Sylvester Stallone: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Sylvester Stallone.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Sylvester Stallone in ''The Contender'']] |
[[Image:Sylvester Stallone.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Sylvester Stallone in ''The Contender'']] |
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'''Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone''' (born [[July 6]], [[1946]] in [[New York City]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[film]] [[actor]], [[film director|director]], [[film producer|producer]], and [[screenwriter]]. He is often referred to by his [[nickname]], "Sly," His middle name is sometimes cited as "Enzio," though in A&E's biography of the actor, "The Rocky Road to the Top," his mother states his middle name as "Gardenzio".She also stated that his real first name is Michael. He achieved his greatest [[Legend (person)|successes]] in a number of [[action film]]s, notably the ''[[Rocky]]'' and ''[[Rambo]]'' series. |
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== Personal life == |
== Personal life == |
Revision as of 13:55, 20 May 2006
Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6, 1946 in New York City) is an American film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. He is often referred to by his nickname, "Sly," His middle name is sometimes cited as "Enzio," though in A&E's biography of the actor, "The Rocky Road to the Top," his mother states his middle name as "Gardenzio".She also stated that his real first name is Michael. He achieved his greatest successes in a number of action films, notably the Rocky and Rambo series.
Personal life
His trademark sneer, lazy eyes, and slurred speech are the result of paralysis in the left side of his face caused by birth complications. While Stallone's "official" height has always been put at 5 feet 10 inches, he is actually believed by many, as first reported in Us Weekly magazine, to be only 170 cm (5 ft 7 in).
Stallone's family include former chart-topping singer Frank Stallone, his mother Jackie, who achieved fame in the middle 1990s as an astrologer and Sage Stallone, who played Rocky's son in 1990's Rocky V and appeared in his 1996 movie, Daylight.
He 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 has autism (with Czack, born 1976 and 1979 respectively), and daughters Sophia Rose, Sistine Rose, and Scarlet Rose (with Flavin, born 1996, 1998, 2002 respectively).
In addition to his marriages, he has had romantic relationships with models Susan Anton, Angie Everhart, and Pamela Anderson.
Career
Stallone was born to Frank Stallone Sr. (a beautician who was an immigrant from Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily) and Jacqueline "Jackie" Labofish, an American astrologer. In the 1960s, Stallone attended the University of Miami for 3 years. He came within a few credit hours of graduation, before he decided to drop out and pursue an acting career. Stallone's career began with an appearance in a soft-core pornographic film called Party at Kitty and Stud's. The film was originally hard core and depicted sexual acts, but the repackaging was censored to have scenes end just before any hard core action would take place. After Stallone's later success the film was re-packaged as The Italian Stallion.
Stallone's first film roles were very small. He played a subway thug in Woody Allen's Bananas (1971) and had a brief appearance in the Jack Lemmon vehicle The Prisoner Of Second Avenue (1974). He had a starring role in the cult hit The Lords of Flatbush (1974). In 1975 he was featured in Farewell, My Lovely, Capone and another cult hit Death Race 2000. Stallone also appeared in guest shots on the popular television series' Police Story and Kojak.
Stallone did not gain wide fame until his starring role in the smash hit Rocky, (1976), awarded the 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, painted his windows black (so he couldn't tell if it was night or day) and in three days he had written the script for Rocky[citation needed]. After that he tried to sell the script with the intention of playing the lead role. Once he got to Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler, they liked the script and had planned on starring someone like Burt Reynolds or James Caan. Stallone was offered money in the hundreds of thousands but wouldn't accept, he wanted to play the role (at the time, Stallone was virtually unknown in the acting world). Unsuringly, they accepted. 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.
Stallone had tried his hand at other genres of film but some were bashed by critics. Along with starring, Stallone directed Rocky II, III, and IV. With the monetary success of the Rocky films, Stallone gave professional wrestler Hulk Hogan his first mainstream exposure, as the character Thunderlips in 1982's Rocky III, two years before Hogan hit it big as the champion of the World Wrestling Federation. Stallone ended up inducting Hogan into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
Stallone has never recaptured the critical acclaim he won initially with Rocky, when Roger Ebert said he could become the next Marlon Brando. He has been nominated a record thirty times for Razzie Awards, usually in the Worst Actor category, and has won ten times. The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation gave him a special Worst Actor of the Century award in 2000.
Stallone has also co-written several other films, such as Tango and Cash, and directed others, such as the sequel to Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive. His other early successes were as John Rambo in First Blood, released in (1982), and its sequels, Rambo: First Blood Part II, and Rambo III. His last major success as a co-writer came with 1993's Cliffhanger.
After Demolition Man, Jesse Ventura said on television that "He's big and rugged. You can slam 'im around, he's not gonna run cryin' to the producer."
