Stallone Says Rocky Cameo for His Father Turned Nasty

Sylvester Stallone says a small gift to his father on Rocky ended in a shouting match.

He cast his real father, Frank Stallone Sr., as the bell ringer for the climactic fight in the 1976 film, a brief on-screen appearance known as a cameo. Stallone described the incident to The New York Times while discussing his memoir The Steps, according to Deadline.

The plan was simple. His father would ring the bell to signal the rounds. Stallone said his father did not ring it properly during filming and threw off the choreographed sequence.

It escalated fast. Stallone said the disagreement became an altercation and got "really nasty".

He had hoped for a different moment. Stallone said that for a moment he thought his father would be proud of the cameo.

That did not come easily. He described his father as very cold and tough, and said the two reconciled before Frank Stallone Sr.'s death in 2011.

Stallone told the story ahead of The Steps, his memoir, which is releasing on Oct. 23. The book traces his early struggles, his breakthrough with Rocky, and his long career as a writer, actor and director.

Family was already part of that first film. His brother Frank Stallone Jr. appeared as a street singer in Rocky.

For fans, this means a fuller picture is coming on two fronts. The biopic I Play Rocky premieres Nov. 6 in theatres with Anthony Ippolito playing a young Stallone. The film tells the story of the making of the original Rocky.

What makes this stand out is how personal the casting was. A bell, a father, a son. It lasted seconds on screen. It stayed with him for decades.