All language subtitles for Stallone.Frank.That.Is.2021.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]-English

I know exactly
the day I opened

my mouth to sing.
It was a Sunday.

All the relatives were
over at the house.

It's an old Italian song,
and I didn't know

what the hell the words were.
I was like six,

seven years old. It was...
? Eh, Cumpari ?

And all of a sudden, I just
start singing along with it.

It just seemed natural.

For some reason,
it was effortless for me.

I never had a pitch problem.
I could just sing.

Please welcome, Frank Stallone.

-Frank Stallone.
-Frank Stallone.

-Frank Stallone.
-Frank Stallone.

-Frank Stallone.
-Frank Stallone.

[Sylvester] In his world,
and his talent, he's, you know,

every bit as good as I
am at what I try to do.

He's a five tool guy.

He can sing, he can
act, he can perform,

he can write, and he could
fight like a son of a bitch.

When you watch
Frank Stallone perform,

he fulfills everything.

It's just talent, man.
It's just pure talent.

He sings his ass
off. Always did.

He likes to talk a lot.

-[laughs]
-He can talk.

He can tell a story, and
he'll just capture you.

He's just wonderful.

[Billy] It's a combination

of electric magnetism

coupled with this
incredible humility.

It's just a rare cocktail.

It's what I respect
most about him.

Frank has style and
Frank has endurance.

He's very driven. He's talented,
and he's also a sweetheart

of a guy. He's a winner.

He's an electric sort of
guy, and, and, uh, funny.

He's entertaining.
He's got a heart of gold.

There's never a dull
moment with Frank.

[Frankie] He's got a big heart.

That's what people
don't see. It's that big.

[Steven] He's a force.
He's the real deal.

There's so much more
to him than meets the eye.

I mean, everybody
knows, yeah, he did a little

doo-wop thing in
the first Rocky film,

and you think, "Oh,
that's cute," you know,

"Sylvester and his
brother sing a little

thing at the
beginning." And then,

you dig deeper,
and you found out,

"Wow, this guy's a
tremendous musical artist

in his own right."

He was into music
24 hours a day.

I knew that was his calling.

He never quit.

? I know what I'm missing ?

? I talk ?

? No one listens ?

? Now I'm talking to myself ?

? Reach out, no reaction ?

? What price? ?

? Satisfaction ?

? If you give up ?

? Or give it all... ?

[upbeat jazz music]

These were actually, uh,

these were a gift to me.

These were Frank
Sinatra's cufflinks.

Maybe that'll bring
me a... bit of good luck.

See you in the movies.

[upbeat jazz music continues]

[announcer] Welcome back
to the stage Frank Stallone.

[audience applauds]

[Frank] I grew up in a kind
of a strange environment.

My father was from Italy,
and my mother is a WASP,

and she was born
in Washington DC.

So I didn't really grow up in,

what you would call,
a musical household.

My father was a hair dresser.

My mother worked
in the same business,

and it was a very
tumultuous house.

It was not a happy household.

[Jackie] I remember once
I went to Bloomingdale's,

he was about five years
old, and he's so quite.

Were-- He said to Frankie,
"Just sit here, don't move."

He would not move until you
gave him a command to move.

When I got home, I
realized I didn't have him.

He was still sitting on the
bench in Bloomingdale's.

I went back to the store,
and there you were. [laughs]

To pick him up, that's
how well-mannered he was.

[Annette] He was a good baby.

Frankie actually was
putty in your hand.

He was a beautiful little
baby, and very good.

Growing up, he was
just a, a normal child,

but he developed a passion,

and I mean really a
passion, for music.

[Frank] I remember to this
day, seeing Elvis Presley.

All of a sudden, this
wild man comes on.

At six years old,
I'm going, "Oh, yeah,

forget 'Eh, Cumpari.'
That, that bullshit,

that's over. This
is it right here."

The hair, the look, just
everything about him,

and that was it, I was hooked.

When my parents got divorced,

I moved from Maryland
to Philadelphia,

which was like night and day.

But then the doo-wop
thing was always around,

like The Platters,
The Silhouettes,

that was like street corner.

[hums and snaps]

So I got into that.

My mother had left.
She disappeared.

And she came
around Christmas time,

and I saw these
two like ukuleles.

I know my brother
has no musical talent,

so I guess they're both for me,

but he ended up
breaking it over my head.

That was the
beginning and the end

of like the Italian version
of The Everly Brothers,

because my brother,
as talented as he is,

just has no musical talent.

They tried. They
bought him a trumpet.

He hammered the mouth piece in,

but it just wasn't his bag,

and he didn't know what his
bag was until 20 years later.

So he was just
kind of a delinquent.

[Sylvester] I would
torture Frank.

Everything from
shooting arrows at him,

and trying to put
him in a barrel,

and roll him down a
hill while heaving rocks

onto a freeway
under construction.

His fingers almost got
cut off in a cement mixer.

We got into a fight
over a drum stick,

and I threw it at him, and
it sort of stuck in his head,

and he's still alive,
which goes to show you,

he's not normal.

He has a primitive
neanderthal-type-skull.

He's eating a bowl of ice cream.

He goes... [with deep voice]
"Don't touch my ice cream,"

and he throws the
ice cream in my face.

I turn around, I hit him,
and I shatter my hand.

This is the way we've always
conducted our business,

me attacking my brother,
and then blaming him.

So it's consistent.
There something nice

about consistency.

[Frank] So then,
off to military school.

I just got wind of The Beatles. I
don't want to go to military school,

and get a buzz haircut.
I can't do this anymore.

I just don't want to do it,

because now your hormones
are kind of changing.

The Beatles, The Stones,
all this stuff is happening,

and I'm wearing a buzz cut.

I look like total jerk off.

I don't fit in at all.

So I left. I went
to public school.

I wasn't dumb. I was very smart,

but I couldn't apply myself.

Now you would call that ADD,

but then, you just
called it stupid.

I think I got one A
in 12 years of school.

I flunked music all four years.

Barely got out of high school.

Frankie and I met in
September of 1961.

I had a set of
drums, but most of us,

we were just doing something
that was part of a trend.

For Frankie, it was a drive.

He can't stop himself.

I felt like a separation
emotionally,

like he was moving
away, you know?

He was very serious
about that, and I...

...couldn't possibly
get serious at that age.

[Frank] I remember
I worked all summer

for 150 bucks, and
my stepfather said...

[with deep voice] "Well, if you
work, you can buy your own guitar."

I said, "Okay, great." I
went to 8th Street Music,

and I bought this bass,

and he goes, "Oh, I didn't
tell you you could buy that,"

and he took it away from me.

I didn't even get
a chance to play it.

It was so devastating to me,

because I was so proud
because I worked for it,

and he just put it
away in the closet,

and he goes, "Don't you
ever touch that again." I said,

I said, "You said if I worked
all summer, I could have it."

I couldn't wait for when
he left town. Of course I'd...

[imitates a bass strumming]
practice in the front room

with my band, and stuff
like that. But I couldn't--

Then I realized
I sucked at bass.

[Jackie] Well, he
didn't like his stepfather

for the simple reason
his stepfather was

pretty organized, and
very neat, and clean.

He would insist
Frankie get a haircut

as soon as he'd come home.
Well, that's the worst thing

you could say to a musician.

So, they didn't get
along well at all.

[bright music]

Got along very
well with his father.

His father lived in, uh,

Florida or Washington
DC at the time...

[stutters] in both places,

and he got along
well with his father.

[Frank] We were
getting hit in the '60s.

Every day there was a
new British invasion group,

The Dave Clark Five,
The Kinks, The Who.

It was so exciting. I mean,

it was a blitzkrieg
of British groups.

Everyone thought you were
English if you had long hair.

You know, those guys
had Philly accents.

[imitating accent] "Hello,
love, how yous doing there?"

You say, "Oh, God,
Almighty," you know?

But girls thought
you were British,

We're about as British
as, you know, whatever.

So, what's the next thing?

Let's straighten Frank's hair.

To watch a guy iron
his own hair is ridiculous.

It doesn't work. I
was burning my scalp.

I looked like an O-Cedar
mop, just like, like a roof.

It was horrible. So
then I figured it out.

If I washed my hair it'd be
wet. I'd put like Dippity-Do in it,

and I'd put a hair net on,
and sit under a hair dryer,

and it'd come out
beautifully straight.

Two seconds on the stage,

sweat, and it all...

[boing]

I turned professional in 1965.

The guy next door said,
"Hey, well I'm having a party,"

so we set our stuff up on
the lawn, and we played.

I think they gave us five bucks

like for the band,
and I said, "Well,

I'm professional.
I'm getting paid."

This was my first group,
The American Tragedy.

[Mark] Frank is a
natural-born entertainer.

