Sylvester Stallone

February 17, 4:29 PMCelebrity Profile ExaminerAndy Williamson

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SYLVESTER STALLONE

Is there another actor with the resilience and longevity of Sylvester Stallone.  Arguably one of the biggest movie stars of all time, he has not one, but two hugely successful franchises that are making money to this day -- Rocky and Rambo -- has mounted more successful comebacks than anyone has a right to, and is responsible for inspiring millions around the globe with his own rags-to-riches Cinderella story.  Say what you will about the big lug, every time his career has been on the ropes (or even on the mat), he always comes back swinging.

Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone was born on July 6th, 1946 in New York City -- his father, Frank Stallone Sr., was a hairdresser, and his mother, Jackie, a former dancer and promoter of women's wrestling.  During Sylvester’s birth, doctors used forceps which severed a facial nerve, resulting in a crooked left eye, a droopy lower lip, and slurred speech.  As his parents were always struggling to make ends meet, Sylvester, a scrawny and sickly child, spent a few years among foster families.  Years later, Sly would state that his interest in acting stemmed from his never-ending desire for approval from the strangers who tried to raise him.  After Sylvester returned to his parents home when he was five, the Stallones (along with younger son, Frank Jr.) moved to Maryland, where his parents operated a chain of beauty salons.  This was not a happy time for Sly as his parents were constantly fighting.  After they divorced in 1957, Sylvester stayed with his stern father, but the troubled boy, willing to do anything for attention, was expelled from numerous schools.  At age 15, he moved back with his mother. 

In the early 1960s, Sylvester attended Devereaux Manor, a private school for problem children located in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.  There he showed interest in fencing, football, discus, and weightlifting -- the latter stemmed from his admiration of famed bodybuilder and Hercules actor, Steve Reeves.  After graduating, Sylvester enrolled in beauty school, but dropped out after winning a scholarship to the American College of Switzerland.  While abroad, Sylvester studied drama and acted in a school production of Death of a Salesman.  After returning stateside, he studied drama a the University of Miami until 1969, when he decided to move to New York and pursue screenwriting.

Taking what small acting roles he could during this time (Woody Allen’s Bananas, Klute, The Prisoner of Second Avenue), Sylvester also appeared in a softcore porn film called The Party at Kitty and Stud’s -- after two days work and $200, Sly didn’t know it but he had a skeleton in his closet which would later come back to haunt him.  Sylvester married actress Sasha Czack in late 1974 and they moved to California in the hopes of building acting careers.  Sly’s first notable break was the 1974 film, The Lords of Flatbush (for which he contributed enough dialogue to earn a co-screenwriter credit) -- the film costarred Perry King and a pre-Happy Days Henry Winkler.  Small appearances in Capone, Death Race 2000, and Kojak followed.

In March of 1975, during what would later prove to be a serendipitous turn of fate, Sylvester watched a boxing match between heavyweight champion Muhammed Ali and relative unknown Chuck Wepner.  When Wepner went the distance and knocked the champ down in the 9th round (Wepner would eventually be knocked out in the 15th), Sylvester became instantly inspired.  Writing nonstop over the next three days, the result was a script entitled Rocky.

Sylvester set his sights on selling the script, with the caveat that he be allowed to portray the lead.  After auditioning for producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff for a different project, Sly happened to mention that he was also a writer, and had written a script about a boxer.  The producers told him to bring it by.  Sly did -- they read it, loved it, and made many high dollar offers for the screenplay -- but they wanted to cast a “star” in the titular role.  Sylvester refused, Winkler and Chartoff finally gave in, and the rest is history.

Rocky was completed and released in 1976.  Shot in 28 days, the $1.1 million production would gross over $225 million worldwide, inspire millions with its story of an “underdog who goes the distance,” spawn five sequels, make a superstar out of its writer/star, and earn ten Academy Award nominations -- winning three, including Best Picture.

Though Sylvester was now hot, his next two projects (while critically acclaimed) fizzled at the box office.  F.I.S.T., about a Hoffa-like union leader, and Paradise Alley (which he wrote and directed) about three brothers involved in the world of wrestling.  Knowing what he needed to do, Sylvester quickly began writing Rocky II.

Released in 1979, the first Rocky sequel was more of a rehash, but Sly had his formula down, and made it work (he also directed the film).  The film was another critical and commercial smash -- earning $200 million worldwide.  After two more disappointing films (Victory and Nighthawks), Sly wrote, directed and starred in Rocky III.  While this installment was a bit more “cartoonish,” audiences made it one of the biggest hits of 1982.

That same year, Sylvester starred as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo in First Blood.  The once-struggling actor now had two signature roles, and during this decade he would make the most of both.  Multiple sequels would follow -- two in the 80s, Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Rambo III (1988).

During the next decade, most anything that Sly touched that didn’t have Rocky or Rambo in the title, failed dismally.  Some of these bombs included: Staying Alive (directing only), Rhinestone, Cobra, Over The Top, Lock Up, Tango & Cash, Oscar, and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.  Rocky IV (1985) and Rocky V (1990), while certainly more successful than these others, did not do much to help things.

In the early 1990s, a couple of decent action films seemed to bring Sly back into the fray: Cliffhanger and Demolition Man.  Of course, The Specialist and Judge Dredd were waiting to knock him back down again.  After making passable fare like Assassins and Daylight, James Mangold’s 1997 effort Cop Land was supposed to reignite Sylvester’s acting career -- after all, Sly let himself go and gained 40 pounds for the role.  Critics raved, audiences yawned.

More dreck followed like Get Carter, Driven, and Avenging Angelo -- something needed to be done.

Then, at age 60, Sylvester made one of his slyest moves yet.  Inspired by seeing George Foreman come out of retirement and move through the boxing ring like an unstoppable train, Sly wrote, directed, and starred in Rocky Balboa.  The sixth film in the franchise, the first since 1990’s awful Rocky V, the movie was seen as a bad joke before it even opened.  And yet ... it worked.  Brilliantly.  Many critics (including myself) thought it was the best entry since the first one.  It ended the series on a much higher and more resonant note than its predecessor, and brought the gross total for the series to over $1.25 billion worldwide.

What else could Sylvester do next, but revisit John Rambo.  In 2008’s (simply titled) Rambo, Sly did just that, and the (very violent) film ultimately grossed over $112 million around the world.  Another installment is currently in preproduction.

Sylvester was married to Sasha Czack until 1985 -- they have two sons, Sage (an actor) and Seargeoh (diagnosed with autism in 1982).  They divorced in 1985.  Following this, Stallone was labeled quite the lothario by the tabloids, especially when he married statuesque model Brigitte Nielsen (his costar in Rocky IV and Cobra) and then divorced her in a well-publicized battle 18 months later.  In the late '80s, Stallone met 19-year-old model Jennifer Flavin.  After dating on and off for years, they married in May of 1997, and have lived in wedded bliss ever since.  The Stallone’s have three daughters, Sophia born in 1996, Sistine in 1998, and Scarlet in 2002.  All three have the middle name Rose.

Up next for the unstoppable actor, filmmaker, author, entrepreneur and pop culture icon: The Expendables and Rambo V.