Biography of Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone is an actor who made an invaluable contribution to Hollywood cinema in the 70s and 80s. The hero of cult action films has made more than 50 films, including six about the boxer “Rocky” and four about the fearless soldier “Rambo”, which made Stallone an idol for more than one generation.
Sylvester Stallone
Among the actor’s other outstanding works: Lieutenant Tango (“Tango and Cash”), Judge Dredd from the action movie of the same name, Angelo from the Oscar comedy, Gabe from the drama “Cliffhanger,” Sergeant Spartan (“Destroyer”). We have no doubt that Stallone fans will be able to continue this list for a very long time.
Youth and the beginning of an acting career
As soon as the difficult school years end, Sylvester Stallone immediately leaves for Switzerland, away from his mother and father, never to communicate with them again.
Here he enters the American College and at the same time continues to study acting, acquiring skills from the most talented and professional trainers. The young man also develops another hobby - the gym, which he begins to go to every day, trying to achieve an ideal and pumped up figure.
After graduating from the American College and the University of Miami, where Sylvester again studied acting, he returns to his homeland, because he understands that he needs to start right here, at home.
He gets a job in the theater, where he immediately begins to participate in several productions. At the same time, he is writing a script, which in the future will be filmed as the film “Rocky”, the actor’s film debut, which will bring him several prestigious awards and allow him to achieve success.
After worldwide recognition and positive reviews from film critics, Sylvester Stallone begins to receive many invitations to film. He is involved as a screenwriter in all six parts of “Rocky”, stars in the film “Rambo” and at the same time improves his physical characteristics with the help of daily grueling exercises.
By the way, many directors and screenwriters have repeatedly noted for Stallone the important fact that the actor always looks the way the plot requires. And since most of the characters in the films with the participation of the actor are real men, Sylvester is more than suitable for each of these roles.
To date, Sylvester Stallone has produced many films, such as “The Italian Stallion” (1970), “Capone” (1975), “Paradise Alley” (1978), “Escape to Victory” (1981), “Cobra” (1986) , “Tango and Cash” (1989), “Stop! Otherwise, Mom will shoot" (1992), "The Specialist" (1994), "Judge Dredd" (1995) and many other successful films.
Childhood and family
Sylvester was born on June 6, 1946, on the same day as George W. Bush. But, unlike the childhood of the future US president, his young years were by no means joyful.
Childhood photo of Sylvester Stallone
The pedigree of the future actor is quite confusing. His mother, Jacqueline Leibofish, was born into the family of a successful Washington lawyer, John Leibofish, whose Jewish ancestors emigrated to the States from Odessa at the end of the 19th century, and a Frenchwoman, Jeanne Clerec. Jackie owned a beauty salon and was interested in astrology.
Stallone with his parents
It is unknown what forced the girl, who grew up in prosperity, to connect her life in 1945 with the extremely irritable Sicilian Frank Stallone, whose family moved to the USA in 1932. He owned a small chain of hairdressing salons, and in his spare time he was fond of polo: he played himself and loved to watch the matches from the stands. Frank had a bad temper, never missed a single skirt, and loved to drink. He beat his horses mercilessly, and his household did not avoid his heavy hand. How Sylvester Stallone changed (from 7 to 70) Sylvester was the first fruit of this union. During childbirth, Jacqueline experienced complications; obstetricians had to use forceps. A common medical error of those times - the instrument pinched a nerve, the left half of Sylvester's face remained paralyzed for life.
Men of the Stallone family: Sylvester, his brother, eldest son and father
The first years of his life, Sylvester spent most of his time in the home of a woman from Queens, who was hired as a nanny for the boy. She brought him home on weekends, but meetings between parents and son were held in a low-key atmosphere. Sylvester felt that he was not loved. In the early 50s, a youngest son, Frank, appeared in the family, but, despite the new mouth, their wealth began to grow. The Stallones moved to a more prestigious area, their father bought a beauty salon, and a few years later he bought a farm and began breeding ponies. But this did not affect his character - he was still cruel to his wife and ignored his children.
In 1956, Jacqueline, tired of her husband’s constant brawls, filed for divorce. 9-year-old Sylvester and his younger brother Frank stayed with her. Their breakup, as well as his frail physique and birth trauma, seriously affected Sly’s character. His classmates did not like this lisping and arrogant little brat and predicted death for him in the electric chair; he reciprocated their feelings. At the age of 15, he found himself at the Charlotte Hall Military Academy for troubled teenagers with a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder.