His singing ability,
and his delivery,

his performance
was unbelievable.

[Mike Barford] There was a thing,
an advertisement for a thing called

the Philadelphia
Battle of the Bands,

which was all
throughout Philadelphia.

I heard numbers like 300
bands started or something,

and the competition was fierce,

but we came in
second of all the bands,

and that was a lot
of acknowledgement.

It was a lot of fun.

[Frank] My brother
managed me for one day

with The American Tragedy.

We went to see a group
called The Soultastics,

and Sly goes, "Yeah, that's
what you guys should be doing."

We were kids. We
couldn't even drive yet.

So my brother's funny
maid just walks up, and goes,

"Hey, who's your manager?"

So my brother contacts this guy.

We auditioned and played. He
goes, "Yeah, you guys are pretty good,

but you have to get outfits."

They were these big
horse-checked pants

with orange turtlenecks.

But why would you
buy a turtleneck sweater

to play live with
wool plaid pants?

-[knocking at door]
-[door clatters]

-Oh, my God! [laughs]
-There it is! Mike!

[Mike] Frankie was looking for
something greater than the neighborhood.

It was time for him to move on,

time for him to get out there,

but we were that stepping stone.

We got him started,
and I'm very proud of that.

I think our group
is proud of that.

We, we all take
pride in saying that,

"Hey, we know Frank Stallone."

We knew him back
when no one knew

how well he could sing but us,

and he's proved it
over and over again.

[Frank] I meet my
friend, Allen Rosenblum.

I didn't know he played
guitar, and I was hearing,

"Oh, Allen Rosenblum
can sure play guitar."

So Allen and I got
together, and we put

the first Valentine together.

Why did I change
my name to Valentine?

Because I had no money. I'd
just brought this western belt,

and it had the name Valentine

carved back in western letters.

I said, "Well, shit, man,
I want to wear this belt,

so I'll change my
name to Valentine."

That belt was the
only belt I owned.

[chuckles] It had Valentine
written on the back,

and I didn't want to
explain it to people.

Valentine was a very well
know Downtown Philly band.

We wrote all our own tunes.

We had a nice
repertory of originals.

Frank had some. I had some.

We wrote a couple together.

? Fifty pages set the
stage to succeed to... ?

[Frank] The bass player,
he said, "Man, I know

this guy, he's a great
keyboard player, Daryl Hall."

And it's this really
handsome guy.

He walks down the steps
while we're rehearsing,

sitting there, and
he's listening to us,

and he's got a smile on his
face. He goes, "Wow, man."

He's a real nice guy. "God,
you guys sound great, man."

And so he was playing
in a successful bar band

that worked all the time on
the weekends making money.

We made nothing. So he
had to kind of bough out,

but he was very nice. And then,

they throw me out
of my own group.

For some reason, I
was becoming unruly.

[Allen] He would get
into moods sometimes,

and when he'd finally
show up to rehearsal,

you know, an hour late,

we decided that Frank had to go.

And even though
I'd been a schmuck...

[laughs] you know, when,
when the band, you know,

when we tossed him out of
the band, he wouldn't let go.

Our friendship meant
something to him.

If you have to have a friend,

have a friend like
Frank Stallone.

[Frank] And then you go through
that bad time being a solo artist,

playing for a white fish.

Seriously, that's how I
got paid, in like smoked fish

one night because
I was starving.

I was suffering from severe
panic attacks, and I didn't know

what they were. I thought
I was absolutely insane.

I'm having like a nervous
breakdown every four minutes.

I'm talking. I'm going
like... [mumbles]

It was horrible.

[Annette] I was working
at a radio station,

and he had a little demo,
evidently, of his voice.

We went into the recording room

where the engineer was
there, and he played it.

He said, "Kid, let me
tell you something."

He said, "Don't waste your time.

You'll never make it," you know?

And I thought,
"Damn, well." [laughs]

[Frank] My manager
at that time... [sighs]

..."I got you a job
in Portland, Maine."

I go, "What? You got us
a gig in Portland, Maine?"

We were playing like
country bars in Marysville,

Pennsylvania, you know? And
that group was called Bananas.

We're driving a
Ford Econoline van.

We had no money.

They spent the money on hashish.

I said, "What-- what the
hell are we going to do?

We're driving to
Portland, Maine." He goes,

"Hey, you won't even know it."

We see the club. We go,

"All right, man,
cool, this is great."

The guy goes, "What
are you talking about?"

"We're Bananas."

He goes, "I have no idea
what you're talking about."

I said, "Are you
serious?" We just drove

from Trenton, New Jersey, to
Portland, Maine, and there's no gig?

It's the middle of the winter.
Obviously, we were blitzed,

and I think we
stopped for like hot dog

and we cut it three ways.
But anyway, we made it back.

That group breaks
up. Then I put together

Valentine Two.
And we said, "Well,

we got this guy, John
Oates." I said, "Yeah, cool."

[John] When I came to my
first rehearsal with the band,

I immediately knew Frank
was the force in the band.

It was his thing, you know? He
had a, he had a lot of charisma,

he had a lot of presence,
and he had a really great voice,

and he looked good. You know,
he was always very concerned with

how he presented
himself, you know?

In terms of how he
dressed, and how he looked.

I think he had a very kind of
professional approach to this

kind of hippie band that we had.

He was always like up to
something. I remember, one day,

he came in, and he was wearing like pancake
makeup, and I couldn't figure out why,

because we were rehearsing
in a church or something.

It was very weird. But,
but he had this thing.

He had to give this
kind of theatrical thing.

He was always
kind of performing.

Frank was always kind of on.

We had on big gig
at the Electric Factory,

which was the hot rock club
in Philadelphia in the '60s.

That was kind of our
swan song. I think that was

the big gig, and
after that, it was done.

And that's when Daryl
and I put our thing together.

[Frank] I stayed with my brother in
New York. We had like a shit hole.

[Sylvester] He crawled
through the window.

He goes, "You
mind if I live here?"

It was $72 a month,

and the room next to me
was kind of abandoned.

And it was right next to
my brother's, right, the door--

the wall was here, he was there,
I was here. They were crap holes.

I said, "Well, why don't we
just take a shovel on the thing?"

And we tore a hole in the wall.

He had a hole, that
he would come through

this condemned apartment
that he didn't belong in,

and he'd sleep in my
thing, and go back and forth.

[Frank] And I just would
bullshit my way into stuff,

but I was really innocent.

I mean, I didn't do drugs.

I was like a virgin.

I didn't know anything.

I think I got laid once in
like five years, whatever.

I was just focused
into what I was doing,

and girls didn't want to go
after me. I had no money.

There's a place on 85th Street
called Kenny's Castaways.

I walk in, and there's this
guy on stage with a hat.

[imitates rock singer]

It's the E Street Band.

It's Bruce Springsteen
doing... ? Rosalita ?

...and now I have to go
on. It's like, you know,

if you had a puppet act
following The Beatles.

And on those white like kind
of things with magic marker,

it says, "Tonight Bruce
Springstine and Valentine."

God, if I had a picture of that!

So that's when
I went to Florida.

I went to a place, it
was called the Feed Bag.

That was the time when
someone gave me PCP,

and all of a
sudden, it just hit me.

I said, "Hey, how
you doing, folks?"

[guitar strums offkey]

I'm going like this, but
now the neck is growing,

so the neck looks like it's
20 feet long, so I'm going.

[guitar strums loudly offkey]

And what happened, I just
untuned the guitar so badly,

but I couldn't reach the
neck, and it took so long.

That was the show. I
never got a chance to sing.

They said, "Thank
you, Valentine, man.

We appreciate it,
brother. Right on."

I said... [with deep
voice] "But I can't tune it."

They said, "Another day."

The last thing I wanted
to do, was do anything

that was mind expanding.

You know, my mind
was expanded enough.

So I played in Florida for
a while, and then I said,

"Okay, I'm coming
back to New York.

I'm coming back strong
with a vengeance."

And the most incredible
thing I ever did.

I used someone else's
voice to get a record deal.

There was a song that
my bass player, Jody,

sang on, and I go,
"God, this is really good."

I went around to people, I said,
"Yeah, man, what do you think?"

And they go, "Wow, that's a great
record. We should re-record that."

But it's Jody singing,
but I'm telling them it's me.

Of course, that went
nowhere. Jody goes, "Yeah,

I'm in New York. Come over, man.
We're over at these girls' house."

I said, "Why don't we
just put a group together?

Yeah, forget this shit with
these girls." So we're like drunk.

The girls go, "Hey, we're going
to go out and get some food,

and we'll be back later."
We ran out of the place,

jumped into a cab. I said
"We're going to Trenton,"

and I called my
friend, Bob Tangrea,

because he was a great
singer and guitar player.

