1967 - Slyvestor Stallone Home
Rocky and Rambo
Not long after the Kenny Boyer White Sox doublehader Carol fixed me up with a friend of hers. She was a talented blonde girl who played guitar and wrote songs. That afternoon she sang a song while Vic and his girlfriend Carol and I listened. I must admit that I was just a country boy and I was a little intimidated by her.
That night we all went to a theater in Chicago to see Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in "The Taming of the Shrew." As we got there we were a little late and the theater was jammed. As we walked into the screening room a young muscular Italian usher approached us and said in an accent I would later learn should have told me he was from Philly, "Would you like me to find you a seat?" I must admit that I was feeling a little insecure on my first date with this classy girl and my first thought was to feel threatened by his presence and decline his offer and try to find some seats myself. But there was something about the sincerity he expressed that helped me overcome my insecurity and realize that he was really trying to help me and say "Sure."
I followed him right down near the front to four perfect seats. As Vic and Carol and my date filed in I was feeling good that it had worked out so well and I gave him an appreciative "Thank You." As he walked away he said "No Problem."
There was something about his build and presence that made me wonder why he was working as an usher in a movie theater. The only answer that came to my mind was that he was dedicated to the movie business and someday he was going to be a movie star.
When the first “Rocky” movie came out I thought that he might be the young man that I had met that night, but I could not be sure. It was not until sometime in the late 90s while still living in Bonita Springs, Florida and watching a late show on TV one night that I was sure. Stallone mentioned that night that he had worked as an usher in a movie theater in Chicago in the late 60s.