Rocky Sylvester facts
While investigating facts about Rocky Sylvester, I found out little known, but curios details like:
In "Rocky", Sylvester Stallone made Rocky's love interest work in a pet store in order to put his beloved dog Butkus into the movie.
Eye Of The Tiger" was created to be the theme for Rocky III because Queen wouldn't give Sylvester Stallone the rights to use "Another One Bites The Dust"
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 50 of the best facts about Rocky Sylvester I managed to collect.
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Sylvester Stallone was not the actor that the producers wanted to star in 'Rocky'. With just $106 in his bank account, Stallone turned down a $300,000 offer — the equivalent of $1 million today — for the rights to 'Rocky' so he could star in the film himself.
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During the filming of Rocky IV Sylvester Stallone was hit so hard by Dolph Lundgren, he spent 8 days within intensive care. The injuries he sustained are usually caused by steering wheel trauma to the chest in car accidents. Stallone said "in a sense I was hit by a 'streetcar named drago'"
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In the early days of his career, Sylvester Stallone was so poor that he sold his dog Butkus for $50. After striking it rich by selling the script for Rocky, Stallone bought him back at a markup: $3,000. Both Butkus and his interim owner made appearances in Rocky.
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During the making of "Rocky", Sylvester Stallone asked Earnie Shavers (widely regarded as the hardest puncher in boxing) to punch him for real. After 1 punch, Stallone vomited.
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While filming Rocky IV, Sylvester Stallone asked Dolph Lundgren to try to knock him out for real. Lundgren hit him so hard that he was sent to the hospital and was in the ICU for 9 days.
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Sylvester Stallone was voted into the Boxing Hall of Fame for his contributions as a promoter to the sport and his role as Rocky Balboa.
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When Sylvester Stallone was pitching his new script in the 70's, the studio refused to make it with Stallone in the lead. He turned down $300k with only $106 in his bank account until the studio caved and made it with him as the star. That film was Rocky.
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Sylvester Stallone almost died filming Rocky IV when he asked Dolph Lundgren to try and hit him for real. Dolph hit Sylvester so hard it bruised his heart, which swelled up and sent Stallone to the hospital for a week. He said it felt liked he'd been in a serious car crash.
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On his 29th Birthday Sylvester Stallone had only $106 in his bank account , which he later spend on watching a fight between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner who inspired the movie and Balboa's underdog personality in Rocky.
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Sylvester Stallone kept the two turtles, "Cuff" and "Link" from the 1976 movie Rocky, and they are still alive today at 44!
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During the filming of Rocky IV, Dolph Lundgren hit Sylvester Stallone so hard that his heart banged against his ribs, sending him to the ICU for 5 days. Stallone's blood pressure spiked to 260, and he was told his injuries were like what would happen in a car accident.
The song "Eye of the tiger" was specifically written at the request of Sylvester Stallone for Rocky 3, after Queen denied him permission to use "Another One Bites the Dust". - source
Sylvester Stallone was so broke while developing Rocky that he had to sell his dog because he couldn't afford dog food - source
Sylvester Stallone sold his dog for $25 to make ends meet before hitting it big with Rocky, then bought it back for $15,000.
Sylvester Stallone is still pals with turtles from original ‘Rocky’ They're 44 years old. - source
During filming of Rocky, Sylvester Stallone suffered bruised ribs and Carl Weathers a broken nose, the opposite of what their characters in the film recieved
"Eye Of The Tiger" was written by Survivor, at the request of Sylvester Stallone, who was unable to get permission for Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" for Rocky III.
When auditioning for the part of Apollo Creed in "Rocky," Carl Weathers told producers, "I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with." Unbeknownst to him, the man feeding him his lines was Sylvester Stallone.
When Sylvester Stallone went to the person he sold his dog to, after he got paid for Rocky (1975), the new owner asked for $3000 instead of the original price of $60. After Stallone declined, the new owner agreed to give the dog if he got a role in Rocky. Stallone obliged and gave him a role.
Sylvester Stallone was so broke he sold his dog for $25. When he sold the script for Rocky, he bought him back for $15,000. That dog was Butkus, the dog in Rocky.
Sylvester Stallone was offerred $375k for the script of Rocky providing he didn't play the lead role. Stallone refused to sell unless he played the lead character and eventually, after a substantial budget cut to compromise, it was agreed he could be the star.