I said, "I put a group
together called Valentine,

and we'll get the three
best lead singers I know.

We'll put together this
group." So it will be Jody,

Bobby, and myself, overnight.

These girls are probably still
sitting there with the groceries.

[Bob] We formed Valentine,
and we actually had a manager,

who was Robin Garb and Bill
Ring. They were our managers.

They had a company
called Ascension Artists,

and, uh, they
signed us to a deal,

and we started working
at, you know, local clubs.

[Frank] We played Kenny's
Castaways, and my brother was there,

which was like 2.50 to get in.

"We'll just carry
some equipment."

I said, "Yeah, they're
with us, the roadies."

It was 2.50. You know,

it shows how good he was doing.

Now we're in New Jersey. We
played at this club a 130 nights,

and every Wednesday, this
place was packed into the street.

I went to see those guys a lot. I
went to see him in Philadelphia.

I went to see him in a
place called Charlie's Uncle

in Brunswick. And... saw
him a couple of places

in New York, I
believe, too, and, uh...

You know, it was always a
lot of fun, always very exciting.

I got called in
one night as a sub.

They were nice enough to
give this young 18-year-old kid

a chance to come up and play, and
they would call me up and play with them

once in a while, and it
was a big deal for me.

I did, I got up and
played a couple sets,

you know? We had a good time.

[Frank] My manager
says, "We finally got you

a record deal on PolyGram,

and we're going to be going
out to California to record."

Everyone in town is so
excited, Valentine got signed.

I get a phone call,
"Ah, deal fell through."

I go, "Excuse me?"

He goes, "There's no deal.
We're not going to California."

I go, "Wait a second,
last night we had

hundreds of people, a
bon voyage party with a keg.

We canceled all our gigs.

And you're telling me,
as I'm opening the door

to go to the airport,
the gig's off?"

That would have made
most people just say,

"You know what? I
can't do this anymore."

But we didn't, we just
got stronger and stronger.

Then I get a call in
1975 from my brother.

My brother had
moved to California.

He is starting a little
movie called, Rocky,

and says... [with deep
voice] "I need a song."

Why he called me?
Because there was no budget.

I remember just sitting there
going... ? Take you back ?

[hums] on my guitar, just
figuring something out.

And eventually,
I wrote the song.

So I tell my group, I
said, "Listen, my brother's

doing this movie about boxing."

So they said, "I don't
know if we want to play.

We're making 140
bucks that night."

That's between five people.

Five people at a 140 bucks,
and the manager takes 20%,

so take $28 off that.

So it's $112 divided by
five. So it was a big night.

It was like a bowling
alley that had a stage.

There was supposed to be
hot chicks there. We get a call,

and Sly goes, "Well, yeah,
we can pay you a 140."

I said, "Well,
we're getting 140."

I mean... [stutters]
he goes, "No, each."

We go, "Excuse me?"

That's like a
month's wages for us.

It was very cool. We
all went down together

in our van, got a little ripped,

and we stood around
those trash cans

singing "Take You Back."

? Take you back ?

? Do do do do Take you back ?

[Frank] They showed me
at the hotel, some trailers,

of what they'd shot.
Really low budget.

It was a cheap
hotel. And I remember

John Avildsen, the
director, was there,

and my brother, and
a few other people,

And they're looking
at daily's. I said,

"Man, this is really cool."

There was feeling
I had about it.

Even when they were
shooting it on the street,

there was a feeling
I had about it.

You know, it's a gut
feeling. I can't explain it,

because I hadn't seen the movie.

But just the idea, it
was just kind of cool.

The-- Just vibe that was
going on was really cool.

[Bill] When Rocky
was being shot,

I was, more or less,
around the project,

and could see some
of the assemblages.

You know, they
put stuff together.

And, uh, not the
timing, just assembled.

And then I saw "Take
You Back," which was like,

"How did this get
here? What is this?

Man, that's really
good. I like that."

"Oh, yeah, yeah,
Sly's brother did that."

I go, "Really? I
didn't know that."

And that was my introduction
to Frank as a singer.

Frank came along with
all the talent that Sly had.

[Sylvester] He knew those streets,
and he did sing around barrels,

and he did do acapella,

so he was extremely

original and
authentic for that part.

And the attitude that
you saw between us, like,

"Hey, the bum from the dock.

Get a job, you bum."

That's the way we are.

We was just, you know,
always ripping on one another.

-Hey.
-Hey,

the bum from the dock.
Get a job, you bum.

[Frank] There was a
premiere in New York City

at the theater where Sly
was the head usher for years.

And I have a photo.

We're standing there in
really cheesy polyester suits.

I mean, we didn't have
any money, but that photo

is the last photo of
him being unknown.

From that day on ,it was crazy.

[Sylvester] That was the last
vestiges of privacy ever, which is fine.

I'm fine with it... [chuckles]
but to obscure is one thing,

but it's nice to be
remembered for something.

But, my brother, we were, you
know, together at that moment.

So that was, that's
pretty, uh, pretty seismic.

[Frank] All of a sudden,
overnight, everything is Rocky.

This movie is getting heat.

[Peter] When that whole effect
happened, and all of a sudden,

we were the band singing
that song on the street corner,

our management was able to
go into RCA Records and say,

"Don't you want them
to have an album deal?

Because they're in
what's looking to be like

probably the best
movie of the year."

So we got an album deal.

[Bob] The person who produced
the album was Tony Camilio.

He came up with
an arrangement to do

an orchestrated version
of "Take You Back."

That's what we
released as a single.

And as soon as we
released the album,

the whole regime of RCA
was... [clicks tongue] was cut.

So the people who
were A&R people,

who would be doing promotion,
weren't there anymore.

So we were kind of like
thrown under the rug.

After Rocky was
out, it kind of gave us

a little impetus to get moving,

since we didn't
have RCA behind us.

So our management
got us spots on,

The Mike Douglas Show,
The Jim Nabors Show,

but we also did
Midnight Special,

which was a big rock
and roll show back then.

[Bill Ring] Dinah!
was the very first one.

Sly introduced us
as his favorite band.

I wonder if that's
still the case?

Here they are, and
making their, I guess,

television debut, my
favorite group, Valentine.

-[audience applauds]
-[Dinah speaks indistinctly]

? Take you back ?

? Do do do do ?

? Take you back, yeah, yeah ?

[Frank] Right after we'd play,

I'd go over to the couch,
and everything went to,

"Hey, Frank, the
group sounds great.

So what's it like
being Rocky's brother?

So what's it like... [mumbles]
being in the shadow?"

So all this started, and
I'd never had that before.

They thought I was a
nice, cute kid or something,

but really, they
couldn't get him,

so they'd get me,
ask me about him.

I was always thought of
as Frank Stallone, musician.

It was always Frank
Stallone, clap, musician.

So now it was Frank Stallone/

Rocky's brother/something
else then musician.

He's gone through hell. I
mean, they would put signs up,

"Appearing tonight,
Rocky's brother."

I recognized immediately,
that's real awkward for Frank.

Especially as
I've heard him say,

"To be the brother of
a fictional character."

"Rocky's brother,"
oh, man, come on.

It's so degrading.

And not about the
movie, I love the movie.

It's just that,
it's like I felt like

a complete and absolute failure.

I would be bitter,
but he is bitter,

and I like that about
him. He's very consistent.

[Frank] I was never
mad at my brother.

I always loved what he did.

I was kind of mad that
I was being discounted,

and treated in a way
that like I just picked up

the guitar when Rocky
came out, not knowing

the years of driving
through blizzards

to go to gigs for no money,
and just learning the trade.

We knew where the
cards were starting to go

once we started
to show up at gigs.

And to highlight the connection,
a club owner would say,

"Frank Stallone with Valentine."

[Bill Ring] The guys in the
band weren't happy about it.

It was source of some
frustration and friction.

We went with it, and

Frank became more featured,
doing more lead vocals.

The rest of the guys
didn't get as much

time featured, with--
you know, in the band.

[Robin] It was too
tempting, and too much of...

[stutters] of a
thing to turn down,

the notoriety, the success,

but it created a
problem within the band,

and the band didn't
blame Frank for that.

Nobody was resentful at
Frank, because they recognized

that Frank was in a
bad situation that way.

[Bob] I think it went to Frank's head
a little bit. I don't know if he was, uh,

he was a little hard to work
with, let's put it that way.

It was a very dismal time.

Very dismal because
this was kind of our shot.

We'd lost our record deal.

Nobody really wanted us.

That was a tough
pill to swallow.

And then it just kind of...

...it kind of deflated.

[Bob] Frank can be moody.

We would come to
a gig, and it was like,

"Hey, Frank, how you
doing?" He was like,

he wouldn't even say anything.

Yeah, we had some tense moments.

