Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Enzio Stallone was born on July 6th, 1946, in Hells Kitchen, a poor neighborhood in New York City. During his birth, doctors used forceps to pull his head out. The trauma left his lower left side of his face paralyzed, which gave him the slurred speech, drooping lower lip and crooked left eye. His childhood was not spent with his family, but with an elderly woman in a New York City boardinghouse. At the age of 5, he returned to live with his parents. When Sly was 11, his parents divorced. He then went to live with his stern father. Throughout his childhood, Sly was expelled from school several times, and would enroll in twelve different schools and was a big troublemaker. He was also made fun of from his appearance and was called "Slyvester the Cat", "Tweetie Pie" and "Binky". It was at this age when he began to fantasize himself as a hero and risk-taker. When he broke his collarbone after falling out of a bunk bed and had to wear a cast to school, he told everyone that he dove in front of a car to save a little girl scout. At 15, Sly moved to Philadelphia to live with his mother and stepfather and found a interest

in body building. After graduating high school, he went to the American College of Switzerland on an athletic scholarship. As a girls' athletic coach there, Sly had his first acting experience, starring in the lead of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". Inspired by this, he went back to the States to study drama in Miami, and in the late 1960s moved back to New York City. While working at different jobs, he also was in several Broadway productions. His deep voice and his face would sometimes not get him good roles. He then turned to writing scripts. In 1974, he wrote the successful "The Lords of Flatbush", which helped him get better roles. But his next script about a boxer with big dreams turned Sly into a Hollywood star. "Rocky" was released in 1976 and went to be on of the most successful movies of all time, and also winning the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor nomination for Stallone. In 1982, he co-worte the action film, "Rambo: First Blood". Rambo became just as popular as Rocky Balboa, which led to the two sequels, both written by Sly. He co-wrote, directed and produced "Staying Alive" and starred in "Nighthawks", "Victory", "Tango & Cash", "Lock Up" and "Rocky