In his youth, Stallone was still a rebel
At this time, the young man discovered a talent for painting. His paintings were even appreciated by his father, who was previously convinced that his eldest son was growing up mediocre. Also at the boarding academy, he began to practice boxing, became interested in football and for the first time learned the joys that the female body revealed.
Having matured a little, he almost registered in the gym, and soon the guys from school no longer dared to mock him. At the age of 16, he failed all his exams, and his mother hired him into her beauty salon. Having finally received a certificate, he entered Miami-Dade College.
Childhood
Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6 in New York, the son of immigrants from Sicily. His father worked as a hairdresser, and his mother was a well-known lawyer in the city. Despite the apparent prosperity, cruelty and harsh morals constantly reigned in the Stallone family. According to the actor himself, his father often came home drunk and even began to threaten his wife, but soon calmed down, after which the couple quickly reconciled.
From early childhood, Sylvester was noted for his incredible acting abilities. The child willingly played in school plays and was the initiator of many exhibitions and competitions that were held between several classes. In order to further unleash the creative potential of their son, his parents enrolled him in acting classes, where young Sylvester could learn everything he needed.
By the time a child graduates from elementary school, his parents announce their decision to file for divorce. This traumatizes Sylvester so much that he withdraws into himself for several months and even stops going to acting classes and school.
At the same time, the child understands perfectly well that, carried away by litigation, his parents pay absolutely no attention to him. So, the young actor is left completely alone, in the care of neighbors and close friends of his parents. This situation continues until the age of 15, after which guardianship is finally transferred to the mother, and Stallone is sent to a specialized school for difficult teenagers due to numerous problems.
Carier start
Back in 1968, a fortune teller predicted that Sylvester would certainly become famous.
During his studies, he unexpectedly discovered a talent for acting. Having made his debut in a student production of Death of a Salesman, by the time he graduated from college, he was determined to become an actor. He managed to get a tiny role in the sports drama Downhill with Robert Redford (the man sitting behind the main characters table). Other attempts to get on the screen were unsuccessful; he earned his living as a doorman, a bouncer in a restaurant, and even as a cage cleaner in a menagerie.
Stallone's first appearance on screen Sylvester Stallone's film career began... with porn erotica. In 1970, he got the leading male role in the film “The Italian Stallion” (originally “The Party at Kitty and Stud's”). Shortly before this, Sylvester was kicked out onto the street for overdue rent; he slept in a New York bus terminal for three weeks. “Back then I didn’t care whether it was to star in a film or rob someone,” the actor recalled. He was promised $200 for filming the film.
Still from the film “The Italian Stallion”
In 1970, he also appeared in the film Nowhere to Hide (Rebel). Then there were cameo appearances in Woody Allen's "Bananas" (a subway thief), the film "Klute" (a dancer in a club), "Prisoner of Second Avenue" (a guy suspected of pickpocketing), as well as small roles in the TV series "Police Story" " and "Kojak". In 1971, he took part in the erotic theatrical production “Score,” which was shown in 23 theaters in the Big Apple.
Young Stallone
The beginning of a creative career
While still at school, Stallone attended a theater club and performed on stage from time to time. Then he studied in Switzerland for three years at the American College, working as a physical education teacher. He returned to the USA, entered Dade College, but transferred to the University of Miami, where he studied theater in the acting department.
After studying, he returned home to New York. He played small roles in the theater, but considered cinema to be his calling. Sylvester hoped that he would be noticed at the castings, because he was visually handsome. But big sad eyes, wavy hair and an athletic body did not attract directors for a long time, so they had to earn a living wherever possible. Stallone was everything - a trainer, a doorman, an enclosure cleaner at a zoo, a bouncer in a restaurant.
Numerous castings were unsuccessful; who needs an actor who speaks poorly? I had to turn to a speech therapist, one of whose tasks was to record books on tape. Stallone chose Shakespeare's plays and Tolstoy's works, and for several months he read the text into a tape recorder every free minute.
The classic inspired Sylvester to try his hand at screenwriting. He rushed to write scripts for his future films; they were not successful, but gave impetus to new activities.
His first film role was the porn film “Party at Kitty and Stud’s,” where twenty-four-year-old Stallone had to please many women. At that time, he lost his rented apartment and spent the night at a bus stop, and here was an offer to earn as much as two hundred dollars for just two days of filming.
