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• 
  

• 
  Rocky Steps
  The 72 stone steps before the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have become known as the "Rocky Steps" as a result of their appearance in the triple-Oscar-winning film Rocky and four of its sequels, Rocky II, III, V and Rocky Balboa, in which the eponymous character runs up the steps to the song "Gonna Fly Now". Tourists often mimic Rocky's famous climb, a metaphor for an underdog or an everyman rising to a challenge. A bronze statue of Rocky was briefly situated at the top of the steps for the filming of Rocky III. This statue, now located at the bottom right of the steps, is a popular photo opportunity for visitors. The top of the steps offers a commanding view of Eakins Oval, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and Philadelphia City Hall.
  In 2006, Rocky creator Sylvester Stallone recounted the genesis of the iconic scene: (while filming the 1976 movie) the film crew, bound by a tight budget, identified the steps one night while searching for filming locations around the city. Stallone first thought Rocky should carry his dog Butkus up the steps, but the big bull mastiff proved too heavy for the scene to work. Still, the view from the top of the stairs inspired him to reshoot the scene without the dog. In Rocky Balboa, Rocky lifts his dog Punchy when he reaches the top of the steps.
  
  wn.com/Rocky_Steps

• Al Silvani
  Al Silvani (26 March 1910 - 10 January 1996) was an American boxing trainer and actor.
  As one of the most sought-after trainers in the business, Silvani trained over twenty world champions, including Jake LaMotta, Henry Armstrong, Carmen Basilio, Fritzie Zivic, Pone Kingpetch, Rocky Graziano, Ingemar Johansson, and Lou Ambers.
  He also had a lengthy career in the film industry as an actor, stunt man, and as a technical advisor—most note-worthy a lead role in Robin and the Seven Hoods. He also appeared in From Here to Eternity, Ocean's Eleven, Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III.
  He was a close personal friend of Frank Sinatra and hung out with Sinatra's Rat Pack.
  Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
  2006 California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Al_Silvani
• Apollo Creed
  Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the Rocky films, initially portrayed as the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. He was played by Carl Weathers. Many believe his character was modeled after Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali while Rocky Balboa was based on relatively unknown fighter named Chuck Wepner. Wepner knocked Ali down in the 9th round of their 1975 title bout in Richfield, Ohio. Ali ultimately scored a Technical Knockout of Wepner in the 15th round, breaking Wepner's nose. Rocky ended up with a broken nose in his first bout with Apollo Creed.
  Creed had multiple nicknames, including The Master of Disaster, The King of Sting, The Dancing Destroyer, The Prince of Punch, The One and Only and The Count of Monte Fisto. Urban legend states that Apollo Creed's name is a wordplay on the Apostles' Creed, a statement of belief used in Christian churches. All of Apollo's championship fights were scheduled for the 15 round distance. Championship fights did not convert from 15 rounds to 12 rounds until 1987. Rocky Balboa is often wrongly credited with popularizing the red, white, and blue trunks; Creed was the first man to wear them (latterly worn by Rocky Balboa in the 3rd and 4th Installments and finally by Tommy "The Machine" Gunn (Tommy Morrison) in the 5th installment) although normally he wore red and white, as seen in Rocky II. Balboa's signature colors were black and gold—colors he used in the latest movie.
  
  wn.com/Apollo_Creed
• Ava Lazar
  Ava Lazar is an American actress most notable for her role as the first Santana Andrade in NBC's soap opera Santa Barbara. She portrayed the role during 1984.
  
  wn.com/Ava_Lazar
• Bill Baldwin
  Bill (Merl. W, Jr.) Baldwin (born 1935) is an American science fiction writer. He writes militaristic space opera. His main series is about a male protagonist named Wilf Ansor Brim.
  He graduated from The Mercersburg Academy and the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a B.A. in Journalism and a Master of Letters degree. He served as a Lieutenant at the U.S. Air Force Missile Test Center, Foreign Technology Division, Cape Canaveral, Florida, supporting Project Mercury as Chief of the Reports Division. Later, Baldwin served as a contractor for the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center.
  Until recently, he has been the president of the Wooden Boat Association of north Texas. He is also currently the managing editor of the magazine The Brass Bell of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club. He and his wife, Pat, enjoy life in Dallas, Texas, and Bemus Point, New York, with two cats, Bunthorne and Musetta.
  This series began in 1985 but was later reprinted in "Director's Cut Special Editions" by Timberwolf Press.
  
