Sylvester Stallone showered in his clothes to survive before ‘Rocky’ fame
By
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Stallone → shower → fame
Before Sylvester Stallone became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, he had just $60 to his name — with $43.60 already set aside for rent.
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he → become → rent
But even as he struggled to make ends meet in New York City, the future “Rocky” icon refused to give up on his dream.
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icon → struggle → dream
In his new memoir, “The Steps,” Stallone recounts the years before fame, including his arrival in New York City in 1969, determined to become an actor despite poverty, rejection and uncertainty.
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Stallone → recount → poverty
The 80-year-old told Fox News Digital that even in his darkest moments, he held on to the belief that his life would eventually change for the better.
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life → tell → better
“I think it comes from naïveté and the folly of youth, that you still have this sense of, ‘I can do it, I can break the mold,'” Stallone said.
“
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Stallone → think → mold
I hadn’t been beaten enough by life yet to say it’s over because, as an actor, if you haven’t made it by 30, I’d say 99% you’re never going to make it.
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you → beat → it
I wasn’t aware of that, so I kept going.
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I → keep → that
“In New York, when I was really down and out, I didn’t focus on, ‘God, you’re going to be destitute,'” Stallone said.
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Stallone → focus → York
“There was this certain optimism that if you put every effort forward, if you denied yourself every moment of pleasure of going to the movies, dating a girl — if you abandoned all that and dedicate yourself, I believe that you’ll know 100% whether you actually have a chance to be this character you always wished you could be.”
uncertain
you → be → chance
Stallone never stopped believing he would one day make it as an actor.
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he → stop → actor
After leaving the American College in Switzerland without graduating and dropping out of the University of Miami just a few credits shy of a drama degree, Stallone returned to New York City with little to his name.
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Stallone → leave → name
He rented a room so cramped that he later compared it to the minimum size recommended for a federal jail cell.
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he → rent → cell
He shared a bathroom with 10 other people.
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He → share → people
Stallone also found work as an usher at a movie theater, earning just $34 a week.
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Stallone → find → 34
He said the job became an education in filmmaking.
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job → say → filmmaking
Night after night, he studied the movies he watched, keeping his dream alive.
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he → study → dream
Stallone said he would shower with his clothes on to save money on laundry.
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clothes → say → laundry
If he were lucky enough to find a bar of soap that didn’t have a “strange hair” stuck to it, he would use it to lather up “my shirt, pants, underwear, socks — and myself.”
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he → find → socks
“I could never afford to go to a laundromat,” Stallone said.
uncertain
Stallone → afford → laundromat
“My wife thinks this is so gross, ‘Why would you take a shower with your clothes on?’
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clothes → think → shower
I said, ‘It made sense to me at the time, rather than going down to the laundromat.
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It → say → laundromat
But you do what you could to survive.'”
To stave off hunger, Stallone would eat spoonfuls of cottage cheese, then down three or four raw eggs.
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Stallone → do → cheese
In the book, he recalled later treating himself to chicken breast and apple juice.
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he → recall → breast
“It’s the only thing that made sense numerically, financially,” he said.
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he → ’ → sense
“Of course, it’s all wrong.
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it → ’ → ?
It’s terrible.
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It → ’ → ?
I’m surprised I didn’t get salmonella, really.
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I → ’m → salmonella
It’s really quite remarkable.
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It → ’ → ?
But these two things at a certain time of year, because in the summer, the cottage cheese would rot, and the eggs would spoil.
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eggs → rot → summer
“But if you brought it from around October, it would sit on your windowsill until March.
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it → bring → March
So that became my refrigerator.
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that → become → ?
And at the time, I just thought it was so convenient.
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it → think → time
You drink the egg, so you don’t have to wash anything.
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you → drink → anything
You didn’t need a fork.
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You → need → fork
And the cottage cheese, it’s a spoon, and you throw the cup away.”
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you → ’ → cup
Stallone wrote in the book, “I wouldn’t recommend this diet to anyone.
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I → write → anyone
But if you’re young and poor, it will suffice, which is why I used eating raw eggs in ‘Rocky’ to give some insight into Rocky’s ways of approaching his life.”
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I → ’re → life
Stallone had a dollar or two a day for food.
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Stallone → have → food
He needed a job, and fast.
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He → need → job
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