It got a little out
of hand, and I think

maybe the competition
with his brother

maybe brought out
some bad things.

Uh, and it just-- I just
didn't want to take it

anymore, and I
was a little fed up.

I regret breaking up Valentine,

because I think we
could've gotten past it.

We were really a good band.

We were really tight,
and we were friends.

I just couldn't take the
moodiness anymore.

And they tried to get me
back to reform the band,

and I just said no, so.

But I do regret it.

[Bill Ring] It would be a
nice thing to be able to put

a Valentine reunion together,
if we could make it happen.

Somehow bring Jody
back, that would be the best.

[somber music]

Jody, our bass player, um,

unfortunately, just
recently passed.

Amazing guy,
amazing bass player.

Uh, him and I were
very, very tight.

We played a lot
of gigs together.

[Robin] He had a
service in Pennsylvania.

Frank had another commitment.

And I thought that that would be the
moment where we would reconnect.

[Bill Ring] I know that
there was an issue

that surfaced with Robin.

Would it be nice
for the three of us

to be able to get
together again?

Absolutely, and I would
hope we could bury

whatever hatchet, uh,

Frank feels needs to be buried.

[Robin] We parted company.

It wasn't on the best of terms.

But, um, I love the guy.

I really miss him,

and I miss his humor.

I miss just being
with him as a friend.

[somber music continues]

[Frank] Oh, man.

I haven't seen these
guitars... in almost 40 years.

This is just kind of weird.

I don't know how
I'm going to feel.

But I know, like when Jody died,

I didn't want to see
these guitars that,

from the guy that stood
on my left side for almost,

off and on, 20-some years,

go to some like
wedding band, you know?

Oh, my God.

-Wow.
-[knife clatters]

Look at this.

-Look at this, man.
-[guitar case clatters]

Look at this case.

All the names on it.

All our friends.

[Frank exhales loudly]

[guitar case clatters]

Oh, God, look at this.

That's a 1963
H�fner Beatle Bass.

Wow! Look at this.

Man, this is the bass he used

when we did our
first album for RCA.

This reminds me of,
you know, my youth.

[Frank] Oh, my God.

Hey, Bill. How you doing, man?

Oh, my God, look at this guy.

-Are you crazy?
-[Frank] Hey, Robin.

-[Robin laughs]
-How are you, man?

How you doing, man?

I know the last time I saw
you these weren't in CD,

-so there you go, and this.
-[Robin laughs]

-Oh, man.
-Oh, my God.

Geez.

This has been a long time, man.

This was the team,
this is... [stutters]

...this is the team here, and we're
going to have a lot of fun, man, tonight.

This bass guitar belonged to

one of my best
friends. He just died.

I wanted to honor
with him tonight,

Hussein, playing Jody's bass.

"I'll Take You Back."

[audience applauds]

? Take you back ?

? Do do do do ?

? Take you back ?

-[man] One, two, three.
-? Take you back ?

? Do do do do ?

? Take you back ?

? Well I've been told by... ?

[gentle instrumental music]

[Frank] I think after I did
Rocky, I might have had

maybe had $1,000 saved,

and I was back to square
one with nothing, no money.

So I ended up playing
at these little clubs

by myself with
an acoustic guitar.

I mean, motor inns.

And the worst
thing is the signs.

Like in chalk, "Frank
Stallone, Rocky's brother,

Straight from Rocky."

And I made $30 a night.

It wasn't so much
being the folk singer,

it was the thing like,
"Rocky's brother,

well, what is he
doing playing here?

Shouldn't he be in California,
and shouldn't he be driving

a new car, or a Vette,
or something cool?"

-No.
-[car engine revs]

And in between that, I came out,

and I sang in Paradise Alley,

but also, I did Rocky II.

[Talia] Frank was
working with his trio,

and it was rather beautiful.

Sort of like a, a
chorus of musicians

that sort of sang the
love song of Adrian

and Rocky along the way,

and it... [stutters]

...it gave the piece a kind
of tone, a fairytale tone.

And I would look over
at Frank, and he was...

First of all, he's very
handsome, and very gifted.

And I would look
over at him, and it was

always a pure moment with Frank,

because Frank clearly
was a real musician.

? There are two kinds of love ?

? That you oughta know ?

? There are two kinds of love ?

[Burt] He flipped a quarter.

He made that little song

very warm, very great.

It was wonderful.

He contributes a lot, you know?

He's... he's good
to have around.

[gentle instrumental music]

[punching bag thuds]

Frank, unbeknownst
to a lot of people,

has a huge boxing background.

[inspiring instrumental music]

[Joe] Frank just took to it,
and developed as a fighter.

He had a good corner,
had a terrific left hook.

He was very faithful to his
training. No smoking or drinking.

And had several
great amateur fights

against some very,
very tough competition.

[inspiring instrumental
music continues]

[crowd cheers]

[Chuck] When he was fighting
also, he didn't have to wear headgear.

And you know what? There
is no difference between

professional and amateur,

only that
professionals get paid.

you still get punched in
the face a dozen times.

-[bell rings]
-You're still taking the abuse.

-[crowd cheers]
-[Joe] He was a contender.

He's got the fighters eye,

and you only get that
if you were a fighter,

if you've been in that
ring more than once,

and he was in there
quite a few times.

[Bruce] Frank is an extremely
cerebral and intelligent man.

I don't think there's any
question you can throw

at Frank Stallone about
boxing that he can't answer.

He's a plethora of knowledge.

And what I love about
being around Frank is,

aside from the fact,
and I love you Frank,

but he will never stop talking,

but everything he talks about

make sense.

He's full of information.

[laughs] He,

he's got a lot
of stories to tell,

and he's fun to listen to.

He has the best memory.

Um, sometimes Sly
and Frank get into battles,

but I always believed Frank,

because he always comes
up with the story that's correct,

and I'm going with Frank.

[Gene] Frank, as
a boxing historian,

this man knows
more than anybody,

plus he's got total recall.

I've got dementia, so I
can't remember my losses,

only my wins.

Frank had that knowledge
that savant every detail.

One argument ended, "Well,
this guy did this and this,"

and then Frank goes, "Well,
I have all his press clippings.

I have his trunks,
his robe, and his gun."

[Joe laughs]

Frank's a very tough individual.

I mean, he's a
warrior in his own right.

Even if it gets down
to the fight he had

with Geraldo Rivera
on Howard Stern

years ago, that my brother,

the legendary Michael
Buffer, announced,

they went in there,
and they slugged it out

for those three
two minute rounds.

Back in 1992, I owned

a boxing gym on 57th Street

right here in Manhattan
just behind me.

It was called the
Broadcast Boxing Gym.

And so I was talking about it
on The Howard Stern Show,

and he said, "I'm
going to promote a fight.

You're going to
be in this fight."

So it turned out that he
had Frank Stallone lined up.

I mean, Frank
Stallone, he's a younger,

far better fighter
than me, all right?

Frank was semi-pro.

I was just a flailer
in my own gym.

In the first round, he hit
me with some of those shots.

They felt like he was hitting
me with a baseball bat.

I remember a couple of times,

that I really was knocked out

-on my feet.
-[Bas] When you see the boxing match,

it's actually a really
good boxing match.

These guys were
really going at it.

There's no losing.
You can't lose,

because, you know, it's the
name. It's the Stallone name,

so he better be good in boxing.

But he beat Geraldo, and
to do that under pressure

for a charity event

shows you what
kind of guy he is.

Frank Stallone, a real man,

a real man, a real fighter,
and a, and a great guy.

[dramatic instrumental music]

[somber instrumental music]

[Frank] I was getting
really depressed,

and I had to get
some psychotherapy,

and my brother paid for it.

He says, you know, he
says, "He's my only brother.

He's just going through
something." He knew

I suffered from panic attacks,

and he took care of it for me,

and it helped.

And then he said,
"Just come to California."

I said, "Really?" He goes,
"Yeah, just come to California."

I said, "Just like
that?" He goes, "Yeah."

My hero was Harry
Nilsson, the singer.

Aerial Ballet, Pandemonium
Shadow Show, loved him.

And Sly, when I moved
to Bel Air, he goes, "Hey,

you know who lives next
door?" I said, "Who's that?"

He goes, "Harry
Nilsson." I go, "What?"

He ended up producing me, and
he never produced anybody before,

just me. So we're in the studio,

and this is the who's who
of recording is in there.

It's Harry Nilsson, producer,
and Van Dyke Parks,

Klaus Voormann, he
played with The Beatles,

Freddy Tackett, all the
best musicians were there,

and all of a sudden, the
talkback goes, "John's dead."

I said, "John who?"

[clicks tongue] "Lennon."

[newsreader] Former
Beatle, John Lennon,

is dead.