  wn.com/Bill_Baldwin
• 
  Bill Conti
  William "Bill" Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.
  Conti, an Italian American, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Lucetta and William Conti. He graduated from North Miami High School in 1959. He is a past winner of the Silver Knight Award presented by the Miami Herald. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University, and also studied at the Juilliard School of Music.
  His big break into celebrity came in 1976, when he was hired to compose the music for a small United Artists film called Rocky. The film became a phenomenon, and Conti's training montage tune, "Gonna Fly Now" topped the Billboard singles chart in 1977. He also composed music for the sequels Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky V (1990) and Rocky Balboa (2006).
  Conti also worked for some other films and, eventually, for television series. In 1981, he wrote the music for the James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only, when John Barry was unwilling to return to the United Kingdom for tax reasons, and provided the score for playwright Jason Miller's film version of his Pulitzer Prize winning play That Championship Season the following year.
  
  wn.com/Bill_Conti
• 
  Brent Musburger
  Brent Woody Musburger (pronounced /ˈmʌsbɜrɡər/; born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, and NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a studio host for games, a play-by-play man, and halftime host. He has also performed post game wrap up segments and covered championship trophy presentations. He is a member of the Montana Broadcaster's Association Hall of Fame.
  Born in Portland, Oregon, Musburger was raised in Billings, Montana by parents Cec and Beryl. He was an umpire for minor league baseball during the 1950s. He was also a boyhood friend of former Major League pitcher Dave McNally. His brother, Todd Musburger, is prominent sports agent. When he was an adult he built a log cabin in Big Timber, Montana.
  Musburger's youth included some brushes with trouble: when he was 12, he and his brother stole a car belonging to their mother's cleaning lady and took it for joy ride. His parents sent him to the Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Minnesota. Educated at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, he was kicked out for a year for owning and operating a car without a license.
  
  wn.com/Brent_Musburger
• 
  Burgess Meredith
  Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997), known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" who was "one of the most accomplished actors of the century." Meredith won several Emmys, was the first man to win two times the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, and was nominated for Academy Awards.
  Meredith was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Ida Beth (née Burgess) and Canadian-born William George Meredith, M.D.
  He graduated from Hoosac School in 1926 and then attended Amherst College as a member of the Class of 1931. Meredith served in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, reaching the rank of captain. He was discharged in 1944 to work on the movie The Story of G.I. Joe, in which he starred as the popular war correspondent Ernie Pyle.
  In 1933, he became a member of Eva Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory Theatre company in New York City. Although best known to the larger world audience for his film and television work, Meredith was an influential actor and director for the stage. He made his Broadway debut as Peter in Le Gallienne's production of Romeo and Juliet (1930) and became a star in Maxwell Anderson's Winterset (1935), which became his film debut the following year. His early life and theatre work were the subject of a New Yorker profile.
  
  wn.com/Burgess_Meredith
• Burt Young
  Gerald Tommaso DeLouise (born April 30, 1940) better known as Burt Young, is an American actor, painter and author. He is best known for his Academy Award-nominated role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law and friend Paulie in the Rocky film series.
  Young was born in Queens, New York, the son of Josephine and Michael. He was trained by Lee Strasberg at the Actor's Studio. Young is widowed and has one daughter, Anne Morea.
  Young made his name playing rough-edged working class Italian-American characters, the best-known example being his signature role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law Paulie in Rocky (1976), for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He is one of three actors (the other two being Stallone and Tony Burton) who have appeared in every Rocky film.
  He has played similar roles in Chinatown, Convoy, Back to School, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Once Upon a Time in America, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Downtown: A Street Tale, and even a brutal and darker role in Amityville II: The Possession. Young has also appeared in many television programs, including The Rockford Files, Baretta, Law & Order, Walker, Texas Ranger, M*A*S*H, guest-starred in a Miami Vice episode, and made an appearance on The Sopranos ("Another Toothpick") as Bobby Baccalieri's father, who is dying of cancer and comes out of retirement to execute a hit on his godson.
  
  wn.com/Burt_Young
• Carl Weathers
  Carl Weathers (born January 14, 1948) is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films. He also played Dillon in Predator, Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore and Little Nicky, and a very frugal fictionalized version of himself in the television series Arrested Development.
  Weathers was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1966 and then went to Long Beach City College and San Diego State University. Outside of acting, he is a member of both Big Brothers and the United States Olympic Committee. In February 1973 he married Mary Ann Castle with whom he has two children. They were divorced in July 1983. In February 1984 he married Rhona Unsell. He married Jennifer Peterson, his third wife, in 2007. They divorced in 2009.
  Weathers played football both collegiately and professionally as a linebacker. He started his college career in 1966 at Long Beach City College, where he did not play in 1966 due to an ankle injury suffered when he tripped over a curb surrounding the running track while warming up for practice with another linebacker, Paul Snow. He then transferred and played for San Diego State University, becoming a letterman in 1968 and 1969. This led to a brief professional career with the Oakland Raiders, where he played 7 games in 1970 and one game in 1971. He joined the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League in 1971 and played until 1973, 18 games in total. He retired in 1974 and became an actor.
  
