to Burma, he serves as their ground contact while things get wilder and wilder. Rambo manages to make sure everyone ends up where they belong — in spite of the fact that a whole lot of people have to die before he can accomplish that goal.

Ken Howard is currently the only member of the two most recent "Rambo" films to have passed away. A well-seasoned actor with a solid resume behind him, musical fans will remember him in "1776," where he played a love-bewitched Thomas Jefferson. He played Dave Barrett in the period action series "The Manhunter," and Ken Reeves, a former NBA star who becomes a high school coach, on "White Shadow." He was the sophisticated Garrett Boydston on the "Dynasty" spin-off "The Colbys," and Max Cavanaugh, dad to the titular heroine in "Crossing Jordan." Howard — a former SAG-AFTRA president — died on March 23, 2016 of undisclosed causes. He was 71.