November 20, 1976: "Rocky" Premieres

Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire

November 20, 1976: The film Rocky premieres -- and the fact that it hit movie screens at all is as much of an underdog story as the story it tells.

Sylvester Stallone, a struggling actor, wrote the screenplay in 3 days in March 1975. It entered a complicated production process after Stallone refused to allow the film to be made without him in the lead role. United Artists eventually agreed to cast Stallone after he rejected a six-figure ($100,000 or more) deal for the film rights.

Principal photography began in January 1976, with filming primarily held in Philadelphia. Several locations featured in the film are now considered cultural landmarks. When Stallone ran up the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, they became known as the Rocky Steps. With an estimated production budget of under $1 million, Rocky popularized the "rags to riches" and "American Dream" themes of sports dramas which preceded it.

The film begins in November 1975, and Apollo Creed (played by former NFL player Carl Weathers), the Heavyweight Champion of this fictional world, is preparing to begin 1976, America's Bicentennial year, with a fight in the country's founding city, Philadelphia, on New Year's Day. (In real life, that year, Philly hosted the MLB, NBA and NHL All-Star Games, and the NCAA Final Four, but not a Heavyweight Championship Fight.)

The intended opponent has to back out due to an injury. Every other major contender is unavailable. Apollo decides to hire a local challenger, just so the investment in setting up the fight can pay off. The choice is Robert "Rocky" Balboa, of Italian descent, lefthanded, and with a pedestrian record, mostly in small gyms. Offered $150,000 -- $816,000 in 2022 money -- he accepts.

He begins training with Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), a Jewish boxer in the 1920s who became a trainer. Rocky's unusual training methods include punching sides of beef in a meat locker, drinking raw eggs, and running round the city, including up the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art -- which, at the end of Rocky V, he admits to his son Rocky Jr. (then played by Sly's real-life son, Sage Stallone), he'd never been inside.

Rocky's best friend is Paulie Pennino (Burt Young), and he begins to date Paulie's sister, Adrian (Talia Shire -- making Rocky lucky that he wasn't dating the character Shire was previously best known for, because her brother was Michael Corleone, The Godfather). Rocky and Mickey take Paulie on as a cornerman for the fight. Rocky tells Adrian he doesn't think he can win, but that his real goal is to go the full 15 rounds with Apollo, something no fighter has yet done.

New Year's Day arrives, and the fight is held at The Spectrum. (Although most of the movie was filmed in Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena stood in for the home of the NBA's 76ers and the NHL's Flyers.) Before the fight, Joe Frazier, former Heavyweight Champion (1968-73), who lived his adult life in Philadelphia and opened a renowned boxing gym there, is introduced, playing himself. This indicates that he existed in the film’s universe, possibly as the champion immediately before Apollo, whose braggadocio and style were meant to evoke Muhammad Ali, if an overtly patriotic one who would never have dodged the draft. Which begs the question: Did Ali exist in those films? If so, did he never get the title back?

To everyone's shock, a left hook from Rocky knocks Apollo down, the 1st knockdown of his career. More stunned than hurt, he realizes that this apparent "tomato can" is serious, and he starts pounding him, winning the round anyway. Afterward, his trainer, Duke Evers (Tony Burton) tells Apollo what he already knows: "He doesn't know it's a damn show! He thinks it's a damn fight!"

The fight is hard. After the 14th round, Rocky's eye is swollen, and he can't see out of it. In a scene I've always found hard to watch, he says, "Cut me, Mick, cut me," and Mickey cuts his eyelid open with a razor, a wound that will have to be surgically repaired.

At the same time, in a moment reminiscent of Frazier and Eddie Futch at this point in the Thrilla in Manila, 3 months before this in real life, Duke (whom we learn in Rocky IV essentially raised him) tells Apollo, "Champ, you're bleedin' inside. I'm gonna stop the fight." Apollo says, "You ain't stoppin' nothin'!" Rocky is equally determined to finish, telling Mickey, "You stop this fight, and I'll kill you!"

Somehow, both survive the 15th round, and they are practically holding each other up at the final bell. Apollo says, "There ain't gonna be no rematch!" Rocky says, "Don't want one!"

Paulie distracts security, so that Adrian can get into the ring. Just as impressionists do Marlon Brando yelling, "Stella!" in A Streetcar Named Desire, impressionists always copy Stallone by yelling, "Adrian!" (Sure enough, film critic Roger Ebert, giving the film 4 stars, said that Stallone reminded him of the young Brando.) They embrace in the ring.

Rocky got what he wanted: The girl, and the respect, including the self-respect, that came from going the distance with the greatest boxer in the world. The audience can be excused for missing the announcement of a split decision in Apollo's favor, as the music composed by Bill Conti reaches its crescendo and the film ends.