  wn.com/Carl_Weathers
• Chuck Wepner
  Charles "Chuck" Wepner (born February 26, 1939) is a former heavyweight boxer from Bayonne, New Jersey. As a tough journeyman boxer he went 15 rounds with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 fight. Wepner claimed that he was the inspiration for the movie Rocky. Wepner also appeared in the book Operation Bullpen about the $100 million fake autograph scam. The last chapters of Operation Bullpen focus on the John Olson-Chuck Wepner counterfeit scheme in which Olson forged Muhammad Ali autographs on a variety of Ali merchandise, including photographs of Ali and Wepner. Wepner sold forgeries in partnership with Olson, and in 2002 the FBI arrested them both. Each received probation for their crimes.
  Wepner, nicknamed "The Bayonne Bleeder," debuted as a professional boxer in 1964 and began posting many wins and some losses. He had formerly boxed while a member of the United States Marine Corps, and had worked as a bouncer before turning pro. He was the New Jersey State Heavyweight Boxing Champion and popular fighter in the Northeast's Club Boxing circuit. But after losing fights to George Foreman (by knockout in three) and Sonny Liston (by knockout in ten) many boxing fans thought that his days as a contender were numbered. After the fight with Liston, Wepner needed over 120 sutures in his face. He also lost a fight to Jose King Roman by a decision in Puerto Rico.
  
  wn.com/Chuck_Wepner
• Clubber Lang
  James "Clubber" Lang is a fictional character and antagonist that appeared as Rocky Balboa's rival in the 1982 film Rocky III. He was played by the popular "bodyguard to the stars" Mr. T, who was 29 years old when the film was launched. The character is very loosely based on a combination of Sonny Liston, Larry Holmes, and George Foreman.
  Many of the character's catchphrases from Rocky III have become common in popular culture, and particularly in Mr. T's career.
  James Lang was orphaned at an early age, and spent most of his childhood on the streets of Chicago's Southside, as well as time in orphanages and juvenile facilities. Later as an adult, Clubber was sent to prison for five years, for one possible count of a felony and/or assault charge. But during his time being served he discovered boxing as a way to let out his frustrations and talent, which leads to the events of Rocky III. This is also evident in the game, Rocky Legends, where if the player selects Clubber's path, he starts out fighting in the Chicago Prison, in a ring actually inside the prison itself. One novelization of the film called Lang's manager "Donut." He is also extremely rude and lacking in morals.
  
  wn.com/Clubber_Lang
• Fran Ryan
  Fran Ryan (November 29, 1916 – January 15, 2000) was an American character actress featured in television and films. She was born in Los Angeles, California.
  Fran Ryan began performing at the age of 6, at Oakland's Henry Duffy Theatre, in Northern California. She attended Stanford University for three years, and during World War II was a member of the USO entertaining troops. She performed comedy, singing and acting on stage in California and Chicago but was not to launch her television career for two decades. Her small screen debut came in an episode on Television's Batman, in 1966, followed by a bit part in Beverly Hillbillies. Ryan's first supporting cast television role was as Aggie Thompson in first several episodes of The Doris Day Show (in its first incarnation plotline theme). The same season she was offered the 'replacement' role on the hit series Green Acres as Doris Ziffel from 1969-1971. Fran was to replace Barbara Pepper, who by then was in poor health. Sadly, Miss Pepper died just five months later of heart ailments, on July 15, 1969.
  
  wn.com/Fran_Ryan
• Frank McRae
  Frank McRae (born June 3, 1942) is an American film and television actor, and a former professional football player.
  McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major in drama and history. He was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1967 NFL season.
  Among his acting roles are the history teacher, Mr. Teasdale, in Red Dawn, bank robber Reed Youngblood in Dillinger, meat-packing factory supervisor in Rocky II (1979), Hazel in Cannery Row, Spanky in The Wizard, James Bond's friend Sharkey in Licence to Kill (1989), inmate Eclipse in Lock Up (film), shouting police captain in 48 Hrs. (a role he later parodied in Last Action Hero and Loaded Weapon 1), the train coachman in Tracks (1976), and former professional boxing champion Harry Noble in *batteries not included.
  He made an effective pairing with John Candy as two bumbling subordinates; first as two tank soldiers (under an equally bumbling Sgt. Frank Tree played by Dan Aykroyd) in the cult classic 1941, and later as "Walley World" Security Guards in National Lampoon's Vacation. He played Jim, the Mechanic, in the movie Used Cars. His most recent role was as a guest star on the television series ER. He also played the character of Sergeant Tenga in Farewell to the King.
  
