Sylvester Stallone: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m rv suspected vandalism
No edit summary
Line 34: Line 34:
On the list of the top heroes of all time by [[American Film Institute]] (AFI) in [[2003]], Stallone is listed seventh as [[Rocky Balboa (character)|Rocky Balboa]] behind [[Gregory Peck]] ([[To Kill a Mockingbird (film)|Atticus Finch]]), [[Harrison Ford]] ([[Indiana Jones]]), [[Sean Connery]] ([[James Bond (character)|James Bond]]), [[Humphrey Bogart]] ([[Rick Blaine]]), [[Gary Cooper]] ([[Will Kane]]) and [[Jodie Foster]] ([[Clarice Starling]]).
On the list of the top heroes of all time by [[American Film Institute]] (AFI) in [[2003]], Stallone is listed seventh as [[Rocky Balboa (character)|Rocky Balboa]] behind [[Gregory Peck]] ([[To Kill a Mockingbird (film)|Atticus Finch]]), [[Harrison Ford]] ([[Indiana Jones]]), [[Sean Connery]] ([[James Bond (character)|James Bond]]), [[Humphrey Bogart]] ([[Rick Blaine]]), [[Gary Cooper]] ([[Will Kane]]) and [[Jodie Foster]] ([[Clarice Starling]]).


===Rambo & the 90s ===
===Rambo & the 80s ===
[[Image:Sylvester Stallone (1983).jpg|right|thumb|Stallone in 1983.]]
[[Image:Sylvester Stallone (1983).jpg|right|thumb|Stallone in 1983.]]
Stallone had another major franchise success as [[Rambo|John Rambo]] in ''[[First Blood]]'' ([[1982 in film|1982]]) and the sequels, ''[[Rambo: First Blood Part II]]'', and ''[[Rambo III]]''. During the 1980s he built a reputation as a major action star, frequently setting the record in multi-million dollar salaries. After the release of Rocky IV and Rambo: First Blood Part II, Stallone became the biggest film star in the world. Many consider him the most famous film star of the 80s and one of the most popular celebrities of the decade. 1987's Cobra and 1989's Tango and Cash continued the hit parade, further solidifying Stallone's overseas fanbase.
Stallone had another major franchise success as [[Rambo|John Rambo]] in ''[[First Blood]]'' ([[1982 in film|1982]]) and the sequels, ''[[Rambo: First Blood Part II]]'', and ''[[Rambo III]]''. During the 1980s he built a reputation as a major action star, frequently setting the record in multi-million dollar salaries. After the release of Rocky IV and Rambo: First Blood Part II, Stallone became the biggest film star in the world. Many consider him the most famous film star of the 80s and one of the most popular celebrities of the decade. 1987's Cobra and 1989's Tango and Cash continued the hit parade, further solidifying Stallone's overseas fanbase.

Revision as of 17:38, 25 January 2007

Michael Enzio Styvester Stallone
Stallone in 1988.
Born
Michael Enzio Sylvester Stallone
Height5 ft 7 in (168cm) [1]
Websitesylvesterstallone.com

Michael Enzio Sylvester Stallone [citation needed] (born July 6, 1946) is an American Academy Award-nominated film actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He is often referred to by his nickname, "Sly".

He achieved his greatest successes in a number of action films, notably the Rocky and Rambo series.

Biography

Early life

Stallone was born in Hell's Kitchen New York to Frank Stallone and Jacqueline "Jackie" Labofish, an astrologer. Stallone's father was an immigrant from Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily while his mother is American; one of his maternal great-grandmothers, Rosa Rabinovich, was from Odessa, Ukraineand was half Jewish. [2][3] At fifteen, his classmates voted him the one "most likely to end up in the electric chair." In the 1960s, Stallone attended the University of Miami for three years. He came within a few credit hours of graduation, before he decided to drop out and pursue an acting career. After Stallone's request that his acting and life experiences be accepted in exchange for his remaining credits, he was granted a Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) degree by the President of the University of Miami in 1999.[4]

Early film roles

Stallone's career began with the leading role, Stud, in a hard-core pornographic film called Party at Kitty and Stud's. The film was originally hard core and depicted sexual acts, but after Stallone's later success, the film was re-cut to soft-core and re-packaged as Italian Stallion (a reference to Rocky Balboa's nickname). The hardcore footage is apparently lost.

Stallone's first few film roles were minor, and included brief uncredited appearances in Woody Allen's Bananas (1971) as a subway thug, in the psychological thriller Klute (1971) as an extra dancing in a club, and in the Jack Lemmon vehicle Prisoner of 2nd Avenue (1975) as a youth. In the latter film, Jack Lemmon chases and tackles Stallone, thinking he is a pickpocket. He had his first starring role in the cult hit The Lords of Flatbush (1974). In 1975 he appeared in supporting roles in Farewell, My Lovely, Capone, and another cult hit Death Race 2000. He also made guest appearances on TV series such as Police Story and Kojak.

