Sylvester Stallone is an actor, director, producer, and screenwriter whose carrier spans more than four decades. He has worked in the famous 'Rocky' and 'Rambo' film series. He also owns a boxing promotion company. Read the biography of Sylvester Stallone in this blog post.
Today, Sylvester Stallone's name is known throughout the world. But he was not born famous. He struggled a lot in every stage of his life before he became famous.
Sylvester Stallone was born with physical deformities. He had a rough childhood because he was bullied heavily. In his 20s, he was so broke that he slept in a bus station for three weeks while searching for an acting job. He acted in quite a few mediocre and c-grade films before finally making a breakthrough with the "Rocky" series when he was 30 years old.
Stallone saw many ups and downs in his personal life even after he became successful. His first son from his first marriage died at the age of 36 of heart disease; his second son was diagnosed with autism; and his daughter had to undergo a cardiac operation as an infant due to a heart malformation.
Understandably, all these incidents devastated Sylvester Stallone. But, despite these personal setbacks, Stallone never gave up. He still continues to make and write films on subjects that are close to his heart.
This biography of Sylvester Stallone highlights the important events in the life of this kind-hearted actor. It will take you through his early years, struggling days, and show you how he carved his name in history.
Birth
Sylvester Stallone was born on 6th July 1946 in Manhattan to an Italian father and an American mother. His parents named him Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone. His younger brother is the noted actor and musician Frank Stallone.
Stallone's birth was a traumatic experience for the family as the doctor who delivered him damaged a nerve in the process. Consequently, the lower left side of Stallone's face was paralyzed. This is the reason for his signature look and slightly slurred pronunciation.
Early years
Stallone's father was a hairdresser and moved to Washington, D.C., in the 1950s to open a beauty school. His mother was a dancer who promoted women's wrestling and opened a women's gym in Washington in 1954. Stallone attended the prestigious Notre Dame Academy and Lincoln High School before he moved to study at the Charlotte Hall Military Academy and the University of Miami.
As a kid, Sylvester Stallone had weak bones due to vitamin D deficiency (Rickets). He was also heavily bullied. So, Stallone would often react dangerously. As a result, by the time he was 12, he had broken 11 bones and had been kicked out of 13 schools. When he was 15, he started bodybuilding because he was told that his brain was dormant.
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During his college years, Stallone started taking up menial jobs and auditioned for brief supporting roles in acting. He was not getting any prominent roles and couldn't pay his rent. So he was evicted from his apartment and had to sleep on a bus terminal. Therefore, in 1970, out of desperation, he acted in a soft-core pornography film for $200.
Sylvester Stallone later recounted this event as,
“It was either do that movie or rob someone because I was at the end – at the very end – of my rope” – Source
Stallone almost gives up acting
Stallone lived with his girlfriend, Sasha Czack, in New York. She was an aspiring actress who worked as a waitress to support both of them during their struggling days. Stallone also took up odd jobs like a zoo cleaner and an attendant in a theatre. Meanwhile, he kept on auditioning, even though he did not get any roles that made him feel content or happy.
In 1972, Stallone almost gave up on acting due to the lack of good acting jobs. In the same year, he was rejected when he auditioned for the role of an Italian extra side actor for the iconic hit film 'The Godfather.' When Godfather went on to become one of the most massive hits of that year, he became terribly sad.
For several years, his financial condition was terrible. At one point in time, he even sold his dog for $40 because he didn't have any money to buy food.
The match that changed his life
In 1975, Stallone saw a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner. The biography of Sylvester Stallone would be incomplete without explaining the details of this match.
At the time of this boxing match, Muhammad Ali was the champion who was at the peak of his career. He was paid $1.6 million for the match.
Chuck Wepner, on the other hand, was the underdog who waited years to fight Ali. He was paid just $100,000 for the match. Ali was the favorite, and so, ten times more people bet on Ali than on Wepner. Simply put, nobody expected the 35-year-old Wepner to win.
As expected, Ali won the match. But contrary to everyone's expectations, Ali did not win easily. Indeed Wepner was only knocked out in the fifteenth round, moments before the final bell. Moreover, he even knocked down Ali once in the ninth round.
This is a pretty impressive feat even today, because, in his professional boxing career with 56 wins in 61 fights, Muhammad Ali had only been knocked down only four times. So, even though Wepner lost, he impressed a lot of boxing fans and the general public, including Sylvester Stallone.
The birth of Rocky
This gave Silvester Stallone an idea. So, when he came home after the boxing match, he sat down for three days to write the script for a movie. This movie would later become the blockbuster called Rocky.
He showed the script to many producers, but most of them were not interested in making the movie. But Stallone did not give up.
Once, Stallone was auditioning for a role. He did not get the role he auditioned for. But on his way out, he casually told the producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff that he had a story. When they read the script, they were very impressed by it. So, they offered him $25,000 for the script but wanted some well-known actor to act in it.
Stallone knew that if he did not act in the movie and the movie becomes a hit, he would kill himself. So, he was adamant about him playing the lead role in it. But the producers increased the offer gradually to $350,000, on the condition that Stallone does not act in the movie. Even though the offer was very tempting, Stallone did not budge. So, finally, the producers agreed to let Stallone act in the movie but reduced his salary to $23,000.