  wn.com/Frank_McRae
• 
  Frank Stallone
  Frank P. Stallone, Jr. (born July 30, 1950) is an American actor, singer/guitarist and Golden Globe and Grammy Award-nominated songwriter. He has appeared in many Hollywood films and television. He is the younger brother of Sylvester Stallone.
  Stallone was born in New York City. He is the younger brother of Sylvester Stallone and the son of Jacqueline "Jackie" Stallone (née Labofish), an astrologer, former dancer, and promoter of women's wrestling, and Frank Stallone, Sr., a hairdresser and an immigrant from Castellammare del Golfo (province of Trapani, Sicilia, Italy).
  In his teen years he went to Lincoln High School in Northeast Philadelphia.^{[citation needed]} Frank Started his career around the time of high school singing on street corners and making money with his guitar.
  Stallone has worked as a singer in the tradition of American big band jazz and popular music, in a vocal style reminiscent of his idol Frank Sinatra. He tours with his own orchestra under conductor Paul Vesco, and has also worked with conductors Sammy Nestico and Billy May. Stallone has released a number of albums, including Day In Day Out with Sammy Nestico (1991; A1 Records: FSTCD1) and "Close Your Eyes" with Billy May (1996; Coolnote).
  
  wn.com/Frank_Stallone
• Grainger Hines
  Grainger Hines, born in Greenwood, South Carolina, is an American actor, writer, producer, and director.
  He starred in numerous television shows - "True Blood", Boston Legal, Nip/Tuck, CSI: Miami, Cold Case, Las Vegas, Saving Grace, Ghost Whisperer, In the Heat of the Night, Airwolf, Star Trek: The Next Generation among others. He also has appeared in many films such as, Protocol, Innerspace, Rocky II, False Identity, Abuse of Power, Thicker Than Water, Amber Waves among others. Hines also appeared in the miniseries War and Remembrance and The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory. Hines also starred in the soap opera, One Life to Live as Brian Beckett from 1984 - 1986, General Hospital as Kyle Morgan from 1990 - 1991 and The City as Malcolm Christerphor from 1994 - 1995. Hines made his New York stage debut in "Valentine's Day", directed by Horton Foote, and has appeared in many plays in New York City and Los Angeles.
  He wrote, produced and starred in the western drama, The Outsider and directed the horror thriller, The Mill.
  
  wn.com/Grainger_Hines
• Irwin Winkler
  Irwin Winkler (born May 25, 1931) is an American film producer and director. He is the producer or director of 50 major motion pictures, dating back to 1967's Double Trouble, starring Elvis Presley. The fourth film he produced, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), starring Jane Fonda, was nominated for nine Academy Awards. In 1976, he won an Oscar for Best Picture for Rocky. As a producer, he has been nominated for Best Picture for three other films: Raging Bull, The Right Stuff, and Goodfellas.
  Winkler was born in New York, New York, to father Sol Winkler and mother Anna Winkler. He received a BA from New York University in 1955, after serving in the U.S. Army.
  In partnership with Robert Chartoff from the late 1960s, Irwin Winkler produced an impressive array of modern American gems, beginning with their first effort (along with Judd Bernard), John Boorman's taut thriller Point Blank (1967), largely ignored in its day but now regarded as a top film of the time. Adding Sydney Pollack to their production team for a one-shot-deal, they garnered critical acclaim for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). Their next film, The Strawberry Statement (1970), won the Jury Prize at Cannes but Chartoff and Winkler roared to the top with Rocky (1976), which earned the Academy Award as Best Picture. Subsequently, the producing duo picked up Best Picture Oscar nominations for Raging Bull (1980) and The Right Stuff (1983), their last project together before Winkler launched his solo career with the disappointing Revolution (1985).
  
  wn.com/Irwin_Winkler
• Ivan Drago
  Ivan Drago (Russian: Иван Драго) is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa's rival in the 1985 film Rocky IV. He is portrayed by Dolph Lundgren. The character and his catchphrases have gone on to inspire multiple mentions in popular culture like Clubber Lang (Rocky III), including in the Family Guy episode "Brian Goes Back to College", the Chuck episodes "Chuck Versus the Final Exam" and "Chuck Versus the Anniversary", film Disaster Movie, as well as the name of Michigan heavy metal band, If He Dies He Dies.
  Drago is an Olympic gold medalist and an amateur boxing champion from the Soviet Union, who had an amateur record of 100-0-0 Wins (100 KO). He is billed at 261 pounds (118 kg, over 18 ½ stone). He wields a punch with which has been measured between 1850-2150psi due to his robotic limbs as shown at the end of the film, whereas the average psi for a boxer is 700psi. He is also a Captain in the Red Army and as seen on his chest, is a recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union award. Drago is carefully fitted and trained to be the consummate fighter. His heart rate and punching power are constantly measured via computers during his workouts. Drago is seen receiving injections in the movie, presumably anabolic steroids, though this is never explicitly stated.
  