The film was a smash, becoming beloved, especially by Italian-Americans, and has become regarded as the ultimate "sports underdog movie." It was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, including acting nominations for Stallone, Shire, Meredith and Young. None won. The film won 3: Best Picture, Best Director for John G. Avildsen, and Best Film Editing (although boxing experts have called the staging of the fights in the Rocky films unrealistic). Conti and lyricists Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins were nominated for Best Original Song for the film's theme, "Gonna Fly Now," which hit Number 1 early in 1977.

Tourists in Philadelphia began running up the Art Museum steps, and posing with their arms raised like Rocky when they got to the top. They sought out other locations from the movie, including the Italian Market, centered on South 9th Street. (The rowhouse containing Rocky's apartment is not, however, in South Philadelphia: It's at 1898 East Tusculum Street, in the Kensington Section of Northeast Philly.)

But some fans couldn't handle the fact that Rocky lost in the end. So there had to be a sequel. Rocky II was released in 1979, and showed Rocky and Adrian's wedding, and Adrian nearly dying giving birth to Rocky Jr. The rematch, on Thanksgiving 1976, also went 15 harsh rounds, and they knocked each other down. Rocky got up at the count of 9, Apollo didn't. Rocky was the Champion.

Rocky III, in 1982, featured a twist: Both boxers from the 1st 2 films needed redemption. In the opening credits, Rocky is shown successfully defending his title 10 times. But none of them are as good as James "Clubber" Lang, played by Mr. T, a Chicago brawler who has become the Number 1 contender. Mickey doesn't want Rocky fighting Clubber. Rocky says it will be his last fight. Clubber knocks him out in the 2nd round, and Mickey dies of a heart attack.

At his lowest ebb, Rocky is approached by Apollo, who claims that Rocky has lost "the eye of the tiger." (A song by the band Survivor, "Eye of the Tiger," serves as the film's theme song, and hit Number 1 in 1983.) Apollo takes Rocky and Paulie to his old stomping grounds, the Watts ghetto of Los Angeles, and trains him Creed-style, until Rocky is more than ready for the rematch at Madison Square Garden on New Year's Day 1982.

Wearing Apollo's famed star-spangled boxing trunks, he fights like Apollo: He dodges punches instead of his usual tactics of simply taking them and showing how tough he is, dances around the ring, and taunts his opponent. Clubber's anger gets the better of him, and Rocky knocks him out in the 3rd round.

For this film, a statue of Rocky was commissioned, and places on the Art Museum steps. It was later moved to The Spectrum, but after that arena closed in 2010, instead of being moved across the street to its replacement, the Wells Fargo Center, it was moved back to the Art Museum, where it remains.

Rocky IV was released in 1985, at a rather chilly moment in the Cold War. Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) is the 1st Soviet professional boxer. He wants to fight Rocky, but Rocky is done. Apollo, great patriotic American that he is, steps in, and they fight in Las Vegas. But the steroided-up Drago literally kills Apollo in the 2nd round.

Rocky agrees to avenge his friend, and a fight with Drago is set for Christmas Day in Moscow. (The Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver stood in as the arena.) Rocky, Paulie and Duke (and, eventually, Adrian) train in Siberia, old-school, while Drago has the best training that 1980s Soviet technology can offer. And the Moscow crowd is totally behind Drago, with a Mikhail Gorbachev lookalike and various Red Army generals in the stands. And Drago is in his prime, while Rocky is nearly 40 years old. He has had no advantages whatsoever: The king of the underdogs has never been this much of an underdog before.

It looks like the fight will be no contest, but in the 2nd round, Rocky launches a punch that cuts Apollo. Duke tells him, "You see? He's not a machine! He's a man!" The implication is, a man can be beaten. As the fight goes on, Drago is way ahead on points, but Rocky has bloodied him a bit. The Soviet crowd, seeing Rocky's courage, begins to chant his name. Finally, in the 15th round, his face a pulp, and his vision again affected -- he tells Paulie, "I see three of him," and Paulie, as if addressing a drunk, says, "Hit the one in the middle" -- Rocky knocks Drago out.

After the fight, he addresses the crowd. He says that two men trying to kill each other is better than 20 million trying to do it. The crowd saw the humanity in him, and he saw it in them. He tells them, "If I can change... and you can change... everybody can change!" As the translation to Russian hits the crowd, they cheer one more time.

That should have been the end of the story. (Indeed, the original plan was for Rocky to win, then die, and close with Adrian giving a speech at the funeral.) But Stallone couldn't resist the desire for another story, or the money that would come with it. Rocky V, released in 1990, is a film that not all "Ring Cycle" fans agree should be considered canon, and it's regarded as the worst film in the series.