Sylvester agreed, but still considers this film his shame. When luck and fame smiled on him, the film was pulled out of the archives, renamed “The Italian Stallion” and episodes from it were shown on all screens.
Then there were minor roles, two main ones, but the pictures were mediocre and did not bring fame to the vain actor. His scripts also failed until Sylvester watched a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner. Boxing inspired him to write a new script for the future famous film Rocky.
Rocky
On March 24, 1975, Sly went to see the fight between Muhammad Ali and little-known boxer Chuck Wepner. Returning home in the evening, he did not go outside for the next 92 hours. That's how long it took him to write the script for a film about a boxer who never gives up. Subsequently, Stallone denied that he was inspired by the loss of Chuck Wepner to create the story that made him famous throughout the world - unlike Rocky, Chuck lay down in the 15th round and lost.
"Rocky" - the cult film that made Stallone a legend
He tried to sell the script to a film studio, where he was offered to buy it for $350 thousand, a significant amount at that time. With one condition - the main role had to be played by Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds or Robert Redford. After long negotiations, the producers agreed that Stallone himself would become Rocky - for this, the actor agreed to reduce the film's budget.
Still from the first "Rocky"
Filming was difficult, because the actor had to transform into a professional boxer. He pounded the icy meat, rubbing his knuckles bloody, ran tens of kilometers every day, learned to take a blow. He even had to say goodbye to cigarettes forever, because due to shortness of breath he could not last even five minutes in the ring. The meat was real, Stallone worked without a stunt double. The success of the film, shot in just 4 weeks, was stunning. He was nominated for an Oscar 10 times, 3 of which he won, including the award for Best Picture. The film grossed more than $220 million at the box office.
Subsequently, 4 more parts of “Rocky” were released: in 1979, 1982, 1985 and 1990. Despite the similar plot, all films about Rocky invariably met with a warm response from the audience. During this time, Rocky Balboa met in the ring with the heroes of Carl Weathers, Dolph Lundgren, Mr. T and Thomas Morrison.
Legendary photo: Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis
In 2006, Stallone returned to his legendary character in the film Rocky Balboa. An already aged, long-retired boxer is forced to fight a new heavyweight champion. And in 2015, the series of films about Rocky received a continuation (“Creed: The Rocky Legacy”), but this time the central figure in the story was the son of Balboa’s long-time rival Apollo Creed, Adonis.
Rambo
Almost simultaneously, the premiere of Rambo: First Blood took place in the third “Rocky”. This was no longer an uplifting sports drama, but a bloody action film, where Stallone appeared before the audience as a revenge-obsessed Vietnam War veteran, a weapons expert, killing opponents left and right. The film was incredibly popular even in the USSR, and Rambo became a household name.
Sylvester Stallone as Rambo
Interestingly, several high-level actors were invited to play the role of Rambo. So, a likely candidate was Al Pacino, who planned to turn Rambo into a real psycho, which Stallone, the author of the script, did not like. Dustin Hoffman turned it down himself after reading the script, which he found overly violent (he accepted the role of a woman in Tootsie instead). Clint Eastwood was busy filming another project, and John Travolta was rejected by Stallone himself due to personal hostility.
Still from the film “Rambo. First blood"
The second part of the film was released in 1985 and became a plot continuation of the first. However, critics were skeptical. The third part (1988) was received even cooler. We had to wait almost 20 years for the sequel, and the hero’s return to the screens did not arouse much enthusiasm. Rambo - Escape from the Police However, this did not stop Stallone from thinking about the fifth part. He announced that Rambo 5 has the right to exist back in 2014. “This will be the story of John Rambo’s fight against the drug cartel and slave traders who kidnapped a little girl,” Sly shared his plans.
In December 2020, the FOX channel, together with the executive producer in the person of Stallone, began work on the series “Rambo: The New Blood”. The plot centers on the difficult relationship between John Rambo and his son, who followed the example of his heroic father and enlisted in the Marine Corps. The premiere date of the series is still unknown.
In 2010, Stallone gathered the “old guard” and presented the audience with something phenomenal - the action movie “The Expendables”, which brought together Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke in the cast. The plot revolved around a detachment of mercenaries who were given the task of eliminating tyranny in one of the third world countries. Despite Stallone's nomination for the Golden Raspberry as the worst director of the year, the film received high ratings and paid for itself three times at the box office.