  wn.com/Ivan_Drago
• Jerry Ziesmer
  Jerry Ziesmer (born May 31, 1939) is a career assistant director for major Hollywood films, best recognized for the line "terminate with extreme prejudice" in his acting role as 'Jerry', a CIA operative in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.
  Jerry Ziesmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to a postal employee and his wife, who was the daughter of Dutch immigrants. He graduated on a scholarship from Milwaukee's Rufus King High School in 1957. He received a bachelors degree in acting from Northwestern University in 1961. After graduation he moved to Beverly Hills and took a job as a United States Post Office employee and later, a part time junior high school teacher. In 1964 he married Mary Kate Denny, with whom he had three children. He later obtained a masters degree from UCLA. He received a Directors Guild training certificate for assistant directors in 1969, applying to the program after reading an advertisement in Variety Magazine.
  Ziesmer worked on more than 50 films, usually in the role of assistant director. His first uncredited film job was as a trainee in Hello, Dolly!. His credits include The Way We Were, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Scarface, Illegally Yours, Midnight Run, History of the World, Part I, Annie, Say Anything, Almost Famous, and Jerry Maguire. He took small acting parts in some of his films, for example playing a pilot in Blue Thunder and a salesman in Rocky II. His most famous role is as a civilian intelligence agent named 'Jerry' in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War film, Apocalypse Now, in which he utters what some call the film's most memorable line, "Terminate, with extreme prejudice", to instruct the film's lead character to carry out an assassination. Coppola, who had searched for a suitable actor for months, gave the role to Ziesmer at the spur of the moment.
  
  wn.com/Jerry_Ziesmer
• Joe Spinell
  Joe Spinell born Joseph J. Spagnuolo (October 28, 1936 – January 13, 1989) was an American character actor, who appeared in numerous films in the 1970s and 1980s.
  Joe Spinell was born Joseph J. Spagnuolo in Manhattan, New York of Italian immigrant parents, and the last of six children. His father, Pelegrino Spagnuolo (b. 1892, d. 1950), died from liver and kidney disease. His mother Filomena Spagnuolo (b. 1903, d. 1987) was a bit-part actress who acted in a few movies, some of them alongside her son. Spinell stood 5 foot and 11 inches. He was born at his family's apartment in Manhattan's Little Italy on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. A few years after the death of his father, he moved with his mother and older siblings to Woodside, Queens, New York where he lived off-and-on for the remainder of his life. He was known to abuse drugs and alcohol heavily on and off throughout his career, especially during periods of unemployment. Spinell also suffered most of his life from hemophilia as well as chronic asthma.
  
  wn.com/Joe_Spinell
• John Pleshette
  John Pleshette (born July 27, 1942) is an American actor,
  Perhaps best known for being an original cast member of the long-running primetime television drama Knots Landing. He was cast in the role of Richard Avery because Knots Landing creator David Jacobs was acquainted with Pleshette's work and because Pleshette was the husband of Jacobs' ex-wife's literary agent Lynn Pleshette. Pleshette bears a strong resemblance to Lee Harvey Oswald and played him in the television film The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1977). Pleshette also appeared in the Blake Edwards comedy Micki and Maude .
  He is the cousin of the late actress Suzanne Pleshette.
  John Pleshette is a 1964 graduate of Brown University.
  
  wn.com/John_Pleshette
• Mickey Goldmill
  Michael "Mickey" Goldmill was a fictional boxing trainer created by Sylvester Stallone and portrayed by Burgess Meredith in the Rocky film series. The character's gravelly voice, intense demeanor and popular catch phrases helped make him highly recognizable, as well as, a common source of parody and references in pop culture.
  Mickey may be based on Charley Goldman. Both were bantamweights, had Jewish ancestry, and have similar sounding names. In addition, Charley was the boxing trainer of Rocky Marciano, whom Rocky Balboa is based on. Goldman trained Marciano in many ways similar to how Goldmill trained Balboa, such as tieing their ankles together with string to teach them to spread their feet at the appropriate width. Goldman was (again like Goldmill) well known for making wise remarks (ex. "A lot of people say Rocky [Marciano] don't look too good in there, but the guy on the ground don't look too good either.").
  Mickey Goldmill was born on 7 April 1905 to a Jewish family, as evidenced by his funeral in Rocky III, which took place in a synagogue. He boxed professionally from 1922 until 1947, but never gained any measure of fame. Goldmill recalled that he once knocked an opponent out of the ring the same day that Luis Firpo did the same to Jack Dempsey 14 September 1923. Goldmill claimed that the reason his victory didn't garner any media attention was that he didn't have a manager, while Dempsey did. He retired in 1947, with a record of 72 Wins, (70 K.O.'s), 1 Loss. Some time after his retirement (in 1948), he opened a boxing gym in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mighty Mick's Boxing, and began to train fighters.
  
