For one night only, to the pounding iconic soundtrack from Rocky, a lithe, tanned, handsome and well-suited Sylvester Stallone bounded onto the Palladium stage; following in the footsteps of AAA-American megastars such as Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jnr, Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope.
A rags-to-riches rendering by the number one action-man of the Hollywood franchise, Stallone regaled a packed Palladium with touching anecdotes, self-depreciating humour, honest accounts of his own belligerence and his acknowledgment star-fuelled know-it-all pomposity. This was all leveled by the mega-star with his now counterpointed life as a father, horse lover and painter. Here is a man born in the cauldron of Hell’s Kitchen NYC destined to fame through self-determination, an inherent passion for the escapism of the silver screen and just the right amount of luck at exactly the right moment. At the point at which he stole his wife’s jewelry and sold the family dog, as they were unable to feed it (“…sell it or eat it – that was our option. We sold it!”) Stallone auditioned for yet another never-to-get acting role where he mentioned he also wrote! The auditioning team asked to see the script. The script was Rocky. The rest is history.
A truly engaging, entertaining, enlightening and, for the crazed fans, adoring public and aficionados - a memorable evening with Sly-Rocky-Action-Hero-Stallone at London’s most important entertainment house: The Palladium.
At the electric and somewhat manic curtain call, Sylvester Stallone was inducted into The Palladium Hall of Fame.
Bravo Sly. An inspiring man who has shown dreams can come true.
Orlando Weston
In addendum: “Tonight was the first time the London Palladium has ever inducted an artist live on stage into their newly created Palladium Hall of Fame - a room with panel of photos celebrating the greatest artists to appear on the stage. A photo was taken backstage before the show by Press Association photographer Jonathan Brady, and Stallone will go into the wall panel of American superstars, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Bob Hope.” Kevin Wilson, PR