Still from The Expendables 2
Two years later, the sequel premiered. It turned out to be even more spectacular, because Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the cast. The super team again had to save the world and bring the creators 300 million dollars.
Stallone in front of the paparazzi (May 2020)
Biography of Stallone
Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6, 1946 in New York, in one of the districts of Manhattan.
The actor's father, Frank Stallone, worked as a hairdresser who founded a chain of beauty salons in various American cities. Mother, Jacqueline Leibofish, was of French-Jewish descent. At one time she performed at the famous Diamonds Horseshoe Club.
Childhood and youth
Sylvester Stallone's father had a tough temper and cruelty to polo horses. The difficult character of the man could not but affect the child.
After 12 years of marriage, Sylvester's parents decided to divorce. As a result, the teenager remained to live with his mother.
An interesting fact is that Stallone had damaged nerve endings on his face from birth, which caused a speech defect. Perhaps this is why the teenager was distinguished by hooligan antics, thus trying to compensate for his lack in the eyes of his friends.
At the age of 15, Sylvester studied at a special school for difficult teenagers.
Sylvester Stallone in his youth
During that period of his biography, the young man was seriously interested in sports. He often goes to the gym, striving to have an athletic physique.
Later, Stallone goes to study in Switzerland, where he becomes a student at the American College. In his free time, the guy works part-time as a trainer and also plays in the theater.
Returning home, Sylvester set out to become an artist. Soon he entered the University of Miami, in the acting department.
After graduation, Stallone began participating in plays. At the same time, he starred in several films, playing minor characters.
Directors did not trust the actor to play serious roles due to his speech problems. For this reason, Sylvester began working with a speech therapist, later managing to get rid of the defect.
After this, the guy’s creative career took off.
Personal life of Sylvester Stallone
When Stallone celebrated his 50th birthday, journalists from the weekly publication Star gave him a very original gift - an album with all the actor’s women.
There were no less than 595 of them. “Wow! “How did I manage to get six hundred girls into bed,” Sly was amazed. At the beginning of his career, his love affairs were hampered by his wife Sasha Zak, whom he married in 1974, even before fame fell upon him. At that time, he did not believe his part - the beautiful Sasha, a model similar to the young Brigitte Bardot, Andy Warhol's muse, accepted his marriage proposal! Moreover, she refused a number of lucrative roles in order to help her husband work on the first part of Rocky.
Sylvester Stallone, Sasha Zak and their children
From her marriage, Sly had two sons, Sage and Sergio. Having become a mother, Sasha officially announced her retirement from her career and devoted all her time to raising her sons. Moreover, the youngest, Sergio, required special care - at the age of 3 he was diagnosed with autism. Sage died of atherosclerosis much later, in 2012, having appeared in “Rocky 5,” “Daylight” and a number of lesser-known films.
Stallone's eldest son dies at 36
Sasha turned a blind eye to numerous infidelities with models, but she could not forgive her affair with 22-year-old Brigitte Nielsen. In 1985, she filed for divorce, demanding $33 million in compensation. Before that, she publicly hit her husband's other flame, Stephanie Beacham.
Sylvester Stallone and Bridget Nielsen
Immediately after the divorce, the actor formalized his relationship with Bridget, but the marriage did not last even two years. In parting, his ex-wife sued him for a million dollars - her appetites were more modest, and they did not have any children together.
Sylvester and Sage Stallone
After the divorce, the actor went into all serious troubles. 1988 turned out to be his most “fruitful” year - in 365 days, 88 models passed through his bed, including Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford. All of them were members of the Elite modeling agency.
With Linda Evangelista
In 1990, the already middle-aged actor seemed to have settled down. He met model and admirer Jennifer Flavia. It didn’t take long to persuade the girl - she herself jumped into his arms. In an interview, he called her his ideal: selfless, loving and so patient!
Wedding of Stallone and Jennifer Flavia
However, the sweet fairy tale made him bored. In 1993, he began an affair with fashion model Janice Dickinson, which lasted about a year. The girl was a very relaxed person: she was simultaneously dating Liam Neeson, Jack Nicholson and Bruce Willis, and there were women in her bed. During her relationship with Sly, she became pregnant and for some reason, of all the candidates for a father, she chose him. He was ready to file for divorce from Flavia, but the paternity test showed a negative result, and Janice was forgotten.