  wn.com/Mickey_Goldmill
• Paul McCrane
  Paul David McCrane (born January 19, 1961) is an American film, television and theatre actor, as well as an occasional television director. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Montgomery MacNeil in the 1980 film Fame, Emil Antonowsky in RoboCop and Dr. Robert Romano on the NBC medical drama television series ER.
  McCrane was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Eileen C. (née Manyak), a nurse, and James J. McCrane, Jr., an actor and writer. He has a brother, Jim, and three sisters, Maureen, Barbara, and Deirdre. His family moved to Richboro, Pennsylvania, where he lived until he moved to New York City after graduating from Holy Ghost Preparatory School.
  McCrane's roles include Emil Antonowsky in RoboCop, Montgomery MacNeil in Fame, astronaut Pete Conrad in From the Earth to the Moon, Guard Trout in The Shawshank Redemption, cancer-absorbing mutant Leonard Betts in The X-Files and Dr. Robert "Rocket" Romano on ER. He starred on ER from 1997-2003 and returned in 2008 for one episode during its 15th and final season. More recently, he has guest-starred in 24 seasons 5 and 6 as Graem Bauer. He has also appeared on Ugly Betty and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
  
  wn.com/Paul_McCrane
• Robert Chartoff
  Robert Chartoff (born August 26, 1933) is an American film producer. He and fellow producer Irwin Winkler won an Academy Award for Best Picture for the 1976 film Rocky.
  Chartoff graduated from Union College in 1955. He has three daughters (Jennifer, Julie, and Miranda) and two sons (William and Charley). Chartoff established the RC Charitable Foundation in 1990 to award grants to international schools and other child agencies. He continues to serve as its President. The RC Charitable Foundation gives less than $100,000 per year. Several grants awarded to the Buddha Educational Trust.
  
  wn.com/Robert_Chartoff
• 
  Roberto Durán
  Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a retired Panamanian professional boxer, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. A versatile brawler in the ring, he was nicknamed "Manos de Piedra" ("Stone Fists," although the literal translation is "Hands of Stone") during his career.
  In 2002, he was chosen by The Ring to be the 5th greatest fighter of the last 80 years.Bert Sugar rates him as the 8th greatest fighter of all-time and the Associated Press voted Duran as the #1 lightweight of the 20th century. Many even consider him the greatest lightweight of all time. He held world titles at four different weights—lightweight (1972–79), welterweight (1980), light middleweight (1983–84) and middleweight (1989). He was the second boxer to have fought a span of five decades, the first being Jack Johnson.
  He finally retired in January 2002 at age 50 (having previously retired in 1998) following a bad car crash in October 2001, with a professional record of 119 fights, 103 wins with 70 KOs. Up until the second Ray Leonard fight, he was trained by legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel.
  
  wn.com/Roberto_Durán
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  Rocky Balboa
  Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Rocky series from 1976 to 2006. During the series, he wins the Heavyweight Championship of the World twice. He was portrayed by Sylvester Stallone.
  Robert Balboa was born on April 6, 1946. He was the only child to a Roman Catholic Italian-American family. It was revealed in Rocky II that Rocky's black trunks with gold trim were the colors of his high school that he never graduated from. During the scene in which Rocky takes Adrianna "Adrian" Pennino skating on Thanksgiving, he tells her "Yeah -- My ol' man who was never the sharpest told me -- I weren't born with much brain so I better use my body." This encouraged him to take up boxing. He trained very hard so he could grow up to be like his idol Rocky Marciano. Unable to live on the small pay of club fights, and being unable to find work anywhere else, Rocky got a job as a collector for Tony Gazzo, the local loan shark, just to make ends meet. By late 1975, Rocky had fought in 64 fights, winning 44 (38 KO'S) and losing 20. Rocky was proud that he never had his nose broken in a professional fight. His nickname is "The Italian Stallion," spawning from his Italian-American heritage.
  