Success with Rocky

Sylvester Stallone: footprints and hands stamped at Hollywood walkthrough

Stallone did not gain world-wide fame until his starring role in the smash hit Rocky (1976), the film was awarded the 1976 Academy Award for Best Picture. On March 24, 1975, Stallone saw the Ali-Chuck Wepner fight which inspired the foundation idea of Rocky. That night Stallone went home, and in three days he had written the script for Rocky. After that, he tried to sell the script with the intention of playing the lead role. Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler in particular liked the script (which was suggested by Stallone after a casting), and planned on courting a star like Burt Reynolds or James Caan for the lead role.

The final result was an unequalled success; Rocky was nominated for ten Academy Awards in all, including two for Stallone himself, for Best Actor and for Best Original Screenplay. In addition to winning Best Picture, Rocky won for Best Director and Best Film Editing. Rocky cost about US$1.1 million to make, and grossed about US$225 million worldwide. The movie has made the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art a Philadelphia tourist attraction.

On the list of the top heroes of all time by American Film Institute (AFI) in 2003, Stallone is listed seventh as Rocky Balboa behind Gregory Peck (Atticus Finch), Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Sean Connery (James Bond), Humphrey Bogart (Rick Blaine), Gary Cooper (Will Kane) and Jodie Foster (Clarice Starling).

Rambo & the 80s

Stallone in 1983.

Stallone had another major franchise success as John Rambo in First Blood (1982) and the sequels, Rambo: First Blood Part II, and Rambo III. During the 1980s he built a reputation as a major action star, frequently setting the record in multi-million dollar salaries. After the release of Rocky IV and Rambo: First Blood Part II, Stallone became the biggest film star in the world. Many consider him the most famous film star of the 80s and one of the most popular celebrities of the decade. 1987's Cobra and 1989's Tango and Cash continued the hit parade, further solidifying Stallone's overseas fanbase.

After starring in the critical and commercial failures Oscar and Stop! or my Mom will Shoot during the early 90s, he made a major comeback in 1993 with the blockbuster hit Cliffhanger which became an enormously successful venture grossing over US$255 million worldwide. Later that year he enjoyed another hit with Demolition Man which also grossed in excess of $200 million worldwide. His last major domestic box office success was 1994's The Specialist which grossed over $170 million worldwide; since then his career declined (arguably due to a major viewer shift away from the 'action stars' of the 1980s, but also due to his starring in a string of ill-advised movies, including questionable attempts to move into the comedy genre, with such films as Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot)although 1996's Daylight did blockbuster business overseas grossing in excess of $150 million worldwide.

His phenomenal worldwide recognition and popularity (and the advent of DVD sales) was able to gain him roles in films and continued commercial success, and until recently he was still able to command high salaries for roles. In 2006 he made a comeback with the sixth installment of the Rocky series, Rocky Balboa, which was a critical and commercial hit. It looks to end with a final domestic gross of over $70 million, nearly tripling its production budget. Stallone also has a new chapter in his Rambo franchise, Rambo IV: Pearl of The Cobra, upcoming and in production. It has been receiving positive buzz due to favorable script reviews on the internet.

Serious actor

Following his breakthrough performance in Rocky, critic Roger Ebert said he could become the next Marlon Brando - however arguably Stallone has never recaptured the critical acclaim he won in Rocky. Stallone did receive plaudits for his role in Cop Land in which he starred alongside Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta, but the film was only a minor success at the box office.

His most recent performance in Rocky Balboa has been praised and garnered mostly positive reviews. [5]

Director

Stallone's debut as a director came in 1978 with Paradise Alley, which he also wrote and starred in. In addition, he directed the sequel to Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive, along with Rocky II, III, IV and Rocky Balboa.

Writer

In addition to writing all six Rocky films, Stallone also wrote Cobra and Driven. He has co-written several other films, such as F.I.S.T., Over the Top and the first three Rambo films. His last major success as a co-writer came with 1993's Cliffhanger.

Current status

The new Rocky film Rocky Balboa was released on December 20, 2006. At the time of writing, Stallone is in production on the latest Rambo sequel Rambo IV: Pearl of The Cobra.

It was also recently announced that Sylvester Stallone would be directing a movie on The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, based on the book written by Franz Werfel. [6] [7]

Personal life

Family

Stallone's family include his brother, former actor/singer Frank Stallone, his mother, Jacqueline Stallone, who achieved notoriety in the middle 1990s as an astrologer and his son, Sage Stallone, who played Rocky's son in 1990's Rocky V and appeared in his 1996 movie, Daylight. At the time of ownership, Stallone's pet Bullmastiff, Butkus Stallone, appeared in the first Rocky film as an often-teased favorite pet of Balboa's who lived in Adrian's pet shop.

Marriages

Stallone has been married three times, to Sasha Czack (1974–1985), Brigitte Nielsen (1985–1987), and Jennifer Flavin (1997–present). He has five children, sons Sage Moonblood and Seargeoh, who is autistic (with Czack, born 1976 and 1979 respectively), and daughters Sophia Rose, Sistine Rose and Scarlett Rose (with Flavin, born 1996, 1998, 2002 respectively). He and Flavin, an Irish-American, were married at Winston Churchill's birthplace, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England.

