- Born
- Died
- Birth nameNorman Jay Rambo
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Dack (given name Norman) and identical twin brother, Dirk Rambo (Orman), were born in sunny California in 1941. Dack's noticeable difference was a mole on his left cheek. Both happened upon an acting career, at age 21, after being discovered by Loretta Young for her TV show, while sitting in a church pew. The sons of Lester and Beatrice Rambo, the brothers also had another brother and sister, Bill and Beverly. Dack's early training began as a student of Vincent Chase and Lee Strasberg, and both boys found employment, following the one-season stint on Loretta's TV show, in 1963. While Dirk found success on episodic-TV (The Virginian (1962), Dragnet 1967 (1967)), Dack went on to a couple of other TV series, including Never Too Young (1965) and The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967). Dirk was tragically killed in 1967, after being struck by a drunken driver. A stunned Dack ventured on, however, and eventually found a secure place for his dark good looks in 70s and 80s glossy drama and secondary action. He played many a calculating lover in both daytime (All My Children (1970), Another World (1964)) and prime-time (Dallas (1978)) soaps, while showing off his athletic skills in such outdoor adventure series as Sword of Justice (1978). Later in his career, he worked up a few action leads in low-budget filming. In 1991, while appearing on Another World (1964), Dack discovered he had contracted AIDS and made a courageous decision to retire in order to focus on awareness of this deadly disease. He was extremely candid as to his bisexuality and advocating safe sex and helping to establish an international data bank for AIDS research. He died of complications in 1994 at age 52.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- ParentsBeatrice Annie RossiWilliam Lester Rambo
- RelativesDirk Rambo(Sibling)William Donald Rambo(Sibling)Beverly Jean Rambo(Sibling)
- Buried near his brother Orman Ray "Dirk" Rambo in North Kern Cemetery, Delano, California. Block 29, Lot J, Westside 2.
- Twin brother of Dirk Rambo
- Stated that his years on the prime time soap Dallas (1978) were financially lucrative but not very enjoyable. He had friction on the set with star Larry Hagman who stated in his autobiography that he had no issues with Rambo but was upset when Rambo publicly blamed him for having him written out of the show.
- According to a recent posting by the Colonial Swedish Society, of Philadelphia, the Rambo brothers can directly trace their Swedish ancestors to Peter Gunnarson Rambo (1611-1698) and Brita Mattsdotter (1625-1698), who were among the first settlers of Philadelphia. Before it was Philly, it was the Swedish settlement of New Sweden.
- Started going gray in his thirties, but continued to dye his hair up until the last few years of his life.
- Somebody once asked me, 'Are you sorry about anything?' And I said, 'No. What is, is.' Actually, I'm grateful for all those experiences. I wouldn't trade them. I had a varied background, and you pay the price for that, I guess.
- "We were so close. I mean, we were literally like one person, you know... and nobody could really invade our world. When he died, it was like somebody had just split me in half" [Referring to twin brother, Dirk Rambo].
- 'I am really very much the Lone Wolf. I'm very selfish and extremely, extremely ambitious and determined. And, unfortunately, I don't compromise well."
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