Trivia
- Not all of the films in which he's appeared are in the English language. He made a cameo appearance in the French film Taxi 3 where he spoke what appeared to be fluent French.
- He was born on the same date as President George W. Bush.
- Stallone was paid a mere $60,000 to do Cop Land (1997). It is said that he did the film to play a serious role and escape his action hero typecast.
- Oil paints in his spare time and considers Leonardo Da Vinci his personal hero.
- Part owns Planet Hollywood restaurants with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- Stallone was pied at the opening of one of his Planet Hollywood restaurants in Montreal.
- At 15, his classmates voted him the one "most likely to end up in the electric chair."
- Turned down the role of John McClane in Die Hard (1988). The part went to Bruce Willis instead.
- Was the initial choice for the role of Axel Foley in 1984's Beverly Hills Cop. After changes were made to the script, the part went to Eddie Murphy.
- As of 2004 is the all time Razzie Award champion, with a record 30 nominations and 10 "wins", more than any other person in history.
- He joins Roberto Benigni, Prince, Kevin Costner, William Shatner, and Tom Green as being the only actors to direct themselves in performances that would "win" them a Razzie Award for Worst Actor.
- Listed as one of the top heroes of all time by American Film Institute (AFI) on 2003, he 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).
- On the opening of his first film as director, Paradise Alley: “You could hunt deer in that theatre.”
Filmography
- Rocky Balboa (late 2006 / early 2007)
- Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
- Shade (2003)
- Taxi 3 (2003) (cameo)
- Avenging Angelo (2002)
- D-Tox (2002) (released on DVD as Eye See You )
- Driven (2001) (also writer)
- Get Carter (2000)
- Antz (1998) (voice)
- Junket Whore (1998) (documentary)
- The Good Life (1997)
- Cop Land (1997)
- An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997) (cameo)
- Daylight (1996)
- Your Studio and You (1995) (short subject)
- Judge Dredd (1995)
- Assassins (1995)
- A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)
- The Specialist (1994)
- Cliffhanger (1993) (also writer)
- Demolition Man (1993)
- Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot! (1992)
- Oscar (1991)
- Rocky V (1990) (also writer)
- Lock Up (1989)
- Tango & Cash (1989)
- Rambo III (1988) (also writer)
- Over the Top (1987) (also writer)
- Cobra (1986) (also writer)
- Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) (also writer)
- Rocky IV (1985) (also director and writer)
- Rhinestone (1984) (also writer)
- Staying Alive (1983) (cameo; also director, producer, and writer)
- Rocky III (1982) (also director and writer)
- First Blood (1982) (also writer)
- Nighthawks (1981)
- Escape To Victory (1981)
- Rocky II (1979) (also director and writer)
- F.I.S.T. (1978) (also writer)
- Paradise Alley (1978) (also director and writer)
- Cannonball (1976)
- Rocky (1976) (also writer)
- No Place to Hide (1975)
- The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)
- Capone (1975)
- Death Race 2000 (1975)
- Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
- The Lords of Flatbush (1974) (also writer)
- Bananas (1971)
- Klute (1971)
- Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)
- Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970) (re-released as The Italian Stallion)
- Staying Alive (1983) (director)
Salary
Avenging Angelo (2002) - $20,000,000
D-Tox (2002) - $20,000,000
Driven (2001) - $20,000,000
Get Carter (2000) - $20,000,000
Cop Land (1997) - $60,000
Daylight (1996) - $20,000,000
Assassins (1995) - $20,000,000
Judge Dredd (1995) - $20,000,000
The Specialist (1994) - $15,000,000
Demolition Man (1993) - $15,000,000
Cliffhanger (1993) - $15,000,000
Oscar (1991) - $15,000,000
Rocky V (1990) - $15,000,000
Tango & Cash (1989) - $15,000,000
Lock Up (1989) - $15,000,000
Rambo III (1988) - $15,000,000
Over the Top (1987) - $12,000,000
Rocky IV (1985) - $15,000,000
Staying Alive (1983) - $10,000,000
First Blood (1982) - $3,500,000
Rocky III (1982) - $10,000,000
Rocky (1976) - $23,000
Death Race 2000 (1975) - $1,000/week
Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970) - $200
External links
- 1946 births
- Living people
- People from New York City
- Italian-Americans
- Sicilian-Americans
- American actors
- American screenwriters
- Best Actor Oscar Nominee
- Film actors
- Roman Catholic entertainers
- Television actors
- The Contender
- Worst Actor Razzie Nominee
- Worst Actor Razzie
- Worst Supporting Actor Razzie Nominee
- Worst Supporting Actor Razzie
- American film directors