Lennon died in a hospital
shortly after being shot

outside his New York
apartment tonight.

[Frank] Harry Nilsson
was John's best friend,

and they had had a falling out.

Harry was just going to New
York in about a week and a half

to kind of reconcile their
friendship, so this was really bad.

I'm trying to do a
record, you know?

And people were like... [with
deep voice] "Cry it out, man,"

like blow coming
out of their nose,

and I didn't do that
stuff, so I'm sitting

there like-- I'm
there, "Oh, my God,

the Scotti Brothers
are going to kill me,"

you know, because I'm
supposed to finish this record.

The next day, we get
called into Scotti Brothers.

We play what we have, and
it was dead silence, like this.

Are you kidding me?

It was unlistenable.

And Harry's sitting there
sweating with sunglasses on,

like recovering
from the night before.

To be with Harry Nilsson

when John Lennon was
killed was really heavy.

We were good friends,
and, uh, when he passed,

it was very, uh, very sad.

He abused himself, but
he was a wonderful guy.

Just a great artist.

-[engines whirring]
-[horns honking]

[man] Taxi![whistles]

[Frank] I don't find out from
my brother, but I find out

that he's directing the sequel
to Saturday Night Fever.

And I went, "Whoa." I mean,
you have to understand,

Saturday Night Fever was
the biggest musical in history,

as far as album sales, huge.

And a great movie, fantastic.

There's no way I got a
shot in this, not even close.

So I drive to Paramount,

and I think they didn't let
me on the lot, or something.

My car was shitty. I
don't know what it was.

So I said, you know, "I'm
Frank Stallone, Sly's brother."

"Yeah, so what?" I
think I might've gone

to a phone booth or
called, and they let me in.

So anyway, I go in there,
and I said, "Sly, man,

do you think there's
like a remote chance

I could get like a
song in the movie?"

[with deep voice] "Yeah,
I don't think so." I said,

"Okay, that's all
I want to know."

I said, "But just like
an instrumental."

I'm figuring if I just get like

a 15 second thing
of, you know...

[hums] like John

going to the bathroom, and
taking a whiz or something.

You know, at least I
can get some royalties,

and I'll make some
money. My brother

plays me the Bee
Gees' new songs,

but it's just kind of
the acoustic guitar,

real bare-bones, and I'm
there, "Oh, man, I'm screwed,"

because they're great. I mean,

the Bee Gees are fantastic.

So he patronizes
me, and he says, "Ew,

just write some stuff.
Why don't you and the guys

write some stuff?" I said, "All
right, we'll write some stuff."

And every few weeks, I
would pull up to the studio

with a cassette. All my
songs are getting turned down,

but I'm working,
man. I have, uh, I have

a train of consciousness,
and I'm working my ass off.

I get a call. [with deep
voice] "Hey, Brother, it's Sly."

I said, "Okay, I know
he wants something."

He goes, "Yeah, remember
those songs you wrote?"

I go, "Yeah, of course I do.

You mean the ones
you turned down?"

Of course I remember them.

No, I forgot about them.

I just part my heart and
soul into like 12, 13 songs.

He goes, "Yeah,
we've got a problem.

The Bee Gees
walked off the movie."

Something went down,
and they kind of walked off.

[newsreader] Only part of
the soundtrack for Staying Alive

was created by the Bee Gees,

but originally,
the brothers Gibb

didn't even want to be
involved in the sequel.

We thought that it's
been done, and let's leave,

let's leave our music out of it this
time, and you get somebody else to do it.

[newsreader] But after some
heavy contract negotiations,

the Bee Gees agreed to create
part of the music for the movie.

[Sylvester] At that time,
they were musical gods,

but they were coming
up with, with okay songs,

but they had done such an
amazing job on the first one

that the songs were
not even as magnificent,

or as accomplished, as
they were in the first album.

[Frank with deep voice] So he
goes, "Listen, bring those cassettes,

you know, with the
songs." So we go,

and John's renting
a house out here,

and, uh, we're having
lunch, and they're talking,

and, you know, it's
like Sly's talking to John.

They're talking business
at the table having lunch.

And I'm kind of...

...laughing to myself,
because it's so ridiculous.

It's like Barbarino from Welcome
Back, Kotter meets Rocky.

[imitating John] "I swear to God,
they're proud. The Bee Gees... [mumbles]"

[imitating Sylvester] "Absolutely,
we've got a big problem. The Bee Gees..."

[imitating John] "Yeah,
I just really, yeah."

And John's got these
big teeth, you know?

And he's like, it's the
smile. [imitates John]

Just like Barbarino.
He puts the tape on.

So John goes... [mumbling]
"Well, who is that?"

And Sly goes, "It's Frank."

And John, John
goes like, "Frank?"

He couldn't even imagine
that came out of me,

like I was Fredo
in Godfather II,

"Hey, Mike, I'm your older
brother. I can do things!"

[Sylvester] He ended up
writing the majority of the songs,

and, you know, I caught
hell for it, but I said,

"Hey, it sounds
good to me, guys."

The opening to the movie,
they put "Far From Over."

[upbeat rock music]

? This is the end ?

? You made your choice
and now my chance is over ?

[Frank] Ever week or something,
they start adding another song in.

So by the end, there's
like nine songs in the movie,

but there's some jealousy
going on, you know, on the set,

because they think I'm getting,
you know, favored attention.

How come he's
staring at you like that?

[Frank] Maybe, in a way,
but I worked my ass off on this.

No one wrote these
songs for me. I wrote them.

Nobody sat in the studio
with no air conditioning

sweating until the
wee hours of the night

to try to get everything right
with these great musicians

I was working with, and I
was never so busy in my life.

I never felt...
so good about it,

because I've spent so many
years feeling so bad about myself,

I never felt so
good about myself.

It was something I was
born to do, you know,

and I was able,
for once in my life,

to be able to show
people what I could do,

because before, it was
always, you know, a struggle,

and then when Rocky came
out, it was Rocky's brother.

So no one ever took me
like kind of serious. I did.

? Waking up, you're
still sleeping by my side ?

That was the greatest
time, watching my music,

watching like these
choreographers

choreographing
dance to my music.

So it was pretty awesome
to be writing the songs,

and having like 150
dancing hot chicks at the set.

That was like putting the fox
in the henhouse on that one.

They were paying me
$3,500, $4,000 for a song.

I'd never seen this
kind of money, never.

Little did I know,

they were also
keeping my publishing,

which would've made
me a multi-millionaire.

But I'm not
kicking. It was great.

If it really wasn't
for John and Sly,

I wouldn't have
gotten the songs in.

? This is the end ?

? You made your choice
and now my chance is over ?

? I thought I was in ?

-? You put me... ?
-[Frank] I had a date one night,

and what comes on the
radio? "Far From Over."

The first I ever heard
it, sitting with this gal,

who was a big shot in the
music business, and she says,

"So are you ready?" I
go, "What do you mean?"

"That's a hit record.

Are you ready?"
I said, "I guess."

And I'll never forget
at the premiere,

I was like this big shot, man.
I mean, you look at the end,

it's Frank Stallone, Frank Stallone,
Frank Stallone, Frank Stallone.

Rocky was great because
the whole thing was great,

and I was so happy for my
brother, but this was for me.

This is something that I did.

This is the chance
of a lifetime.

I was nominated for a
Grammy and Golden Globe

for best soundtrack
and for best song.

I lost. I said, "Okay, fine,

at least I'm
nominated. I feel great."

Are you kidding?
Coming from playing

like at the Beef & Ale
to being nominated

for a Grammy and
Golden Globe. I actually

opened the Golden Globes.

I performed. I
was the first act.

And I get a call
from my brother.

That was the day
they were announcing

the Academy Award nominations,

and now we break
out the champagne,

the nominations are coming in,

and then he said, "Frank,
it's your brother." I go,

"Oh, Christ, who, who died?"

[with deep voice] "Uh, you
didn't get your nomination."

I go, "What?

I didn't get my nomination?

Are you kidding
me? This is insane!"

And now I'm pissed, because
now I know that's bullshit,

and that's unfair, because
it was a number one record.

I'm above Thriller.

I'm above Billy Joel's album.
I'm above Synchronicity.

Not for a long time, but
at one point, I was there.

Here's my first break,
and I got screwed,

and then I realized
at that point,

that's insider
Hollywood bullshit.

I wasn't expecting to win,

but I would've loved to
have had that nomination.

You have to be thick skinned.

You have to have determination.

You have to be
able to swallow it.

You know, not that you
have to take shit and eat shit,

but you have to, you
have to be able to say,

"You know what?
Okay, fuck them."

So that Academy
Award thing really

ripped the heart out
of me, and I suffered

with it for a while, but
you gather yourself,

and I gathered myself. I said,
"I'll be back. I'm not dead."

