The Sly documentary on Netflix covers many areas of the iconic actor Sylvester Stallone’s life, including his filmography, family, and legacy. And it does so at a brisk 90-minute runtime with a brief tribute flash of the memory of his son, Sage Stallone.
The 77-year-old actor has crafted a legacy that spans several decades in film and television, and the Sly documentary takes a nostalgic view of an icon reflecting on pain and regret.
The death of any child is not easy. Still, as the Rocky actor indicates in the documentary, the 2006 reboot Rocky Balboa invoked messages to his children about “moving forward” despite the pain.
Since the premiere, Netflix viewers have been curious about the events surrounding Sage Stallone. Here is what viewers should know about the tragic passing of Sylvester Stallone’s son.
What happened to Sage Stallone?
At the time of his death, Sage had a bright future ahead of him. He was starring in movies for Vincent Gallo and was engaged to be married, but the identity of who was never made public. So when he was found dead in his apartment, no one had concerns about his mental health.
Sage had tragically passed in his apartment on July 13, 2012, and was discovered by his housekeeper. According to the autopsy and toxicology, the 36-year-old filmmaker and actor died of heart disease. The results found minimal traces of Vicodin in his system, ruling out the possibility of it being a drug-related death.
Sage can be remembered as playing Rocky’s son in Rocky 5 as Rocky Jr. The actor also made an appearance in Stallone’s survivor thriller Daylight back in 1996.
However, the late filmmaker did not return to the role of Rocky Jr. in 2006 due to scheduling conflicts; at the time, Sage was making a short film called Vic. He would later be replaced by This is Us star, Milo Anthony Ventimiglia.
How many children does Sylvester Stallone have?
Apart from losing one child, Sly has four remaining children to keep him on his toes. Sage and Seargeoh are from the Rocky actor’s first marriage to actress Sasha Czack, while the rest of his children are girls from his marriage to model Jennifer Flavin. These daughters are Sophia, Sistine, and Scarlet.
In the documentary, Stallone gets sentimental about time loss with his kids. The Expendables actor says, “My children, well, I get really emotional about it. There’s always that regret.” Stallone adds, “I could have learned so much more if I hadn’t been so self-absorbed and dealing with other people.”
He further reflects on his decisions as a father, saying, “You think about what you should have done at this age, and now they are this age. What did I mess up on? I’m there making a stupid movie instead of making their life.”
What is clear from this bittersweet quote is that life truly imitates art for the Rocky Balboa story. He is Rocky, and Rocky is Stallone.
And just like Rocky’s legacy, Sage Stallone’s legacy will too carry on.
Sly is now streaming on Netflix.