Sylvester Stallone

WHY IS HE FAMOUS

Against obstacles that have included partial facial paralysis, an often-droopy expression and a voice that isn't always consistent with basic pronunciation, Sylvester Stallone remains steadfast as Hollywood's brawniest and brainiest action underdog. The unlikely 5'9" star of Rocky, he went the distance from aspiring actor and screenwriter to international superstar to stand at the pop culture forefront as one of the action gods of the 1980s and an imaginary boxing legend in his childhood town of Philadelphia.

The enduring power of Rocky's boxing gloves and training montages are equally matched by the potency of the red headband and trusty bow and arrow of Sylvester Stallone's other iconic interpretation -- the fractured (but muscle-laden) hero, John Rambo. Across his multiple successful sequels in both franchises (we won't count Rocky V) and action movie repertoire, The Italian Stallion will stand as one of the most unique entertainment figures of the last 30 years and an action icon that many contemporary rivals may try, but will never be able to surpass. If The Expendables happens to be Sylvester Stallone's last great action extravaganza, it will be a fitting footnote to a career of highs and lows that are thematically consistent with those of the fictional Philadelphia boxer who earned him the fame in the first place.

Sylvester Stallone Quote

"Once in one's life, for one mortal moment, one must make a grab for immortality; if not, one has not lived."

92 MAGNETISM

With a consistently ripped physique, a large bank account and an armload of brawny movies to his credit, Sylvester Stallone was -- in his prime -- one of the tough, eternally macho guys that most women would have refrained from ever kicking out of bed. To date, The Italian Stallion has been married three times -- to Sasha Czack, actress/model Brigitte Nielsen, and currently to model Jennifer Flavin. Of the three, his most recent marriage has been the longest and most drama-free while the second one was the shortest and most targeted by the tabloids.

Besides the Italian-American charm that we'd imagine Sylvester Stallone uses to woo the ladies, he has surprising heroes and artistic interests that bring out a more endearing and sensitive side to go along with all the bulk. A fan of Edgar Allan Poe, he's been keen to direct the story of the writer's life for many a time. Sly is also an avid oil painter and goes so far as to call Leonardo da Vinci one of his biggest heroes. Where that bulk is concerned, Stallone remains an imposing physical presence in his mid-60s, but it's not completely natural, thanks to a little help from a human growth hormone (Rocky would never have approved), but who's really keeping track?     

87 SUCCESS

Like his original on-screen alter ego, Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone has taken some punches, but also delivered many knockouts to go along with them. After simple beginnings and a movie debut in a skin flick, Stallone used a real-life boxing match and his own life experiences to craft Rocky, a timeless underdog story that made Rocky Balboa the modern-day movie underdog. By embodying tortured Vietnam vet John Rambo a few years later and lighting up the 1980s with Rocky and Rambo hits, Stallone lived out the true underdog, rags-to-riches dream of being one of Hollywood's biggest stars for over 30 years.

Sylvester Stallone's brawny physique and box office dominance in these physically demanding roles overshadowed the fact that he was actually an actor first and an action giant second. As such, Stallone's impressive successes (the Rocky and Rambo films,Demolition Man, Cliffhanger, Cop Land) are littered by dubious fare like Staying Alive (which he directed), Rhinestone, Oscar, andStop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. There's also a Razzie Award for Worst Actor of the Century, but he's still the only Oscar-nominated action hero of his generation.

Despite the mixed bag at times, Sylvester Stallone has now completed a successful evolution from nobody to capable screenwriter to action icon and filmmaker. While he may be a little bit long in the tooth by action standards, his triple punch of Rocky Balboa, Rambo and The Expendables have shown that he still may have some gas left in the tank.  

SYLVESTER STALLONEBIOGRAPHY

Sylvester Stallone's initial moments of infancy made him an instant underdog. Complications during his birth resulted in facial nerve damage, rending his speech slurred and his face partially paralyzed. After bouncing between foster homes, Stallone settled with his mother, Jackie Stallone, in Philadelphia where his combative ways made him a human distraction in school and an old-fashioned troublemaker. During his tenure at Devereux Manor High School, his classmates selected him as "Most Likely to End Up in the Electric Chair."

Following high school, Sylvester Stallone didn't have the academic achievements to warrant a university education at home. Based on the success of his parents' beauty salon business, he enrolled in beauty school before bolting to the Switzerland's American College after obtaining a scholarship. The change in academic scenery allowed Stallone to sample the dramatic arts for the first time as an acting student. He returned to America in 1962 and continued his fine arts education at the University of Miami. On the cusp of completing his degree, Stallone departed again -- this time to New York to break into professional acting and screenwriting.

