While he waited for his acting career to take off, Stallone worked all sorts of jobs to make ends meet. He cleaned up the lions' cages at the Central Park Zoo, ushered at a movie theater and even made an appearance in an adult film called The Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970).
Stallone became interested in acting while attending the American College of Switzerland, and he returned to the United States to study at the University of Miami. Just a few credits short of graduation, he moved to New York City, where he struggled to find work.
He also broaches a difficult subject: the 2012 death of his son Sage Stallone. The actor, 77, has rarely commented on the death of Sage, who died at 36 due to coronary artery disease atherosclerosis, which caused a heart attack.
The actor shares Sage, as son Seargeoh Stallone, with his former wife, actor Sasha Czack. He also has three younger daughters — Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet — with his current wife, Jennifer Flavin.
1977: Sylvester Stallone on making ROCKY | Film 77 | Classic Movie Interviews | BBC Archive
Is Stallone an Italian name?
Italian:: from stallone 'stallion' applied either as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a stallion or as a metonymic occupational name for someone who bred horses.
Sylvester Stallone (full name: Sylvester Enzio Stallone) has established worldwide recognition as an actor, writer and director since he played the title role in his own screenplay of Rocky, which won the Academy Award in 1976 for Best Picture.
Stallone says that he was in the hospital for nine days following the incident, praying for "one more round." According to The Hollywood Reporter, on the day of the big fight scene, Stallone reportedly told Lundgren to forget the choreography.
He may have gone on to become one of the most successful action movie stars of his generation, but the path to success was not easy for Sylvester Stallone. The actor suffered a complication during his birth that left him with a slight droop on his face and a minor speech impediment, which led to bullying at school.
Stallone spent several years during the Vietnam War as a girls' athletic coach at an American school in Switzerland. He did not serve in the military because of a student deferment and later a medical deferment.
Sylvester Stallone has had to do some creative thinking over the past couple of months to erase any trace of his estranged wife Jennifer Flavin from his extensive collection of tattoos. The actor got a second tattoo to cover up a portrait of his ex after they filed for divorce in August following 25 years of marriage.
He first married Sasha Czack in 1974 when he was 28. They had two sons -- Sage, who died in 2012 at 36 from a heart attack, and Seargeoh. Stallone and Czack divorced in 1985. He married model and Rocky IV co-star Brigitte Nielsen in 1985 but divorced two years later.
What illness did Sylvester Stallone have as a child?
Stallone's struggles began at birth. In a forceps accident, the doctor who delivered him inadvertently cut his facial nerve, leaving his lip, chin and half of his tongue partially paralyzed for life. That injury caused a speech impediment, which made him vulnerable to the neighborhood bullies.
Stallone, who died at age 36 on July 13, suffered from coronary heart disease caused by atherosclerosis, which brought on the heart attack, Lt. Fred Corral of the coroner's investigative division said. "There were no signs of an overdose.
Stallone has been married three times. His first marriage was to Sasha Czack from 1974 to 1985. They shared two sons. Sylvester Stallone and his wife Sasha Czack attend the premiere of the movie "Rhinestone," directed by Bob Clark.
Are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone friends?
The pair, who have since gone on to become good friends, dug deep into the decades-long "war" that raged between them both on and off screen as part of Schwarzenegger's three-part Netflix docuseries Arnold. In the end, Stallone admitted that he believed Schwarzenegger to be the "superior" star between them.
