Some critics rejected the sculpture on the ground that it was not worthy of display at the museum, while supporters argued that embracing the statue would give deserved recognition to the Hollywood hit and generate valuable publicity and tourism for the city. After filming Rocky III, Stallone donated the bronze statue to the city of Philadelphia, but the placement of the statue in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as shown here in 1982, caused controversy. Thomas Schomberg to create the work for a scene in Rocky III in which the City of Philadelphia presents the statue as a tribute to Rocky Balboa. Towering at over eight feet tall, the Rocky statue was created in 1980 after Sylvester Stallone commissioned sculptor A. Although known typically for doing action movies, Stallone branched out into a variety of other genres, including comedy, science fiction, and children's films. The financial success of Rocky allowed Stallone to pursue additional acting, writing, producing, and directing over his decades-long career. He wrote Rocky during the winter of 1975, and he sold it to the film production company United Artists in January 1976.
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Since his acting career was not going as planned, Stallone began to start writing movie scripts. Prominent roles in large-budget films were difficult to come by, even after Stallone moved to California in 1974. Soon he attended the University of Miami to study drama and in 1970 moved back to New York City to pursue an acting career. Finally, Stallone was sent to Devereux Manor High School, which specialized in helping students with behavior issues, and he graduated with a sports scholarship to the American College of Switzerland and traveled overseas.Īcting became Stallone's primary aspiration while in college, where he excelled in a variety of school plays. Fourteen different high schools, including Notre Dame Academy and Lincoln High School, expelled Stallone due to his behavior. Stallone then lived with his mother in Center City and Lexington Park while he attended a number of schools in Philadelphia. Born in 1946 in New York City, Stallone was raised in Washington D.C., until his parents divorced when he was nine. Sylvester Stallone lived in Philadelphia during his teenage years in the late 1950s. Stallone is pictured here offering Mayor Rizzo a set of boxing gloves, while Mayor Rizzo offered Stallone an inscribed Liberty Bell replica. Stallone and Kirkwood spoke about filming Rocky in Philadelphia over a twenty-eight day production period earlier in 1976. The event on November 19, 1976, was part of a larger promotional tour for Rocky. Days before Rocky was scheduled to premiere in New York City and a month before its debut in Philadelphia, Sylvester Stallone and producer Gene Kirkwood visited Philadelphia's City Hall to exchange gifts with Mayor Frank Rizzo.