I still-- You know, as long
as I can still play guitar

and write a song,
I'm in, I'm in the game.

? Save me darling ?

? I am down but I
am far from over ?

? Give me something ?

? I need it all
because I am... ?

What's happening
in your life now?

Well, it's good.

Well, the record is
doing well. [sighs]

I have a great band,
and we're writing,

and I'll be starting a
solo album in about...

[inhales] November or October.

I had a big year, this
should be no problem

getting an album
due. My manager,

he was saying too, you know,
"Yeah, we needed a solo album.

Let's follow up with
that." He just comes back

with one deal. I
said, "That's it?"

In those days, everything
was a three album deal.

[mumbling] I don't know,
shit. I said, "Well, whatever."

[Duff] Back then, this is
the '80s, a different time.

This is when albums sold.

This better have a
couple singles on it

to go to radio, and get in
the top 20, or you're done.

That put a lot of
pressure, I would think,

on that one album. This
thing has got to be a smash.

[Frank] It was because
of Russ Regan we got on.

Russ Regan's like a
legend in this business.

You know, he's one
of the great A&R guys.

I had first met Frank in 1983

when I was working
for PolyGram Records.

He had a few demos he had
made, and I listened to them,

and I said, "You're
pretty good, kid."

He said, "You've
made superstars."

He said, "Why don't
you make me a star?"

So I signed him to
PolyGram Records.

You know, I signed Neil
Diamond. He's a great writer.

I signed Elton John.
He's a great writer.

Barry White, a great writer.

Alan Parsons is a great writer.

Brian Wilson, great writer.

That's one of the
things, by the way,

that I liked about Frank,
that he was a writer.

That influenced me a lot

on his signing to the
PolyGram Records.

He did a great job.

He was always
wonderful to work with.

Had a great personality.
A very charismatic

character, and hard not to like.

[Frank] You know, I'm a young
guy. You know, I'm on every TV show.

We've got more of music's
best coming your way,

including Frank Stallone.

? Oh, darling ?

? I wish you were lying ?

? When you said that
you're leaving me, darling ?

[Frank] We did David Letterman,

which I didn't get to
sing on, which was weird.

[audience applauds]

-Oh, sorry. Just leave that alone. You all right?
-I'm fine.

Good to see you. Thanks for being
here. Congratulations on the success

-of the album. And the picture.
-On the picture. Yeah.

-That's a good looking picture.
-Thanks.

[Frank] I was on a date

with some girl I'd met,

and there's a giant picture

of my album cover,

like ten feet by ten feet

on Tower Records on Sunset.

Okay, the kids in.

[dramatic instrumental music]

The album didn't do well.

Things just didn't
work, you know?

I mean, the album died.

You know, I've waited
almost 20-something years

to have my first solo album.

It's like, "Wow, I-- please don't
make me a one-hit wonder."

Oh, God, you know?

I mean, I know it's easier
than having a full career

being a one-hit wonder, but I
wanted to have a full career.

It takes a team to make a star.

A star just doesn't
happen by accident.

He never had the
team he should've had,

even when he signed to me.

I just don't know if
my management team

was that involved,

or had the capability
to move me.

[Russ] "Far From Over"
should've been played up

much bigger than
it was. You know,

you get a Grammy nomination,
that's, that's incredible.

They just never did the
PR on Frank Stallone

that he deserved
and should've had.

[camera shutter clicks]

[Frank] I'm thinking, "Okay,
I'm going to be making records.

I'm going to be writing with
the greatest song writers.

I'm going to be doing what I
was born to do." It did not turn out

that way. Everything was going
good, and then, all of a sudden,

whoo, I said,
"Oh, no, not again.

No, no, not again."

Then like I had
come up a little bit,

a little good news, and
then kind of even off,

and then, wham! Goes down.

And stays down
there for a long time.

[Duff] After having a
hit, he'd think, you know,

"I'll have a few more,"

and it just didn't
go that way for him.

If you're doing it expecting
you're going to have

a worldwide smash
hit, or, uh, or you--

or that you're even going
to make any money in music,

you're doing it for
the wrong reason.

Frank, I'm sure, knew what
he was getting himself into.

He just loved to play.

You've have to learn your
craft, and the only way you learn

your craft is by
making mistakes,

and you correct those
mistakes. And I had learned it,

but again, I, I guess I
didn't learn it enough.

? Oh ?

? Peace in our life ?

? Remember the call, oh ?

[Frank] '80s and '90s
was a tough time for me.

Thank God for my song
writing. I was making

residuals, you know?

I wrote the theme to Rambo II.

? We'll never fall ?

I figured I'd get healthy,
so I went to a detox place,

not because I drank or did
drugs, just to clear myself out.

And at lunch time, I
walked past this place,

and I had my lunch with
me, and I saw a gun store.

So I went downstairs
to take a look,

and the gun store owner
looked a little dodgy.

He kept pulling
guns out of the case,

showing people
without breaking the gun.

He pulls out the gun
to show somebody,

pulls the trigger, boom!

Right on my fingers, and
the blood came up on my face,

and I looked down.
I was almost numb.

This guy had the nerve
to look at me and say,

"What happened?" I said, "Well,

I think you shot me."

I'm a musician.

A guitar player
needs ten fingers.

My fingers looked like a
handful of exploded stogies.

It was horrible. I mean,

I could've been killed. I mean,

if my hand wasn't
there, it could've gone

into my abdomen,
could've shot me

in the heart. I
mean, it was really--

literally two and
a half feet away

with a .357 Magnum Colt Python.

I've lost my record deal.

I'm living in like a
crappy apartment.

I'm going from this high
level, from Staying Alive

to this, and then I get shot.

[gunshot booms]

You have to have thick skin

and be bullet-proof

to be in the body of
Frank Stallone. Trust me.

[intense dramatic music]

So then little gigs started
dripping and drabbing,

but I had started doing movies.

[indistinct chattering]

-I had jabbed inside the socket.
-[man] Good luck.

-[marker clacks] -[Frank]
When I came to California,

I started working on Rocky III.

My acting job consisted

of being a stand
in for my brother,

and then I did everything.

I sang in the movie.

I'm on screen singing "Pushing,"

and then I'm on the scene

where my brother
knocks me out in the ring.

[crowd cheers]

And then I'm in another scene
where Mr. T knocks me out.

So like I'm basically a
utility heavy bag that sings.

Of course, there's a
little bit of an acting thing

in Staying Alive.
It was Carl, like,

"What are you Allstate, pal?"

Is everything all right?

Everything is fine.

She's in good hands.

Hey, what are you Allstate, pal?

Yeah, you want disability?

Look, I'll see you
Wednesday, okay?

All right, good
night. Good night.

Good night.

After Staying Alive, then
my manager, Robin, said,

"Well, you should get
into acting," but I was going

to acting class. I wasn't bad.

So the first movie I got

was called The Pink Chiquitas.

[tires screech]

All right, everybody
down! [claps]

-Let's go!
-[woman moans]

[Frank] So I'm in the
movie, and all these

really thespian
theater-type actors are there

and I'm just like this hack.

I, Tony Mareda, have to roll.

[Frank] So I did some good
movies, but a lot of it was garbage,

and it was all like
gratuitous sex,

which I had never really
got into the sex thing.

"Yo, would you like
to have sex with her?"

I'd rather shoot her.

-[door slams]
-[gunshots fire]

I did movies like
Terror In Beverly Hills,

and some of these have
become like culti-weird movies.

I know nothing
about martial arts.

So these guys are
flying in the air, kicking,

and then I stand and go...
[exhales loudly] like I did it.

-[intense rock music]
-[exhales loudly]

You're doing good,
Billy. You keep it up,

you're going to be
able to whip my butt.

[Frank] I said, "I
can't be an action star,

look who my brother
is." I mean, I'd be like

a really bad version
of an action star.

I was being hired because
they couldn't afford my brother.

I was under no allusions
my acting career was like...

[with deep voice] "We can't
get Rocky, let's get his brother

for 20,000, instead
of 20 million."

Like I did a movie
with Chris Mitchum.

So Stallone, Mitchum, in
almost microscopic, Frank, Chris.

So I was definitely
no threat to Sylvester,

as far as my movie career going.

I mean, I don't
think I'm a bad actor.

I think I could've
developed into a better actor.

-[intense dramatic music]
-Aye, aye, Skipper.

[Steven] He's
absolutely a natural,

and never self-conscious
of any kind of

comparison, considering the
giant shadow his brother casts.

And he always delivers. He's
always very, very believable.

[Sylvester] You know, we
have a deal. I said, "Look, pal,

I won't sing," which...

...has been well documented,
"And he shouldn't act,"

but actually, he's
a much better actor

than I am a singer. He can act.