It begins right after the Drago fight, and Rocky can't stop his hands from shaking. When he gets back, its shown that Drago's punches didn't kill him, but did inflict brain damage. And a crooked account zapped Rocky's finances, so he has to move out of his Main Line mansion back to the old neighborhood. Rocky and Adrian are used to this, but Rocky Jr. has only known being rich, and he's not prepared to face city kids. His father teaches him some pointers, and he wins a fight, and is okay from there.

Rocky starts running Mickey's old gym, where he trains Tommy "The Machine" Gunn (played by real-life boxer Tommy Morrison). Union Cane (Michael Anthony Williams) wins the title vacated by Rocky's retirement. He is guided by promoter George Washington Duke. (He should not be confused with Apollo's trainer Duke Evers. He is played by Richard Gant, as an obvious parody of real-life promoter Don King).

Gunn rises through the ranks, and Duke signs him to a contract. Rocky is depressed, telling Adrian that training Gunn gave him new purpose, but Adrian tells him that Gunn never had his heart, and that's something that can't be taught. Sure enough, when Gunn beats Cane for the title, he walks right past Rocky, and gives all the credit to Duke at the press conference.

The public turns on Gunn, saying that he's not a "real champion," because Cane wasn't, because he didn't beat the champ (Rocky). Gunn and Duke know they have to have a fight with Rocky, so they go to the bar with a TV crew, and challenge Rocky on the spot. Rocky refuses. They keep taunting him, Paulie tells them to get lost, and Gunn sucker-punches Paulie, knocking him out.

Seeing this, Rocky challenges Gunn to a fight -- not with sanctioning and rules and promotions, but right outside, in the street. That's not what Duke wants, as he can't make any money off of it, but Gunn is fine with it: He knows the cameras will record it, and people will see him beat Rocky, and know who the real Champion is.

Unusually, Rocky has the upper hand at first. Gunn steps up his game, and knocks Rocky down. The force of the punches, and the brain damage he's suffered, making him think he's being hit by Lang and Drago. But it also causes him to hallucinate seeing Mickey, which spurs him to get up. With the crowd, including his wife, son and brother-in-law watching, Rocky knocks Gunn out. He then comes face-to-face with Duke, and looks like he wants to punch him. Duke says, "Come on, pug: Touch me, and I'll sue." Rocky punches him, and says, "Sue me for what?"

That should have been the end. He'd fought a champion. He'd fought a scarier one. He'd fought a scarier one still. He'd defeated the greatest opponent a man could ever face: His own self-doubt -- many times over. The story should have ended there. When I heard that a Rocky VI was in the works, I asked, "Who's he fighting next, Godzilla?" As it turns out, the opponent was one that eventually beats us all: Father Time.

Rocky Balboa -- no Roman numeral -- was released in 2006. Rocky seems to be fully recovered, at least physically, from the trauma he suffered against Drago. He runs a restaurant, named Adrian's. Unfortunately, the reason he named it after his wife is that Adrian had died. (Shire didn't want to do another Rocky movie.) Rocky Jr. (now played by Milo Ventimiglia), now going by his given name Robert, is a lawyer, and he and his father don't see eye-to-eye. He and Paulie both accuse Rocky of living in the past.

The current Heavyweight Champion of the World is Mason "The Line" Dixon (Antonio Tarver, then the real-life Light Heavyweight Champion). He's undefeated, but hardly undisputed: He's been accused of never having fought a true contender. To bruise his ego further, ESPN broadcasts a computer simulation of a fight between Dixon and prime Rocky (something to which neither fighter agreed), and Rocky wins by knockout.

Rocky sees this, and, despite being 60 years old, renews his boxing license, and starts training again. Hearing this, Dixon's promoters suggest a charity exhibition fight in Las Vegas. Concerned for his father's well-being, Robert seeks him out, and they reconcile over Adrian's grave. Duke Evers returns to train Rocky, making him stronger than ever despite being more than middle-aged.

In the fight, Dixon dominates at first, but injures his left hand in the 2nd round. Rocky knocks him down. The fight continues, intended for 10 rounds, and going that far. A microphone picks up Rocky calling Dixon "a great champion." Rocky's last fight ends the way his first fight for the title did: With his belief in himself renewed, and a standing ovation from the crowd, but with his opponent winning a split decision. Unlike Apollo, however, Dixon's reputation grows.

Okay, so that was the end of it, right? I mean, who's left for Rocky to face? Godzilla? Aliens? Does he travel to our world, and face Muhammad Ali? Does he fight Superman, like Ali once did in a comic book?

Creed premiered in 2015. Michael B. Jordan played Adonis "Donnie" Creed, son of Apollo. Rocky trains him, along with Tony Evers Jr., Duke's son, a.k.a. "Little Duke" (Wood Harris). The elder Duke and Paulie have since died (though Tony Burton and Burt Young had not yet), and Robert does not appear in the film. And Rocky fights the deadliest, most heartless opponent of all: Cancer.

