Sylvester Stallone Biography

Los Angeles, CA (CNS) - Sylvester Stallone

Birthdate: July 6, 1946

Birthplace: New York, NY

Sign: Cancer

Sylvester Stallone, son of Frank Stallone Sr., a hairdresser, and Jackie Stallone, an astrologer, was born in New York City. During his birth, doctors used forceps. This procedure permanently severed a nerve, causing paralysis in parts of Stallone's face, which resulted in Stallone's famous slurred speech and drooping lower lip.

Stallone had a bit of a rebellious childhood. He went to several boarding schools, some in Queens when he was age two through five, and some in Maryland. After being expelled from more than 12 schools, in 1961 he was enrolled in Devereaux Manor, a private school in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, where he finally graduated. After graduation, Stallone enrolled in beauty school.

In the 1960s, Stallone ended up dropping out of the beauty school and enrolled in the American College of Switzerland in Leysin, Switzerland, where he studied drama. The school catered to rich students and families, but Stallone's mother bargained with administrators, and Stallone was able to attend the school because his mother paid his tuition in advance and Stallone also worked as boxing coach.

For two years, Stallone excelled at classes, for a change, and joined the drama group and even starred in "Death of a Salesman" as Biff, son of the tragic character Willy Loman. After graduating the American College of Switzerland, he enrolled in the Theater Arts Department at University of Miami for three years. Stallone was just three credits shy of graduating, but decided to drop out and pursue a career writing screenplays while doing small parts and extra work in films.

Stallone actually had his first starring role in a soft core porn, "Party at Kitty and Stud's." After Stallone's "Rocky" fame, the movie was re-released with the title "Italian Stallion." Stallone had other film parts before "Rocky," but they were minor. These parts include a subway thug in Woody Allen's "Bananas" and an extra in "Klute,"as well as the film "The Prisoner of Second Avenue." Stallone had these roles in 1971 and 1975.

He had a few supporting roles up until 1976, when "Rocky" became a box office smash, which garnered him fame nationwide. Stallone actually wrote the "Rocky" script in three days, then tried to sell it with the intention of playing the lead role. The film was such a hit, it was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.

Stallone then wrote and directed "Rocky II," released in 1979, which, again, was a major success.

Apart from the Rocky films, Stallone acted in other films in the 1970s and early 1980s which were not successful at the box office, such as "F.I.S.T," "Paradise Alley," "Escape to Victory," and "Nighthawks."

Luckily, Stallone had success with the Rambo franchise, about John Rambo, the Vietnam war veteran. The first installment of Rambo, "First Blood," was a box office smash as well as critically acclaimed. Two Rambo sequels followed in 1985 and 1988: "Rambo: First Blood Part II" and "Rambo III," respectively, and much later, in 2008, Stallone made a fourth "Rambo."

He also continued his box office success with the Rocky franchise and wrote, directed and starred in "Rocky III" and "Rocky IV."

After "Rocky," Stallone wasn't as successful, but he nevertheless starred in a few films. The comedy "Rhinestone" in 1984, the drama "Over the Top" in 1987, a remake of "Angels with Dirty Faces," "Cobra" in 1986, "Tango and Cash" in 1989, "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" and "Taxi 3," a French film, in 2003.