In addition to these marriages, he has had romantic relationships with models Susan Anton, Angie Everhart, Pamela Anderson, Naomi Campbell and Janice Dickinson. The latter once believed that Stallone was the father of her daughter Savannah. [8]

Planet Hollywood

He owns shares in Planet Hollywood restaurants with Bruce Willis and formerly Arnold Schwarzenegger (who has since sold his part).

Trivia

  • Turned down lead roles in blockbuster hits Romancing the Stone, Die Hard, Witness, Beverly Hills Cop, Basic Instinct, Jackie Brown, and Enemy of the State.
  • The 1997 film Face/OFF starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta was originally conceived as a sci-fi film and written specifically for Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
  • Unmade film projects include sci-fi scripts Fatalis(pre-historic animals loose in a futuristic LA) and Hunter (A tracker and a special forces team are unleashed into the wilderness to track down a bloodythirsty genetically enhanced pre-historic monster) which were part of his 60 million dollar 3 film deal with Universal that was scrapped upon the domestic failure of 1996's Daylight. He was originally set to star in the sci-fi film Isobar with Kim Basinger and Joel Silver producing in 1990. It fell through when Dean Devlin quit the project over script issues with Carolco. The film revolved around a futuristic train traveling between LA and Tokyo in a post-apocalyptic world. During the trip, a mutant unleashes horror upon the passengers of the train in a claustrophobic nightmarish fashion. The movie has been revived and is set to release in 2007.
  • Cobra and Judge Dredd were intended to spawn franchises, but due to their lukewarm reception at the boxoffice, those plans were cancelled. Cliffhanger had a sequel script written for it entitled "The Dam" but this was later retooled as a separate film entitled "Daylight" which Stallone made in 1996.
  • Sustained serious injuries making the Rambo films, particularly First Blood. In that film, he attempts to jump from a cliff into a tree. The look of pain he shows in the film is in fact real as the branches were lodged in his chest, breaking ribs and puncturing a lung.
  • Does most of his own stunts including much of the dangerous stuntwork in the Rambo films and Cliffhanger. He overcome serious agorophobia to make Cliffhanger. His willingness to go to extreme lengths to make the stuntwork in his films as authentic as possible is matched only by another action movie legend, Jackie Chan.
  • Is good friends with Planet Hollywood pals Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Don Johnson.
  • Widely considered to have inspired the one-man army action films of the 1980s with the genre classic "First Blood".
  • Stallone along with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, are considered the holy trinity of action superstars of the modern film era.
  • Stallone claims to have been able to bench press 385-400 lbs and squat 500 lbs in his prime. While in a bench pressing contest with former Mr. Olympia Franco Columbu, he severely tore his pectoral muscle and needed over 160 stitches on it. This is why one half of his chest is more veiny than the other. [9]
  • With the monetary success of the Rocky films, Stallone gave professional wrestler Hulk Hogan his first mainstream exposure, personally offering him the role as the character Thunderlips in 1982's Rocky III. Stallone inducted Hogan into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
  • He and The Contender co-host Sugar Ray Leonard were pallbearers at the funeral of Najai Turpin, a former contestant on the show.
  • According to NNDB.com, "Stallone has always been politically active, but his politics defy easy labels. He has written checks for candidates as far to the left as Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer, and as far right as John Ashcroft and Rick Santorum."[5]. However, he has openly been known to identify himself as a Republican. In his book "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations," Al Franken cited Stallone as one of the biggest Republican supporters in Hollywood.
  • He is one of President George W. Bush's two favorite actors. The other is fellow action hero and conservative Chuck Norris. Both men attended Bush's inauguration as President in 2001.
  • Stallone and President Bush share the same birthday.
  • Stallone supported President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial and hosted a Democratic fundraiser at his Miami home on 9 July 1998.
  • A long-time American football fan and supporter of the Philadelphia Eagles, Stallone used his Rocky persona to introduce Monday Night Football on ABC; set in a gymnasium, he pounded a punch ball, glared at the camera with clenched fist and uttered the signature tagline "Are ya ready for some football?".
  • On January 14, 2007, Stallone was at Goodison Park to promote Rocky Balboa, and to watch Everton take on Reading. The match ended as a 1-1 draw. After receiving a brilliant reception from over 30,000 fans he now claims to be an official Everton fan.[10]
  • Stallone's films have grossed over $1.7 billion in the USA and over $3.5 billion worldwide.

Filmography

Footnotes

  1. ^ http://www.celebheights.com/s/Sylvester-Stallone-347.html
  2. ^ "Incredible: Is It Stallone or Rabinovich?". Pravda. 2002-09-30. Retrieved 2006-11-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Bunder, Leslie (2005-01-18). "SJ Super 7". Something Jewish. Retrieved 2006-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ Rocky Balboa at RottenTomatoes
  6. ^ [2]
  7. ^ [3]
  8. ^ [4]
  9. ^ http://www.aintitcool.com/node/30861
  10. ^ {{cite web | title = Everton 1-1 Reading | accessdate = 2007-01-14 | date = 2007-01-14 | work = Nathan Mercer | publisher = http://news.bbc.co.uk }}

External links

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sylvester_Stallone&oldid=103179970"