When he does it, he's good.

Like in Barfly,
he was fantastic.

Hey, you! You
with the filthy apron!

[sighs loudly] Be
back in seconds.

I hear a voice down there,

but I sure as hell
don't see much.

[man laughs]

Seems like that beating
I gave you last night

must've rattled your belt, huh?

[Frank] I felt Barfly
was going to be

my shot to prove that I
could get deep into stuff

because I had a lot of emotions
going on and stuff like that.

You'd think that son
of a bitch would learn

by now to stop trying me.

-[man laughs]
-Whoa,

you are a genuine
man. [smooches]

See this balance, the, you know,

the... [sighs] tolerance,
the intolerance

of this character,
and, and, you know,

the humor was perfectly placed,

pitched in that, in that role.

It was awesome.

Your credit's no good here.

You have to have the green.

[John LaRocca] Mickey's
not an easy character.

A brilliant actor.
Faye's not an easy

character to work with,
but a brilliant actress.

-So Frank had to hold his own...
-This can't be true.

...and he had to show his
strength at the same time,

and not be pushed around,
because either one of those actors

could just move him
around whenever they want.

I asked, who's going to
pay for the goddamn drink?

[John LaRocca] Acting
is all about moments.

And he had those moments,

and I think that's what
made a great performance.

Not acting, but knowing when
to really put on the moment

in front of a Mickey,
or in front of a Faye,

or in front of the director.

[Frank] The movie didn't do
well, but it got good reviews,

in Europe especially, so
now it's like a cult classic,

and you'd think I'd
be working all the time,

because I get all
these young directors

coming to me, "Hey,
man, loved you in Barfly."

I thought something good was
going to come from it, and it did.

There's a safe on the seventh
floor, you take their thingy,

-and you put it in this thingy.
-Directions even your brother could understand.

-Yeah, directions even I could understand.
-Shut up.

[Frank] And then Hudson
Hawk, that was going to be

a big movie, man.
It was a disaster.

People would ask us,
what was-- is it about?

Is it a comedy? I
said, "Well, if it is

a comedy... [laughs]

...I don't know that yet,
but we'll find out soon."

Someone told me a lot of
horseshit. You want to open up

a hardware store, go
straight, and sell spatulas.

Have you lovely ladies
tried our house wine?

-I think you'll enjoy.
-[bottle crashes]

I thought, of course, that
it was a kind of comedy

that I had never done before,

but I had the feeling
it was going to be

something special and new,

but as you probably
know it, it wasn't.

It was a bomb.
The critics hated it.

It cost about 60
million dollars.

You don't do that
auction house job,

I'm going to put you on trial,
and I promise you, my friend,

there'll be no bailiff,
you understand?

Why you son of a bitch!

Hey, Bailey, just settle down!

Shut up.

Take your money and get out,

because I'm tired of
listening to your mouth.

Why, Ed Bailey.

[Frank] And then Tombstone,

to me, a great Western.
One of the great

modern Westerns, I think.

Guns don't scare me,

because without them
guns, you ain't nothing

but a skinny lunger.

[Frank] People call and say,
"Hey, man, you're Ed Bailey."

No one comes up and
says, "Hey, man, loved you

in The Terror of Beverly
Hills." I don't get that.

"I loved you in Pink Chiquitas."

-I don't get that.
-[screams]

-[splashing] -I was supposed
to do a movie with my brother.

This agency, they
came after, and he said,

"Frank, I think we can do
really big things with you."

I signed with him Friday.

That Monday, what
comes across their desk?

It's my brother. He's
the star of the movie,

and there's a part in
the movie as his brother.

These guys, sitting here, they
go, "Come on, it's a slam dunk.

Frank just did
Barfly, Tombstone.

It's Sly's brother.
it's not a huge role,

but it's an important
role, it's great."

They call up the casting agent,

"We just signed Frank Stallone."

All of a sudden, there was
like silence on the other end,

and this is what he hears,
"Mmm, I don't see it."

[intense dramatic music]

I never heard from
the agency again.

So they figured,
if we can't deliver

Frank playing
Frank to his brother,

it's a lost cause.

[breathes deeply]
"I can't see it."

? Those fingers in my hair ?

"I can't seem to get a
record deal no matter what,

so I'm going to
do my own record.

I'm going to pay for it."

? Strips my conscience bare ?

? It's witchcraft ?

So I do the, you
know, big band album

because I figured no one
else is doing a big band album.

So who do I find?

One of the greatest conductors
ever, Sammy Nestico.

One of the greats, Count
Basie. [stutters] He's up there

with Nelson Riddle and
Billy May. He's up there.

[Sammy] It's easy working
with him, because he's so open.

"What do you think
about this idea?"

"Oh, yeah, that
sounds good, Sammy.

Let's use that." What a joy.

I didn't get that
with every record,

but I got it with
Frank. [laughs]

[Frank] Tony Bennett wrote
the liner notes for the album.

And Sammy Nestico,
who'd been nominated

for a Grammy so
many times, said to me,

it was one of the best albums he
ever did. So he goes back to playing

with Tommy Dorsey,
that's how far back he goes.

So for him to say
that, it was pretty good.

[Sammy] Frank doesn't know this,

but when I was working
for Michael Bubl�,

David Foster has a studio
in his first floor of his home,

so my wife and I
would go up there

and talk with Michael
and David Foster,

and my wife says,
"You know what I saw

on David Foster's desk?

I saw this."

[Sammy laughs]

So Frank, believe me,
they were listening to it.

[Sammy laughs]

Again, no management,
no support team, nothing.

So that's like the
story of my life.

So it just goes nowhere.

I never could figure that out,
what could've gone wrong.

[dramatic instrumental music]

I don't think the public just took
him serious. Why? I don't know.

[Nick] People are going to be
thinking of Sylvester Stallone,

I think that's the issue.

You just think of him
as soon as you see

Frank, and I think that's
what he is up against.

You know, it's not easy
having the name Stallone.

Because you live in a shadow,

and every time you get a
great job, you know, people say,

"You probably got that
because of your brother."

He didn't. He got this
because of his talent.

[Joe Mantegna] He would have
all that same talent and all that

if his name was Joe Schmo,
but it's not, it's Frank Stallone.

So I think from right
from the beginning...

[stutters] it's almost
like being set up.

It's almost like
you... [stutters]

...you put yourself almost
in the middle of a target.

Like, "Okay, here I
am. Take your shot."

[Talia] He knew
that I was sensitive

being the sister of somebody

who is very well known.
We talked a lot about that,

about how one designs
a professional life

given your sibling.

Frank then had to
make some big decisions.

Should he change his name?

At one point, I know he
wasn't completely serious,

but I said, "Frank, why don't
you change your name?"

He says, "Oh, well, why doesn't
my brother change his name?"

People may think,
"Oh, yes, Frank Stallone.

Oh--" he's not a joke.

Finally, the votes are in,

and Entertainment
Weekly has chosen

its funniest man alive,

and who is the
funniest man alive?

You guessed it, Frank Stallone.

[audience laughs]

[Frankie] Maybe
it was a little dark,

a little bit harder to be him

at that particular
place and time,

and he finally came to terms
with it, and he found himself.

And I think when
he found himself,

I think it all just
came together.

[Jackie] I'd doubt if they
could live without each other.

They have each other's back.

If either one were in trouble,

the other one would
be there in a minute.

[Sylvester] If there was a
plane, and we were going down,

and there was one parachute,
guess who's not getting it?

No one owes me a living, nobody.

I chose this, or it chose
me when I was a kid,

and I've loved every
minute of it. Yeah,

do I get disgusted,
do I get pissed off?

Do I-- Yes, I do.

I think I'm better
now than I was then

all around with the
music. But guess what?

I cannot get a booking
agent, and you see our shows.

We sell out. We get
standing ovations.

It's just good music and
energy from him on stage,

and the way he talks to
the audience is also cool.

The crowd just loves him,
and his stories on stage,

and his ability to sing
all different genres

of different kinds of music.

[Arnold] Frank is a
very talented musician.

I go to a lot of
his performances.

He works very
hard on his singing.

He, uh, he has such
a huge variety of voice

and reach. He can do anything.

[Richie] He can play the blues.
He can play rock. He can play pop.

He can play R&B. He
did the big band thing.

He's running the
gammon in his career.

He's having a good
time for himself.

[Duff] It's almost
a variety show.

He's kind of all over the
place, but it seems to fit.

He knows how to
make it fit that set.

He's got Frank. He's
got Tony Bennett.

He's got, you
know, he's got Dean.

He's got it down,
and he's really good.

I'm from that era
of, uh, phrasing,

you know, the whole
discussion about phrasing,

and, uh, he really understands
the, the lyric when he sings it.

[Billy] I'm a big fan.

