May 15, 2007...1:01 am
Meet Dack Rambo
So years ago, when I had the flu pretty badly and was in bed watching daytime television and wishing to die, I saw what had to be a made for television movie starring a guy named (I swear to God) Dack Rambo.
I don’t remember exactly what the movie was about — a guy had amnesia, rebuilt his life with one woman and then his wife turned up and he had to choose between them, something like that.
But that name stuck with me for years — Dack Rambo.
The guy had to make that name up. And he had to have thought it a good idea. Because there’s no way that his parents actually named him Dack Rambo. And, if they had, he would almost certainly have changed his name.
Occasionally (sometimes when drunk) the name Dack Rambo would come back to me and I’d go into giggling fits, telling someone the story of how I’d seen this movie, how this was maybe the worst name ever, and how this guy chose it. This had to be some sort of coked-up, Dirk Digler-type moment.
I mean, come on. Dack effing Rambo?
Then it occurred to me…maybe I’m remembering it wrong. Maybe the guy’s name wasn’t Dack Rambo at all. Maybe I was all hopped up on flu medicine and the guy’s name was actually Dick Ronson or something. What if, all these years, I’d been amused by a fever dream?
But, thanks to that glorious series of tubes we call the Internets, I was able to confirm the existence of Dack Rambo (born Norman Rambo).
Turns out he was a fairly successful television actor — he was on Dallas, some daytime soap operas, a few episodes of Fantasy Island, he even starred in a really bad big screen adaptation of a novel by one of my favorite mystery writers, Lawrence Block.
Also — and file this under “stranger than fiction” he died of AIDS in LA in 1994 and was buried next to his identical twin brother, Dirk Rambo. Dirk Rambo was also a television actor, appearing in a number of episodes of Dragnet and The Virginian before being killed by a drunk driver in 1967.
Dirk Rambo’s real name?
Orman.
That’s right, folks.
Norman and Orman Rambo.
They became Dack and Dirk Rambo.
It’s almost enough to make you believe there is a God — and that he’s on a lot of drugs.
9 Comments
May 15, 2007 at 11:25 am
Hilarious. I think I’ll change my name to something snappy like Guy MacGyver when I break into the movie biz.
May 15, 2007 at 11:47 am
To me the strangest part is that the poor guy was named Rambo before the Rambo movies (or even the books) were created. That’s bad enough luck — that your actual, given name becomes synonymous with bad, jingoistic action movies.
But then you change your named to DACK Rambo and yourself make bad action (and occasional romance) movies.
May 20, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Was Rambo jingoistic? I thought it was the governmen that drew first blood?
May 22, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Um, I used to watch Mr. Rambo (Dack, not Dirk) on All My Children. Yes, I’m old.
I knew about Dirk’s tragic death from reading Soap Opera Digest. Dack witnessed the accident, if I recall correctly.
I didn’t know Dack was gone too, though. Thanks for the trivia that has certainly enriched my life.
May 22, 2007 at 8:53 pm
P.S. I love their real names.
June 20, 2007 at 2:11 pm
I do not know where to begin. I, too, have experienced occasional giggling fits (many times while drunk) with a friend over the name Dack Rambo. It usually begins with ‘what would Dack Rambo do?’ Seeing him on random tv shows throughout the 80’s, the name stuck with me for obvious reasons. A few years ago, I purchased a B horror movie dvd with several shitty movies from the 60’s and 70’s. For the life of me, i can’t remember the name of the film, but it involved vampires, a very young Kim Cattrall with brown hair ,and one Dack Rambo sporting a terrifically bad man-sweater (southwestern-style with a belt, an image which will remain burned in my mind forever). Oh, and he wore this sweater throughout the entire movie.
For some reason his name had slipped my mind recently, which is why I began googling ‘actors named Dirk’. Actually, I have been watching old episodes of Battlestar Galactica, and Dirk Benedict got me thinking about Dack Rambo. Anyway, that is how I stumbled on to this web page.
Is it ironic that Dack has a brother named Dirk? Hmm.
So, thank you for the answering my question, Whatever happened to that guy? I will be sure to discuss these findings with my friend over a few beers.
June 27, 2007 at 12:26 am
As a kid I was really into all the 80’s nighttime soaps (don’t judge me!) and used to watch Dack on “Dallas.” I remember thinking he was easy on the eyes, but unremarkable as an actor. I was in college when I read about him going public with his HIV status. This was before Magic Johnson, when HIV-positive celebs tended to keep it a secret until they died. He also talked openly about his and his late brother’s bisexuality. I believe he died not too long thereafter, and despite being a 2-bit, C-list actor with a laughable name, I thought the way he handled it made for a touchingly honest and classy exit.
January 10, 2008 at 3:26 am
While I appreciate the humor in your story, I must set the story straight. My name is Michele Diaz… maiden name RAMBO. Dack and Dirk are actually cousins to my father, and no, his name is not John. Lol. Our last name can be traced all the way back to the 11th century. The original spelling of the twins’ last name is actually “Rambeau”, but it was changed along with their first names I was told.
My father tells me that the character in “First Blood” was rumored to be named after Dack; for all his roles in different westerns, but somehow I find that a little hard to believe.
Anyway, I just ran across your little story and found it amusing. But yes, our last name is actually Rambo.
April 6, 2008 at 5:10 am
Dude, Dack Rambo was an amazing man and you shouldn’t be making fun of him. I happen to love him and think his name was great. Pick on someone alive, you big fool!
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