Worldwide fame with Rocky
The producers allocated a meager budget of $1 million for the film. Since the budget was very small, many relatives and friends of Stallone acted in the movie, and many scenes were shot only once. Even though it was made using a very small budget, Rocky went on to become a box office hit. It earned $225 million and received three Oscars.
Going on one more round, when you don't think you can that's what makes all the difference in your life – Sylvester Stallone
Riding high on the success of this film, Stallone made his directorial debut in 1978 and made the film 'Paradise Alley.' He then went on to direct and star in the sequel of Rocky in the year 1979. The film was a success as well.
Rocky III and Rocky IV came out in 1982 and 1985, respectively, and were box office blockbusters too. Rocky V, however, turned out to be a dud and marked an end to the franchise.
Declining popularity after Rambo
Stallone wrote and directed another popular and hit franchise in which he played the role of a Vietnam War veteran, John Rambo. All five films of the Rambo series became immensely popular. They gained favorable reviews from the masses and the critics alike.
Stallone played the role of Rambo and Rocky in a total of 11 films and became quite popular in the USA as well as overseas. He starred in a few more popular films like Cliffhanger, The Specialist, Judge Dredd, Demolition Man, etc. but also had a few flops like 'Oscar' and 'Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'.
In the year 2000, Get Carter, a remake of a popular thriller film, was released starring Stallone. It was a commercial disaster, and Stallone's popularity began to decline slowly. After some of the other films that followed also flopped, Stallone took a break of three years from making films.
Return to the film industry
In 2006, Stallone made the final installment in the hit series "Rocky" titled 'Rocky Balboa,' which went on to become a massive hit. He also released another movie of the "Rambo" franchise, which became a commercial success.
“I would like to be remembered by the character “Rocky” since it is my baby” – Sylvester Stallone
In 2010, the 'Expendables' was released, which gave Stallone the biggest opening day weekend of his career. It had an ensemble cast and featured many great action stars. A sequel to the film was released in the year 2012 and opened up to a warm reception. Expendables III was released in the year 2015 but never saw any commercial success.
Personal life
Despite having such a highly successful career, Stallone is also in the news regularly for his affairs and failed marriages. He has been married three times to date and had two broken engagements.
The first marriage was with his live-in girlfriend, Sasha Czack, in 1974, when they were both trying to find some meaningful roles in Hollywood. The couple had two sons. Their first son, who was born in 1976, was named Sage Moonblood Stallone. He died in 2012 due to a heart attack. Their second son, Seargeoh, was born in 1979 and developed autism in his early years. The couple separated in 1985.
In the same year, Stallone got married to a model and actress named Brigitte Nielson. But they separated soon after and had a very publicized breakup and divorce. He then had a brief engagement with model Janice Dickinson and Angie Everhart before he rekindled his relation with Jennifer Flavin, with whom he has three daughters. Stallone had broken his relationship with Flavin earlier when she gave birth to her daughter, who was not fathered by Stallone.
The biography of Silvester Stallone would be incomplete without mentioning the controversies surrounding him.
Controversies
In 2007, Sylvester Stallone was found guilty of possession of controlled drugs. In 2016, he was accused of sexual harassment by a 16-year old girl, which gathered a lot of negative publicity for the actor. But his ex-wife and friends came forward in his support. Another woman filed a complaint of sexual harassment against the actor in 2017, but the case was closed a year later.
Physically demanding roles take a toll on his body
Rocky and Rambo were both fight-filled franchises that demanded long action sequences from the lead actor. Stallone did not hire a body double in most stunts and performed all the fights himself.
So, Stallone suffered some major injuries during the span of his career and had to spend four days in the ICU after a fight scene. He broke his neck while shooting for an action sequence for The Expendables. So, a metal plate has been inserted in his neck.
One of his fingers was broken while shooting for the movie 'Escape to Victory.'
Even after suffering so many setbacks in his personal and professional life, Stallone never gave up on his acting dream and achieved great heights of success after hitting rock bottom in his life.
Facts you probably didn't know
- After getting the money for Rocky, the first thing Stallone did was get his dog back. Knowing that Stallone was desperate, the person to whom he sold his dog to, charged $15,000 to resell it to him. The dog later appeared in the film 'Rocky'.
- Stallone was raised a catholic but denounced his faith when he started acting. He later started practicing his faith again when his daughter was born ill and is now a strict catholic.
- Stallone is strictly against the use of guns and is a staunch advocate for gun control.
- He owns a boxing production company called 'Tiger Eye Productions,' which has contracts with many known boxers.
This biography of Sylvester Stallone can motivate you
This biography of Sylvester Stallone can motivate you when you are in difficult times. The story of Sylvester Stallone is the story of an underdog. When he was a teenager, his mother feared that he would end up in prison. But he created an opportunity out of nowhere and changed his life around from being officially broke to gaining international stardom. So, when things turn ugly, and life appears meaningless, read this biography of Sylvester Stallone. More importantly, always remember what Rocky said.
“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place. And I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently, if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.”
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