He's got incredible
pipes. Sinatra

even sent him a
monologue after a gig.

I mean, that ain't nothing...
[laughs] you know? Or--

Or the Chairman of the Board
gives you, uh, gives you a nod.

Anybody who ever sees
his name on a marquis,

whether it be a theater,
or whether it be--

whatever kind of venue,
and you see Frank Stallone,

go and see Frank.

You'll become such
a fan. He's wonderful.

He can play. He can play electric
too... [imitates guitar strumming]

[electric guitar playing]

He spent some time actually

developing himself
as a guitar player.

[Duff] A really good
rhythm player. And he'll

whip out a lead here and there.

[rock music playing]

Frank is actually a very good

and interesting
guitar player. I mean,

his chord playing and
his rhythm is terrific.

Um, he plays a lot
of different styles,

too many styles, in my opinion,

only because it's hard to
pigeonhole him into one thing.

He can do a variety of things,

which is good as an
entertainer, but not good

as a recording star.

I wanted to clarify that.

If you're going to
become a recording star,

stick to one genre of music.

? And I'm never
going to give you up ?

? For someone else's love ?

[Russ] You try to be
all things to all people,

and you become
nothing to nobody.

[David] We had gone
through the country

playing outdoor
festivals and clubs.

The fans started to pile up,

and the gigs started to happen,

but they were kind of like,
"What is this?" You know?

And, you know,
it took a little time.

It was not easy.

And then we had the
opportunity to open for Don.

We opened for Don
Rickles maybe 20 times.

Did you pass away?

[audience laughs]

What, am I talking
to a wall here?

These are nice people.

Look at the front. I'm working

a state home for Christ's sake.

-Look at it.
-[audience laughs]

[Paul] Don was a real gentleman.

A lot of fun.

[David] Frank is very gracious,

and he went backstage with me

to thank Mr. Rickles
for the gig, and he said,

"Don, I just want to thank you."

In Rickles fashion, he
says, "Shut up, Frank,

you have the job." [laughs]

? Before you carry on ?

? Doo do doo do doo do dow ?

[audience cheers and applauds]

[Jonathan] He
constantly amazes me,

because I don't think
he'll mind me saying,

he doesn't really
read a lick of music.

That's one big part of
what I do. It's almost--

There's a bit of interpretation
for him, if you like.

He-- but he's so-- He's
very innately musical.

He's not going to weigh
down with the music theory

side of things. So he
does what he wants.

Any kind of rehearsal
or sound check,

you don't want to run
into him. He is grumpy.

Way back when, he'd
just kind of breeze in,

and everything
would be taken care of,

and now he's a schlep, and
he's got the guitar on the back.

So, yeah, he could be a little
less grumpy before the show.

But as soon as the lights
come on, the people are in,

it's business as usual.

-[Frank] Here we go.
-[drums play]

-All right.
-[announcer] Now

the fella you've
been waiting for,

the star of our
show, Frank Stallone.

-[Frank] Hey!
-[upbeat jazz music]

[Jonathan] He just knows how
to communicate with people.

He's not always PC. And, uh,

you know, that's part
of his charm, I suppose.

He'll speak his opinion,

whether he's in a room of people

who completely think
the opposite way.

He doesn't have any
fear when it comes to that.

He don't take no
bullshit from nobody,

and he'll tell you exactly
what's on his mind,

and that's what
I love about him.

[Paul] On the positive side,

you have to admire someone

that stands by what they think.

[Greg] Frank is a guy who's
remained true to his roots,

and you couldn't corrupt that

with all the money
or fame, fortune,

because that's
part of his metal.

It might bend here and
there, but it never changes.

He's a straight shooter.

Several years ago, I did

a charity event
called Songs of Love.

It was a charity for
terminally ill children,

and I booked a bunch of acts,

and Frank was the
first person I asked,

and he said yes immediately.

And I got choked
up introducing him,

because I said, "This guy is
such a great guy, a nice guy,

and the first guy I
asked to come onboard,

come here for free,
do this for the kids,

and Frank was there...
[snaps fingers] like that."

So that just shows
the type of person he is,

and I love him to death.

[John Herzfeld] He
may not admit this to you,

but he has a very gentle,

in a way, very
precious side to him,

and he's warm and
sometimes not warm.

He's dramatic, and sometimes
he's intentionally vulnerable,

and sometimes he's cynical.

He's a man of emotions.

That's what makes
him so great on stage.

But he's also
extremely eccentric.

I mean, this guy's
never been married.

He's consumed with his art,

and he's consumed
with information,

and he's consumed
with, uh, a curiosity.

[Paul Monte] The question
that a lot of people ask is,

"Why hasn't Frank
ever been married?"

An artist has to be in
the state of inspiration.

Frank stayed in a certain state.

I don't ever see him really
connecting in a part where

he'd be away from his music.

He can be away
from acting, perhaps.

He could be away from
writing. But his music,

that's the foundation
of everything.

[Melissa] He is
forever a bachelor.

He does his thing,
if he's interested.

When he's not interested,
he does their inventory

like nothing I've
ever heard in my life,

and he gets all the nice girls,

all the beautiful,
beautiful girls.

And, you know, when he
falls in love, it's under the radar,

like you find out in
his really peculiar ways

that he's got like a
girl, and then it's over.

[Christopher] What will
Frank Stallone's legacy be?

It's have to be his music.

At what level he wants to do it,
because he's got another 15 years in him.

I swear the guy's got...
He's just on a tear now.

[Bill] Whether you have
success or you don't have success

is kind of irrelevant.
If you're getting to do

what you claim to love to do,

and you're doing
it at a high level,

I think you're a lucky guy.

Down the road, there's
still something there for him

that's going to lift him out
of the shadow a little bit.

Maybe a song.
Maybe another album.

Maybe a part in a movie.

He might have a
future, because he's got

a lot of life left in him.

Frank's a great song writer.

He's a great singer,
but it's about material.

It's about writing. It's
about pouring it out.

What Frank would be great at,

is if he'd write something
that embarrasses himself.

I mean, something
that reveals him.

He's have to rip himself open,

and, "Oh, geez, I didn't
know that was there,"

and if he does
that, he'll be great.

[Frankie] He paid all those
dues that we all pay to this day,

and he never really
got credit for it.

There's a magnetism to him

that I don't know
that's been realized yet,

but it will be. It will be.

[Frank] I'd probably
say, 95% of the people

that I grew up with
that played music,

"Oh, yeah, we're going
to do this," they all quit.

They all quit. They all
got jobs. They got married.

"Ah, well, you know, I need
something more secure."

And I just flew by
the seat of my pants.

You had to have a
certain faith in yourself,

because I didn't
know, I really wasn't

interested in
doing anything else.

I took the worst job you could,

show business. That's the most
insecure job you could ever do.

-[audience cheers]
-God bless you.

Goodnight. Thank you very much.

[audience cheers and applauds]

[mellow instrumental music]

[Frank] I always wonder,
what has kept me in this game?

But, you know, I just keep
coming back to it. I love it.

[mellow instrumental music]

[upbeat rock music]

Pump up the triceps, Frankie.

-You can do it.
-[sighs]

Perfect.

-Very nice.
-[weights clank]

Look at this body.

[Frank laughs]

Unbelievable.

Now if you teach me how to sing,

like I teach you
about bodybuilding,

I would be performing in Vegas.

-[Frank] That's right.
-This is like a one-way street here.

? Save me darling ?

? I am down but I
am far from over ?

? Give me something ?

? I need it all because
I am running over ?

-Is he around?
-[man] He's around.

Well, get him in
here. I want to just talk

to him to see if he's
as goofy as I remember.

-Yo, Frank.
-Hey, what's up?

All right, I was, uh, inviting
you in here, because--

[chair scrapes]

No one asked you to sit
down. But don't try to assume,

-like my pose. We're like--
-We're trying to do,

-you know--
-We're doing Joe Weeder, like.

Considering from
where we came from...

-Oh, man.
-...and the family, and the disfunction,

that we're even here
and functioning...

-Yeah.
-...and that he has like

really well adjusted children...

-Right.
-...is amazing.

I'm not that well-adjusted.

-Mm-mm.
-But again-- But the thing is,

it's really amazing
when you think,

-because those boxing gloves...
-You know--

...have, have made this dynasty.

We actually should be
like making

lunch meat
for a living somewhere.

-Just like nothing-- -Well,
you did do that for a while.

-I did actually do-- -He
did work at a deli, actually.

-That's the-- -And I got
thrown out of that too.

-Got thrown out of that.
-That's right.

Keeping my thumb on the scale

-a little too much.
-[Frank coughs]

But anyway, nice knowing you.

-Nice knowing you.
-Yeah, take care.

And thanks for the good times.