Sylvester Stallone Recalls Ten-Second Call Telling Him of Son Sage’s Death

Sylvester Stallone revealed in an interview with Lulu Garcia-Navarro for The New York Times that a ten-second phone call informed him of his son Sage’s death. Stallone stated that he received the news from a doctor named Stephen, who was his mother’s husband and a man he had never met.

Stallone initially misunderstood the call, thinking Stephen meant his son had gone somewhere else before realizing Sage had died. “I’ll never forget how cold it was,” Stallone said.

Sage Stallone, the eldest son of Sylvester Stallone and Sasha Czack, died on July 13, 2012, at the age of 36. A coroner determined that Sage Stallone’s death resulted from coronary artery disease.

Sylvester Stallone and Sage Stallone appeared together in the 1990 film Rocky V. Sage played Rocky Balboa’s son Robert in the film. Stallone admitted that parts of the dialogue in Rocky V were effectively an apology to Sage for not being around enough during his childhood.

Sylvester Stallone and Sage Stallone reunited on screen in the 1996 disaster film Daylight. Sage portrayed a character named Vincent in the film.

Stallone admitted in the interview that he experiences guilt and asks himself what he could have done or if he should have been there. “You have so many episodes of guilt like, what could I have done? Should I have been there?” Stallone said. Stallone has said he cannot watch Rocky V because of his regrets regarding his relationship with Sage.

Stallone said that one does not get over the loss of a child. “No, you don’t get over that,” Stallone said.

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