With Janice Dickinson
Then the actor had short relationships with his “Cliffhanger” partner Janine Turner, “red-haired beast” Angie Everhart, porn model Peggy Turntini, designer Carolyn Stanburn and Austrian aristocrat Andrea Wieser. After this, his romantic fervor subsided. In 1995, he begged Jennifer on his knees for forgiveness for all his infidelities.
Stallone at 24 and 66
Stallone is still married to Jennifer Flavia and is known as an exemplary family man. The couple has three daughters: Sonya (1996), Sistine (1998) and Scarlett (2002).
Sylvester Stallone with his wife and daughters (2016)
Personal life
In 1973, Sylvester Stallone meets his first love and future wife, actress Sasha Zak. The couple constantly appears together at various events, and a year later there is a rumor in the press that Sylvester Stallone is no longer on the list of eligible bachelors on the planet. But, having been married for about ten years and having two sons, Sage and Sergio (the boy has been autistic since birth), the couple files for divorce.
The second marriage of Stallone and Danish model Brigitte Nielsen ends even earlier, two years after marriage.
For the third and final time, Sylvester marries model Jennifer Flavin. The marriage produces three daughters - Scarlet, Sofia and Sistine.
Sylvester Stallone now
In 2020, Stallone appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (Stakar Ogord). He also returned to the role of Rocky in the sequel to the film Creed, where his character trained the young fighter Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan). With this film, according to Stallone, he will complete his participation in the Rocky franchise.
Sylvester Stallone in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy 2
“It breaks my heart, but everything has to have an ending. I know that Rocky will never die, because he lives in each of you,” the actor addressed fans on this occasion. In 2020, the fifth part of “Rambo” with the self-explanatory title “Last Blood” was released on the big screens. According to critics, the final part of “Rambo” was not as beautiful as the ending of the Rocky story. “Rambo is stuck in an era that no longer needs to be remembered,” they wrote. However, Sly is confident that Rambo can still be called the personification of young soldiers, and wants one of the directors to make a prequel about Rambo's childhood and youth.
Still from the film "Rambo: Last Blood"
The third part of the film "Escape Plan", released the same year, was also met with hostility. Viewers complained that the characters of Stallone and Batista were relegated to the background due to the fact that the franchise was sponsored by the Chinese.
Poster for the movie "Escape Plan 3"
Stallone has grandiose plans: he intends to release a TV series based on “The Expendables” and star in the fourth part of the franchise, as well as release a “female” version of the blockbuster so beloved by viewers. According to rumors, Meryl Streep, Cameron Diaz and Milla Jovovich will have to take up arms.
Sylvester Stallone and his daughter Sophie
Together with Rachel Weisz, the actor will appear in the thriller “Voice of God,” and will play in the crime drama “Scarpa” and the science fiction film “Samaritan.” Release dates for the projects have not yet been announced.
early years
The childhood of Sly (as Stallone is briefly called) and his younger brother Frank was not the most rosy, for several reasons. Firstly, the New York quarter in which he was born was called “Hell's Kitchen”, and a “hellish” contingent lived in it. And most importantly, there were strained relations between his parents. Father Frank worked as a hairdresser, was famous for being a womanizer and had a cruel temper. Jacqueline’s mother was a creative person and tried in every possible way to realize her talent. Scandals and quarrels eventually ended in divorce; Sylvester was 11 years old at the time.
Young Sylvester Stallone
It so happened that he stayed to live with his father. During this time, he became a real hooligan and changed several schools. The father was unable to raise his son and at the age of 15 Sylvester went to live with his mother. And the mother had no choice but to send her son to study at a school for difficult teenagers.
Soon the guy left for Europe. In Switzerland, in parallel with his studies, he began to work part-time as a coach and also participate in theatrical productions. Thus, the future idol of several generations built up his muscles and learned the basics of acting. Then, the guy already clearly understood that he wanted to connect his life with cinema. Returning to the USA, he entered university, where he began to professionally study dramatic art.
Sylvester Stallone - a living legend
Having received his education, the aspiring actor decided to start looking for roles for himself. But it turned out to be not so easy, so in addition to working in several performances, he had to earn money through more mundane activities. He worked as a trainer, a security guard, cleaned cages, and even starred in several films for adults. At the same time, he began to write his own scripts.