Sylvester Stallone In Rocky And First Blood

Sylvester Stallone's early attempts to enter the acting world were difficult, to say the least. One of his earliest efforts was 1970's The Party at Kitty and Stud's, a softcore extravaganza that he did strictly for the cash. He also found himself intertwined with erotica thanks to an off-Broadway play called Score, in which he had a minor role. Uncredited parts followed in Woody Allen's Bananasand Jane Fonda's Klute, but they offered scant exposure and barely enough to pay the bills. He had more luck after a move to Los Angeles, where he found work from Roger Corman. The B-movie mogul cast him in 1975's Capone as a gangster and that year's Death Race 2000 as Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, a colorful rival to David Carradine's Frankenstein.

Another 1975 event proved to be Sylvester Stallone's career catalyst. His attendance at the boxing match between Chuck Wepner and Muhammad Ali set his creative juices flowing and out of it emerged a script about an underdog boxer who gets his one shot to go the distance. The script very much mirrored Stallone's own career in acting and knowing this was his one shot to make it big, he negotiated a deal that allowed him to star in the picture and make a little over $300/day while shooting it. The resulting film,Rocky, won the Oscar for Best Picture (beating Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver) while Stallone earned nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. More importantly, the film became the calling card for sports underdog movies, inspiring countless variations and a number of Rocky sequels. Across popular culture, Rocky Balboa's training montage -- which included a stop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art -- became legendary.

Rocky made Sylvester Stallone a full-fledged movie star, but apart from its smash sequel, Rocky II, he still struggled to find success as other characters in efforts like F.I.S.T., Paradise Alley andNighthawks. Finally, in 1982, Stallone hit pay dirt again as John Rambo, a disillusioned Vietnam vet caught up in an internal and external battle on home soil. Like Rocky before him, John Rambo, his red headband and ample firepower became iconic pop culture symbols and another Sylvester Stallone movie franchise was born.

Sylvester Stallone In Cliffhanger And Cop Land

Through the rest of the 1980s, Sylvester Stallone earned major hits from Rocky III (where he fought Mr. T.), Rocky IV (which saw him take on Dolph Lundgren) and a pair of increasingly violentRambo sequels. The potent box office combination solidified him as a rough-and-tumble action icon along fellow stars (and later Planet Hollywood business partners) Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but his career was not without some serious missteps. Though his intention was to show that his screen persona could extend beyond Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, his roles as a country singer (Rhinestone), and a trucker-turned-arm-wrestler (Over the Top) were not received kindly.

In 1990, Sylvester Stallone brought Rocky out of retirement forRocky V. Audiences weren't pleased to see him again and the film was one of three movie disappointments to start the decade, with the others being Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. On the verge of becoming a parody of himself, Stallone made amends with the adrenaline-fueled 1993 action hit, Cliffhanger, the sci-fi actioner Demolition Man (with Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock) and The Specialist (with Sharon Stone).

Another sci-fi entry, Judge Dredd, was a setback, as was Daylight, but in 1997, Sylvester Stallone dropped his action hero persona and packed on the pounds to play a hearing-impaired New Jersey sheriff in a fight against corrupt New York City cops. Facing acting heavyweights Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta, he fared well. The film was only a minor hit and created confusion in the industry as to where Stallone was going next with his career. As a result, his volume of work dropped and films like D-Tox andGet Carter did little to salvage his bankability.

Sylvester Stallone In Rocky Balboa, Rambo And The Expendables

Following his appearance opposite Sugar Ray Leonard on the 2005 NBC boxing reality series, The Contender, Sylvester Stallone made his way out of the shadows and back into the limelight by revisiting an old friend. Feeling that the last go-around wasn't an appropriate send-off, Stallone released Rocky Balboa in 2006 to much critical and popular fanfare. Two years later, he did the same thing by unleashing Rambo, an update to the story of John Rambo in a Burmese setting. The gritty, limb-crunching effort was also well received by fans who had come to miss the character and Stallone's old-fashioned brand of violent action.

In 2010, Sylvester Stallone took the old-fashioned action brand and made it hip again by acting, writing and directing The Expendables, an all-star team of cinematic action stars and tough guys featuring Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Bruce Willis, andArnold Schwarzenegger. As one of the highest profile films of the summer, The Expendables reinforced Sylvester Stallone's worth to action movie junkies and film audiences as a whole -- a fitting capper of a comeback for a star who, like Rocky Balboa, was only looking for a shot some 35 years earlier.

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