Canadian director with Bulgarian roots Ted Kochev has died, writes "The Globe and Mail", quoted by NOVA.
He directed classics such as "Rambo: First Blood" with Sylvester Stallone, "Barney's Weekend" and Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, with which the film won the "Golden Bear" award at the Berlin Film Festival and was nominated for an "Oscar" for best screenplay. In "Unparalleled Courage" he worked with his friend and peer - Gene Hackman.
Ted Kochev is a descendant of Bulgarian emigrants. His father was from Plovdiv and his mother from Vambel, South Macedonia, but after the Balkan War her family fled to Bulgaria and she grew up in Varna. His parents met in Canada during a demonstration during the Great Depression and later married, but divorced when Ted was a child.
Hollywood director Ted Kotchev received the grand prize at the first Bulgarian Awards in the United States
After graduating in English literature from the University of Toronto, Kotchev joined the CBC in the early 1950s, continuing to direct live television dramas (General Motors Theatre, First Performance).
But frustrated by the lack of cinema and television infrastructure in Canada, Kotchev moved to the United Kingdom, where he first met the young Richler, with whom he shared an apartment in London.