Sylvester Stallone

Born Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone July 6, 1946 (age 63) New York, New York, U.S. Occupation Actor, Director, Producer, Writer Years active 1971–present Spouse(s) Sasha Czack (1974–1985)Brigitte Nielsen (1985–1987) Jennifer Flavin (1997–present) Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6, 1946), nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. One of the biggest box office draws in the world from the 1970s to the 1990s, Stallone is an icon of machismo and Hollywood action heroism. He has played two characters who have become a part of the American cultural lexicon: Rocky Balboa, the boxer who overcame all odds to fight for love and glory, and John Rambo, a courageous soldier who specialized in very violent rescue and revenge missions. During the 1980s, he enjoyed phenomenal popularity and was one of the biggest movie stars in the world with the Rocky and Rambo franchises. Stallone's culturally influential films changed pop culture history and he has largely enjoyed a career on the Hollywood A list for over 30 years. Stallone's use of the front entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the Rocky series led the area to be nicknamed the Rocky Steps. His popularity in Philadelphia has led to a statue of his Rocky character being placed permanently near the museum as a cultural landmark. Stallone's film Rocky has also been inducted into the National Film Registry as well as having its film props placed in the Smithsonian Museum as a national treasure. He is part of the generation of movie action hero actors (including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and Steven Seagal) who were featured in many of the Hollywood blockbuster action films of the 1980s and 1990s. Early life Stallone was born in New York City, the son of Frank Stallone, Sr., a hairdresser, and Jackie Stallone, an astrologer, former dancer and promoter of women's wrestling. Incidentally, Stallone was born on the same day as future US President, George W Bush. Stallone's paternal grandfather, Silvestro Stallone, was an immigrant from Gioia del Colle, in the province of Bari (Apulia, Italy). Stallone's mother was born in Washington, D.C.; her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Odessa and her mother was a Parisian socialite. Stallone's brother is the musician Frank Stallone. Doctors used forceps during his birth that severed a nerve and caused paralysis in parts of Stallone's face, resulting in his signature slurred speech and drooping lower lip. Between the ages of two and five Stallone was boarded in Queens, seeing his parents only on weekends. In 1951 he returned to live with his parents in Maryland where they operated a chain of beauty salons. In 1961 he was enrolled in Devereux Manor High School, a private school for problem children located in Berwyn, Pennsylvania and following graduation enrolled in a beauty school. In the 1960s, Stallone dropped out of the beauty school after winning a scholarship for the American College of Switzerland in Leysin where he studied drama and was well received in school productions. Returning to America he enrolled in the Theater Arts Department at University of Miami for three years. He came within a few credit hours of graduation before he decided to drop out and pursue a career writing screenplays under the pseudonyms Q. Moonblood and J.J. Deadlock while at the same time taking bit parts in movies. Career Italian Stallion and Score Stallone had his first starring role in the softcore pornography feature film Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970), which was later re-released as Italian Stallion (the new title was taken from Stallone's nickname since Rocky and a line from the film). He was paid US$200 for two days' work. An "uncut" version of the film was released in 2007, purporting to show actual hardcore footage of Stallone, but according to trade journal AVN, the hardcore scenes were inserts not involving the actor. In 2008, scenes from Party at Kitty and Stud's surfaced in a German version of Roger Colmont's hardcore-film White Fire(1976). Stallone also starred in the erotic off-Broadway stage play Score which ran for 23 performances at the Martinique Theatre from October 28 - November 15, 1971 and was later made into a film by Radley Metzger. Stallone's debut as a director came in 1978 with Paradise Alley, which he also wrote and starred in. In addition, he directed Staying Alive (the sequel to Saturday Night Fever), along with Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky Balboa, and Rambo. In August 2005, Stallone released his book Sly Moves which claimed to be a guide to fitness and nutrition as well as a candid insight into his life and works from his own perspective. The book also contained many photographs of Stallone throughout the years as well as pictures of him performing exercises. In addition to writing all six Rocky films, Stallone also wrote Cobra, Driven and Rambo. He has co-written several other films, such as F.I.S.T., Rhinestone, Over the Top and the first three Rambo films. His last major success as a co-writer came with 1993's Cliffhanger. As of 2009, he is trying his hand in bollywood with Kambakkht Ishq star Akshay Kumar. Competition with Arnold Schwarzenegger Stallone has long been considered as a chief competitor to Arnold Schwarzenegger as an action hero actor. References to this have been made in both of their films. In Schwarzenegger's Last Action Hero, Stallone is depicted as playing the Terminator in a video advertisement in the film's alternate reality. In Stallone's Demolition Man, there is a futuristic reference to the Arnold Schwarzenegger Presidential Library. Also in the movie Twins, Arnold Schwarzenegger walks by a giant movie poster for Rambo III. He glances at the size of Stallone's biceps on the poster then feels his own and laughs at how much smaller Stallone's are. In addition to this Rambo reference, Schwarzenegger's wife in the movie True Lies says after she finds out he is a spy and after he saves her life "I married Rambo". According to both Stallone and Schwarzenegger, despite their rivalry, the duo are actually very close friends, much like fellow actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. While promoting the films Rocky Balboa and Rambo on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Stallone revealed that in the 1980s he and Schwarzenegger looked at each other as Cain and Abel. Stallone then said that, in the 1990s, he and Arnold became the friends they are today. They became one time business partners in Planet Hollywood. In 2009, Stallone asked Arnold to do a cameo in his upcoming film, The Expendables, which will be the first time the two will perform in the same movie. Personal life Stallone has been married three times. At age 28, on December 28, 1974, he married Sasha Czack. The couple had two sons, Sage Moonblood (b. 5 May 1976) and Seargeoh (b. 1979). His younger son was diagnosed with autism at an early age. The couple divorced on February 14, 1985. The same year his divorce finalized, he married model/actress, Brigitte Nielsen, on December 15, 1985, in Beverly Hills, California. His second marriage only lasted two years. In May 1997, Stallone married Jennifer Flavin, with whom he shares three daughters: Sophia Rose (b. 27 August 1996), Sistine Rose (b. 27 June 1998), and Scarlet Rose (b. 25 May 2002). Stallone has repeatedly used human growth hormone for its reputation of being anti-aging. In 2007, he was caught in Australia with 48 vials of the synthetic human growth hormone Jintropin; this led to concerns that the resulting publicity would increase usage of the drug. 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. Stallone is an Everton fan and appeared on the pitch wearing an Everton tracksuit and scarf before a home against Reading in January 2007. Stallone dated former Supermodel Janice Dickinson Politics Although Stallone is registered as a Republican, he has donated $44,000 to Democratic Party candidates over the years, including $30,000 to the Democratic National Committee, as well as contributions to the campaigns of Bill Bradley and Joe Biden. However, he has also donated over $33,000 to Republicans over the years and publicly endorsed John McCain for president in 2008.