  wn.com/Rocky_Balboa
• Samuel Davis
  Samuel Davis (1774, Bath, Maine – April 20, 1831, Bath, Maine) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. He is also the illustrator behind the newer anniversary covers of American Chillers.
  Born in Bath, Maine (until 1820 a district of Massachusetts), Davis engaged in mercantile pursuits. He became a shipowner in 1801. He served as member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1803 and 1808-1812. He served as overseer of Bowdoin College 1813-1818. He served as president of the Lincoln Bank in his hometown of Bath, Maine in 1813.
  Davis was elected as a Federalist to the Thirteenth Congress (March 4, 1813 - March 3, 1815). He was again a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1815 and 1816.
  In his private life he was a merchant in African and West Indian trade.^{[citation needed]}
  He died in Bath, Maine on April 20, 1831 and was interred in Maple Grove Cemetery.
   This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  
  wn.com/Samuel_Davis
• Sonny Melendrez
  Sonny Melendrez (born 1946) is an American radio personality.
  Twice named Billboard Magazine's "Radio Personality of the Year", he is included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Top 100 Radio Personalities of All Time^{[citation needed]}. In 2004 he was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
  In the 1970s, he guest hosted American Top 40 on several occasions. He hosted the children's series You And Me, Kid, on the Disney Channel.
  In 1997, the City of San Antonio named the Melendrez Community Center located on the city's West Side in his honor for his support of Parks and Recreation youth programs.
  
  wn.com/Sonny_Melendrez
• Stu Nahan
  Stu Nahan (June 23, 1926 – December 26, 2007) was an American sportscaster best known for his television broadcasting career in Los Angeles from the 1950s through the 1990s. He is also remembered for his role as a boxing commentator in most of the Rocky films. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6549 Hollywood Blvd. on May 25, 2007.
  A native of Los Angeles, Nahan moved at age 2 with his mother to Canada, where he grew up playing ice hockey.
  A star goalie at McGill University in Montreal, he signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League in 1946. He was assigned to the minor-league Los Angeles Monarchs, who through the early 1950s played at the Pan Pacific Auditorium.
  Nahan originally began working on a children's television program, appearing as "Skipper Stu" in Sacramento in the 1950s. He worked for KCRA in Sacramento as a sportscaster. Nahan later moved to Haddonfield, NJ (near Philadelphia) where he hosted his own children's show as Captain Philadelphia, dressed in an astronaut outfit, on the now defunct WKBS-TV. During this stint, Nahan also provided the play-by-play commentary for the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers at WTAF, working alongside Gene Hart.
  
  wn.com/Stu_Nahan
• 
  Sylvester Stallone
  Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (/stəˈloʊn/; born July 6, 1946), commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed are boxer Rocky Balboa and soldier John Rambo. The Rocky and Rambo franchises, along with several other films, strengthened his reputation as an actor and his box office earnings.
  Stallone's film Rocky was inducted into the National Film Registry as well as having its film props placed in the Smithsonian Museum. Stallone's use of the front entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the Rocky series led the area to be nicknamed the Rocky Steps. Philadelphia has a statue of his Rocky character placed permanently near the museum, on the right side before the steps. It was announced on December 7, 2010 that Stallone was voted into boxing's Hall of Fame.
  Sylvester Stallone was born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone in New York City, the elder son of Frank Stallone, Sr., a hairdresser, and Jackie Stallone (born Jacqueline Labofish), an astrologer, former dancer, and promoter of women's wrestling. His younger brother is actor and musician Frank Stallone. Stallone's father was born in Gioia del Colle, Apulia, Italy, and emigrated to the United States as a child. Stallone's mother is of half Russian Jewish and half French descent.
  
  wn.com/Sylvester_Stallone
• Sylvia Meals
  Sylvia Meals is an actress from the United States. She played Apollo Creed's wife, Mary-Anne Creed in Rocky II and Rocky IV.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Sylvia_Meals
• Talia Shire
  Talia Shire (born April 25, 1946) is an American actress most known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather films and Adrianna Balboa (née Pennino) in the Rocky series.
  Shire was born Talia Rose Coppola in Lake Success, New York, the daughter of Italia (née Pennino) and arranger/composer Carmine Coppola. Talia is the sister of director and producer Francis Ford Coppola and academic August Coppola, the aunt of actor Nicolas Cage and director Sofia Coppola, and the niece of composer and conductor Anton Coppola. She was married to composer David Shire, with whom she had a son, Matthew Orlando Shire. She has two other sons, actors/musicians Robert Schwartzman and Jason Schwartzman, from her second marriage to the late producer Jack Schwartzman.
  Shire first became famous for her role of Connie Corleone in The Godfather and its sequels. Later, she portrayed Adrianna Pennino Balboa, the girlfriend (and later wife) of Rocky Balboa in the Rocky movies. She also starred in such films as I ♥ Huckabees, Kiss the Bride and 2007's Homo Erectus.
  
