Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone is an American actor and filmmaker. He was born in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City on July 6, 1946.

Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone was born in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City on July 6, 1946.

Until 1969, he appeared on the stage under the name Mike Stallone; in 1970, he started using the stage name Sylvester E. Stallone.

While attending the University of Miami, Stallone had a role in the drama That Nice Boy (aka The Square Root), filmed in 1968.

Stallone later explained that he had done the film out of desperation after being evicted from his apartment and finding himself homeless for several days.

Stallone took odd jobs around this time, including being a cleaner at a zoo, and a movie theater usher; he was fired from the latter for scalping tickets.

He furthered his writing skills by frequenting a local library, and became interested in the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

He was relegated to a background role in another Hollywood hit, What's Up, Doc?, starring Barbra Streisand. Stallone is hardly visible in his two appearances.

On March 24, 1975, Stallone saw the Muhammad Ali vs. Chuck Wepner fight. That night Stallone went home, and after three days he had completed the first draft of Rocky.

Stallone gained worldwide fame with his starring role in the smash hit Rocky (1976), a sports drama about a struggling boxer, Rocky Balboa, taking on heavyweight champion Apollo Creed.

In 1977, at the 49th Academy Awards, Rocky was nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay nominations for Stallone.