Movies - TV
Rambo's Success
Had An 'Embarrassing' Side Effect On Sylvester Stallone
By J. GABRIEL WARE
“Rambo: First Blood Part II” was a box office hit that solidified Sylvester Stallone as the biggest action star of the time and made the Rambo character a pop culture icon referenced by even Ronald Reagan. However, for Stallone, this exploding popularity came at an embarrassing cost.
Because Rambo had been transformed into an American heroic figure, a surge of Rambo toys and action figures equipped with machine guns and other weapons flooded the market. ”It's not for kids,” said Stallone at the time, adding, “The movie was not supposed to be for little kids, and I wouldn't let my own children play with those toys."
The character was also the basis for "Rambo: The Force of Freedom," an animated series for children, which premiered on television in 1986. "First of all, that isn't Rambo," Stallone, who was "very embarrassed" by this side-effect, said, also adding, "But, more important, they tell me I can't stop them because it's not me their [sic] using; it's a likeness of a character I played and don't own.”