Never Give Up

By Tyler LaPapa

He was voted most likely to end up in the electric chair by his classmates. “My mother didn’t want me,” Sylvester Stallone explained to Tannenbaum of AARP in an interview. He came from a poor, unstable family accompanied by mental illness, abuse, neglect, and rejection. Throughout his life, he experienced foster care, boarding schools, and bullying at school. 

Stallone was born in a charity ward in Manhattan, NY. During his birth, forceps were used that caused permanent damage to the left side of his face, leaving him with a slight lisp, slow speech, and a low voice.  He was extremely hyperactive as a young child, and at the age of two, he was sent to a boardinghouse. He lived there for about four years, never going home, and his parents only visited him about once a month. 

Stallone continued having problems in school and was kicked out of several schools for fighting and failing grades. He was finally put at Devereux, a school for emotionally troubled kids. “We were not dangerous; we just didn’t fit in,” explained Stallone to Tannenbaum. It was there that he found his passion for art.

He stayed there for two years, then went to the American College of Switzerland. He lied on his application to get in, stating he was a Golden Gloves boxer. He joined the drama club at college and got into acting by accident. On the stage was where he felt comfortable. “I wasn’t nervous,” he says in the recent Netflix documentary titled Sly. He took a shot and attended the University of Miami, but dropped out quickly. 

He then came to New York homeless, sleeping wherever he could, and tried to get cast in a movie. He was turned away because of his speech. He wanted to do something he loved, but “acting is 97 percent guaranteed unemployment,” Stallone explains to Tannenbaum. Stallone goes on to explain, “I realized I was never going to make it as an actor. That’s when I decided to learn about writing”. He further explained to Tannenbaum that he was not the best writer, “but it doesn't matter in screenwriting. When you’re writing dialogue, the way you speak is as personal as your fingerprints. I just had that ear. So my point is, I knew I was going to be a thug, and then an older thug, and then an unemployable thug. But maybe, instead, I could write a story about a thug who is not a thug.”

One of the hardest things he had to do was give up his dog, Butkus, who was his best friend, for $40 because he could not afford to feed him. Then a miracle happened: his screenplay for Rocky sold. Stallone tells Tannerbaum, “And what I found out is that people really want simple stories that reflect their own lives. Rocky wasn’t about boxing; it was a love story. He happened to be a fighter that people could relate to. Because everything’s a fight. From the day we take our first breath until we drop dead.” After his screenplay sale, he was able to buy him back Butkus but the new owner charged him $15,000.

He has written over 25 movies and was an actor in about 80 films. He uses his traumatic past to create some of his best work. Through all of his hardships, he kept a little glimmer of hope to keep searching for his happiness and passion. From rags to riches, it's all because he never gave up. 

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.  It is a very mean and nasty place, and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much can you take, and keep moving forward? That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not point fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!” ~ Rocky Balboa