Sylvester Stallone has shared intimate details about the moment he learned of his eldest son Sage's death in 2012. Sage, who was 36 at the time of his passing, died from coronary artery disease.
In an interview with The New York Times, Stallone recounted how his mother Jackie Stallone's third husband, Dr. Stephen Levine, delivered the news. "I’ll never forget, it was so cold: My mother’s new husband, who I’d never even met, who was a doctor, called me and goes: ‘Sly, he’s gone. Sage - he’s gone.’ I went, ‘Gone where?’ ‘He died, he’s gone. I’m sorry.’ Click."
Stallone described a period of immense guilt and self-questioning in the immediate aftermath of his son's death, grappling with thoughts of what he could have done differently. He explained that he managed to maintain composure for about a week, focusing on funeral arrangements and supporting those around him.
"Because of the funeral, dealing with the mother, dealing with your life in the present, it just takes you into a whole other world. You go: Wow, I’m holding it together. When’s it going to happen?" Stallone stated.
He detailed a moment of profound emotional release about a week later. "And then about a week later, I was all alone in my room, and a wail came out of me I’ve never heard before or since. It was just pain and grief and guilt. It was not human."
Sage Stallone, whose mother is Stallone's ex-wife Sasha Czack, followed in his father's footsteps by appearing in "Rocky V" as Robert Balboa Jr., the son of Stallone's character. In a 1996 interview with People, Sage acknowledged the parallels between his on-screen relationship with his father and their real-life dynamic, noting that certain lines in the film reflected his genuine feelings of neglect.
"When I was screaming, ‘You never spent time with me! You never spent time with my mother,’ that was true," Sage had said. "I was looking into my father's face and really saying that."
Sage also expressed that their relationship improved after the film's release, stating, "After the film, everything changed" for the better, and that they had both expressed their feelings, leading to a deeper connection.
Sylvester Stallone is also father to son Seargeoh, who was diagnosed with autism in 1982, and daughters Sophia, Sistine, and Scarlet with his wife Jennifer Flavin.