Sly and the Family Stallone Trivia Quiz

Answer: New York

Sylvester Stallone was born to Frank Sr. & Jackie Stallone on July 6, 1946. During his delivery, the attending doctors used two pairs of forceps that crushed and severed a nerve in his cheek. That would go on to give him a slurred speech and partial paralysis of his face. Children would make fun of him for these features, but later it would serve as part of his trademark.

His parents had a very argumentative relationship and Sylvester was in and out of foster care during his early youth. The distress of his problematic household and his physical deformities caused him to rebel in school. He was constantly in trouble and in high school was even named "Most Likely To End Up In The Electric Chair". This was not in jest.

Answer: His pet dog

After being expelled from over a dozen schools, Stallone's mother sent him to the American College of Switzerland where he helped teach gym to pay tuition. While there, he tried out for a part in a play and realized he had found his calling. His unique physical traits were not a liability, but a way to set him apart from others in a positive sense.

He quit college and moved back to the US where he eventually landed back in New York to pursue acting. He attended a large amount of auditions where he was rejected due to his speech and facial paralysis. At one point he was homeless and living in a bus terminal. He would get a few bit parts every now and then. The lowest point of this time period is in 1975 when he sold his beloved pet Bullmastiff named Butkus for $40. This, however, spurred him to write his own script. As a side note, he would later track down Butkus and pay $15,000 to get him back into his life.

Answer: Rocky

In late 1974, Stallone married his first wife, Sasha Czack. The next year, while she worked as a waitress to bring in money, Stallone wrote a script about an up-and-coming boxer after he watched a heavyweight title fight where the underdog performed brilliantly. He wrote the whole script in under four days. Producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff loved it and offered him cash. Even though he had only $100 in the bank and Sasha was expecting their first child, he counter offered for a small fee, but with the stipulation he would star in the flick, which was named "Rocky".

The studio, United Artists, gave only a million dollar budget and less than a month to finish the movie. Stallone cut costs by using family as cast members and low level lighting to hide unfinished aspects. "Rocky" was completed in 1976 on time and for $1.1 million. It became a huge hit and grossed a staggering $225M worldwide. It also won an Oscar for Best Picture and earned Stallone dual Oscar nominations for acting and writing.

Answer: 2

Continuing to intertwine his career with family, Stallone's first son was born in 1976. Sage Moonblood Stallone would go on to work closely with his father. Sage's brother, Seargeoh, was born in 1979 and was diagnosed with autism at a very young age. Sasha and Sylvester chose not to institutionalize him, instead setting up a private learning environment at home.

Meanwhile, Stallone decided he wanted to be more than an actor. In 1979, he took over the reins as the director for the sequel to his boxing movie blockbuster. He also famously directed John Travolta in "Staying Alive" in 1983. He would spend years in and out of the director chair in addition to his writing and acting skill set.

Answer: John Rambo

Stallone helped create the character named John Rambo, who was a Green Beret suffering from PTSD. When the movie, "First Blood", was first shot, Stallone hated it so much that he heavily re-wrote and re-edited it to focus more on Rambo's vulnerability and to not kill him off at the conclusion. The movie was a huge success and would spin off four sequels (all starring Stallone) called "Rambo: First Blood Part II", "Rambo III", "Rambo", and "Rambo: Last Blood".

Meanwhile, citing his "workaholic" nature, his marriage to Sasha failed and they divorced in 1985 after eleven years. That same year, Stallone met Brigitte Nielsen, a 6'1" Danish model and aspiring actress. After a whirlwind romance, they married on December 15, 1985.

Answer: False

Stallone's marriage to Nielsen lasted only 19 months and they had no children together. The tabloid scrutiny was relentless, with rumors of infidelity and Nielsen being labeled a "gold digger". Ten years after the divorce, Stallone met former model Jennifer Flavin at a restaurant and they married in 1997.

Sophia Rose was born to them in 1996. She was born with a congenital heart defect (a hole in her heart) and underwent major surgery at just two months old, a procedure that she survived. She would later work in digital media. Sistine Rose was born in 1998 and would later both model and act. Scarlet Rose was born in 2002 and went on to pursue acting and physical fitness.

Answer: The Expendables

Stallone was a key creative force behind "The Expendables" franchise, which he launched in 2010. He created it in honor of the blockbuster action films of the 1980s and 1990s, and he brought together many iconic action stars in the various films. The story lines revolve around a group of elite but aging mercenaries who take on highly dangerous missions.

Stallone not only helped write the first movie, but he directed it and starred in it. He remained heavily involved in the following sequels as an actor and co-writer for the second and third films, but chose not to direct any of them. The franchise, with its four movies, was a major commercial success, grossing over $855 million worldwide.

Answer: Sage

Sage Stallone, Sylvester's eldest son and frequent co-star, was found dead in his Los Angeles home on July 13, 2012. He was only 36 years old. While early tabloid rumors speculated about a drug overdose, it was officially ruled that Sage died of natural causes. Specifically, he suffered a heart attack brought on by clogged arteries. The coroner noted Sage's heavy smoking was a contributing factor.

Stallone was "devastated and grief-stricken" by the sudden loss. He isolated himself for a while and asked the public to respect his privacy. He also urged the media to stop the drug rumors out of respect for Sage's mother, Sasha Czack. He decided to get back to work to aid him in his struggle with deep sadness.

Answer: Creed

The movie actually was the brainchild of a young filmmaker named Ryan Coogler whose father loved Stallone's earlier movies. Stallone was at first very hesitant to reprise his original Balboa role from 1976. However, he threw caution to the wind and decided to play an elderly boxer who comes back to be a mentor to his competitor's son.

The movie was a box office and commercial success. Stallone won the Golden Globe for Supporting Actor that year and his third Academy Award nomination. This was forty years after his first nomination! He also reprised this role for the sequel called "Creed II".

Answer: Palm Beach

In 2021, Stallone and his wife moved to Palm Beach, Florida, from California. They purchased a $35.4 million estate that year and formally established it as their primary, permanent residence. That event coalesced in 2023,into the creation of a reality series on Paramount+ that followed daily life in the Stallone household. It covered not only the pros and cons of his long career, but also showed his more vulnerable side as he interacted with his children.

The previous year, 2022, Stallone began his first-ever leading role in a scripted series. "Tulsa King" was about a New York Mafia member who, after serving 25 years in prison, is sent by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In his mid 70s, Stallone was making almost $2M per episode.