  wn.com/Talia_Shire
• Taurean Blacque
  Taurean Blacque (born Herbert Middleton Jr. in Newark, New Jersey, May 10, 1941) is an American television and stage actor, best known for his role as Detective Neal Washington on the series Hill Street Blues. He also is a past national spokesman for adoptive services, having been one of the first single black men in the United States to adopt a child.
  Before appearing on television, Blacque trained and performed at the New Federal Theater in New York, a theater founded to provide opportunities to minorities and women. Early in his acting career, Blacque began making guest appearances in sitcoms such as What's Happening!!, Sanford and Son, The Bob Newhart Show, The Tony Randall Show, Good Times, and Taxi, and auditioned for permanent roles on others, including Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati, eventually played by Tim Reid.
  In 1981 he joined the cast of the police drama Hill Street Blues, staying with the show throughout its run, which ended in 1987. While appearing on that show, he was nominated in 1982 for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, but lost to fellow HSB actor Michael Conrad, in the only year in which all the nominees in a category came from the same series. His theatrical career continued during his run on the show, winning him an NAACP Image Award of Best Actor (Local) in 1985 for his role in Amen Corner. In 1986 his stage roles included the male lead in the musical Don't Get God Started during its initial six-week summer run in Beverly Hills.
  
  wn.com/Taurean_Blacque
• Tawny Little
  Tawny Little, née Tawny Elaine Godin (born September 15, 1956, Portland, Maine), is an American television presenter and former Miss America in 1976.
  Little was Miss America for 1976 and later became a well-known anchorwoman in Los Angeles, California. In the past, Little worked at KABC-TV, KCAL-TV and KCOP, and has also co-hosted a local talk show called A.M. LA with Steve Edwards. She also made appearances in films such as Rocky II and Money Talks.
  She was formerly married to physician Miles Little,Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider, and CBS executive Don Corsini. She has two sons, JJ and Chris, with Don Corsini. She is currently married to Los Angeles-based lawyer Rick Welch, with whom she has one son, Cole. She was mentioned in passing in the song "Reagan der Fuhrer" by Orange County punk rock band D.I. In three different versions, she's referred to as "Tawny Little," "Tawny Schneider" and "Tawny Who?"
  
  wn.com/Tawny_Little
• Tommy Gunn
  Tommy Gunn is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa's protégé in the 1990 boxing film Rocky V. He is portrayed by real life boxer Tommy Morrison.
  Tommy Gunn was a young fighter from Oklahoma. Gunn came from a dysfunctional family, where his alcoholic father frequently abused Tommy and his mother. One day when Tommy got in trouble at school, his father beat him so badly, he couldn't walk for a week. When Tommy got older, he was able to stand up to his dad and claimed his father was the first person he ever knocked out, possibly starting an interest in boxing for Tommy. Tommy Gunn traveled to Philadelphia to seek out a down-and-out Rocky Balboa, hoping for a chance to be taught boxing from the man himself. Tommy Gunn had an amateur record of 45-1-0.
  Tommy Gunn met up with Rocky Balboa and his brother-in-law Paulie Pennino and asked Rocky if he would teach him some of his moves; he also said he already had a professional record of 7 wins (all KO). However, Rocky ended up getting side-tracked by George Washington Duke, who wanted Rocky to come out of retirement so Duke could promote a fight between him and the current champion Union Cane (Cane only became champion because Rocky retired). Rocky did tell Tommy, however, to stop by Mighty Mick's Gym later.
  
  wn.com/Tommy_Gunn
• Tony Burton
  Anthony "Tony" Burton (born March 23, 1937) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky series, and is one of three actors (along with Sylvester Stallone and Burt Young) who have appeared in all six Rocky films.
  Burton was born in Flint, Michigan. A Flint Northern High School graduate, he was a Michigan Golden Gloves heavyweight boxing champion and two-time all-state football player.
  At Northern he played halfback. In 1954 he scored 13 touchdowns and led his team in scoring. Many of the scoring runs were of 50 yards or more. He gained 820 yards rushing that year and one of his runs was for 95 yards. In 1954, he was selected to the first teams of the All City and All Valley teams as a halfback. He was also chosen as an All State honorable mention. He was the team's co-captain and Most Valuable Player. Tony led his team in yards gained and receiving yards. In one game against Grand Rapids Catholic, he gained 213 total yards.
  At Northern, Tony was also the leading baseball pitcher, pitching the team to the city championship title.
  
  wn.com/Tony_Burton

Rocky Ii (1979)

Actors

• Sylvester Stallone
• Talia Shire
• Burt Young
• Carl Weathers
• Burgess Meredith
• Tony Burton
• Joe Spinell
• Leonard Gaines
• Sylvia Meals
• Frank Mcrae
• Al Silvani
• John Pleshette
• Stu Nahan
• Bill Baldwin Sr.
• Jerry Ziesmer

Director

• Sylvester Stallone

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