Stallone

Rovin, author of Joan Collins, Julio and other biographies, sympathetically traces Stallone's life and career, including his troubled childhood, the Oscar-winning picture Rocky, and his various setbacks and comebacks since. Stallone's early struggles make fascinating reading: afflicted with rickets and partial facial paralysis, he grew up in New York City's Hell's Kitchen and in Philadelphia, began weightlifting at 13 and attended 12 schools before the age of 15. At 23, he was living out of a locker in the Port Authority Terminal in Manhattan when he landed a role in a porn film. Comparing Stallone's personal life with the autobiographical elements in his films, Rovin has captured the actor's drive, intensity and ambition, depicting him as a modern-day hero and champion, an approach certain to please Stallone's many fans. Photos not seen by PW. December