After nearly 50 years on stage and appearing in eight films, you would think that pretty much every mystery surrounding Rocky Balboa has been solved. Especially since the boxer, who first appeared in ‘Rocky’ in 1976, is probably one of the greatest icons in film history. But after all this time, there’s still something to learn, even for die-hard “Rocky” fans.
Rocky creator Sylvester Stallone personally revealed what exactly the name of his cult character is about. It has long been known that both their first name and their fighting style were inspired by real-life boxing legend Rocco Francis Marchegiano aka Rocky Marciano. But where does the last name Balboa actually come from?
Reminiscent of a difficult Hollywood start
When Sylvester Stallone came to Los Angeles before his breakthrough, he had virtually nothing. With no money and despite many setbacks in his search for roles in Hollywood, he persevered and persevered – and then as an author he made being an underdog the central theme of his first major success, ‘Rocky’.
As is often the case in creative processes, when writing the script, Sly incorporated people and places that had influenced him on his journey up to that point – both positive and negative – including Rocky Balboa’s last name. We will find out in the upcoming documentary “Sly”, which will be released on Netflix on November 3, 2023 and from which the has now been able to present an exclusive clip of Sly talking about his less than glorious arrival in LA.
At that moment, his car broke down in the middle of Sunset Boulevard, and Stallone called the only person he knew in the city at the time: actor Henry Winkler (“Happy Days”). He picked him up but couldn’t house him (not least because Sly also had a huge dog with him). The young Stallone initially stayed in a motel for a few days before finding an apartment on the outskirts of the city, which he describes as a ‘flophouse’. And it was a street away from the Balboa Blvd.
So Rocky Balboa’s name is a combination of a real boxing champion and the area where Sylvester Stallone had his very first house in LA and that – even though it was so poor – had a very central meaning in the later superstar’s tough struggle for success. In just over a week, there will be more about the now 77-year-old’s bumpy career start, steep rise and eventful life in the aforementioned Netflix documentary.