On This Day

Birthday of Sylvester Stallone

July 6th 1946

13:27 6 July 2024

Hollywood superstar Sylvester Stallone was born on this day in 1946. The actor, director, screenwriter and producer had been a struggling actor in New York for a number of years when he first won critical acclaim for his role in 'The Lords of Flatbush (1974).

His breakthrough came when he wrote and starred as underdog heavyweight boxer Rocky Balboa in 'Rocky' (1976). Stallone made his directorial debut with wrestling drama 'Paradise Alley' (1978) before going on to write, direct and star in 'Rocky II' (1979).

Further commercial and critical success followed when he played Vietnam veteran John Rambo in 'First Blood' (1982). Throughout the 80s and 90s Stallone was one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors starring in profitable action films such as 'Cobra' (1986), Tango and Cash' (1989), Cliffhanger (1993), 'Demolition Man' (1993) and 'The Specialist' (1994).

After a decline in popularity in the early 2000s he bounced back with a sixth 'Rocky' film in 2006 and a fourth 'Rambo' film in 2008.

The 2010s brought 'The Expendables' film series and the 'Creed' movies making Stallone the only actor in the history of U.S. cinema to have starred in a box office number one film across five consecutive decades. More recently the veteran star has enjoyed a career resurgence with the hit TV show ‘Tulsa King’ (2022 - present). Happy Birthday Sly.