Donnie fights the Light Heavyweight Champion, a British boxer named "Pretty" Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew), in Conlan's hometown of Liverpool, at Goodison Park, home of soccer team Everton F.C. As with Balboa-Creed I, the title character loses a split decision to the Champion, but gains the respect of the world. At the end, his treatment working, a weakened Rocky is led up the Art Museum steps by Donnie.

Creed II was released in 2018. Still trained by Rocky and Little Duke, Donnie wins the Heavyweight Championship, and marries his girlfriend, singer Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson, who was in the previous film).

Drago returns. I had always wondered what happened to him after losing: Did the country, both its people and his government, turn on him? His wife, Ludmilla, a former Olympic swimmer (Brigitte Nielson -- Stallone's real-life girlfriend at the time of Rocky IV), sure did: She divorced him, and Drago has been raising their son Viktor alone, in the Ukraine, holding modest jobs while training Viktor (Florian Munteanu) to become a boxer.

Donnie can't resist the challenge from the son of the man who killed his father. Viktor badly injures him, inflicting kidney damage, but is disqualified for punching Adonis while he is already down. As in the previous generation, the rematch is held in Moscow, and, never having gone beyond 4 rounds before, the younger Drago can't handle it. In the 10th round, behind on points, Donnie knocks Viktor down twice, and looks like he might really hurt him. Ivan throws in the towel, hugs his son, and tells him he's proud of him.

Father and son both get their redemption moment. Inspired by this, Rocky, again estranged from Robert, again makes peace with him, and meets his grandson, Logan. The film closes with Adonis, Bianca, and their infant daughter Amara at Apollo's grave.

So, that's it, right? No: Creed III is scheduled to be released in early 2023. And Stallone has talked about a Rocky prequel, showing his rise, which makes no sense, since Rocky didn't have a rise: He went straight from street-level boxer to a title shot. Pretty much the only loose thread left is Clubber Lang: Does he, like Ivan Drago, train a son as part of a redemption arc? Does Donnie have to fight Clubber Jr.? So far, Mr. T has refused to appear in any more Rocky films. If they recast the part of Clubber, as Mr. T (both in character and out) would say, I pity the fool who has to take up the iconic role.

Burgess Meredith died in 1997, Tommy Morrison (from AIDS) in 2013, Tony Burton in 2016, and the 1st film's director, John G. Avildsen, in 2017. As of November 20, 2022, pretty much everybody else of consequence in the Rocky films is still alive, including Talia Shire, Burt Young and Carl Weathers, whose characters are said to have died.

UPDATE: Young died in 2023, Weathers in 2024. Creed III was released on schedule, with Michael B. Jordan not only starring, but directing. It was the 1st film in the Rocky series in which Stallone did not appear. Donnie has avenged his defeat to Conlan, and retired, running his father's old L.A. gym with Little Duke. He is training the new Champion, Felix Chavez, nicknamed "El Guerrero," "The Warrior" (former Welterweight Champion José Luis Benavidez Jr.) for a fight against Viktor Drago.

Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors), an old friend of Donnie's, and a former Golden Gloves Champion, has just gotten out of prison. He hires a former fellow inmate to attack Viktor, sidelining him for the fight (something Donnie learns too late), and manipulates Donnie into giving him a title shot against Felix. "Dame" gets away with using dirty tactics, and wins the fight, and then publicly smears Donnie.

Bianca convinces Donnie to come out of retirement, and teach Dame a lesson. "The Battle of Los Angeles" is fought at Dodger Stadium, and Donnie is knocked down in the last round, barely getting up in time, before he knocks Dame out. They reconcile after the fight.

Creed III was a box-office success, and a Creed IV was announced. Come on, Mr. T: One more time. Have some fun in your old age.

*

November 20, 1976 was a Saturday. Olympic Gold Medal-winning gymnast Dominique Dawes was born. This was also the day that Rupert Murdoch bought the New York Post, and baseball pitcher Wayne Garland received a contract he couldn't live up to. I have separate entries for those events.

Baseball was out of season. It was a college football day. Among the games played that day were these:

* Number 1 University of Pittsburgh and Number 16 Penn State had the week off, to prepare for each other as arch-rivals the next week. Pitt won, 24-7 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* Rivalry: Number 2 UCLA lost to Number 3 USC, 24-14 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC thus clinched the Pacific-Eight Conference title. They ended up beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl, then waited to see if Pitt lost the Sugar Bowl, which would have given USC the National Championship.

* Rivalry: Number 4 Michigan beat Number 8 Ohio State, 22-0 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, to clinch the Big Ten Conference title.

* Number 5 Texas Tech were upset by Number 9 University of Houston, 27-19 at Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. This gave UH the Southwest Conference title.

* Rivalry: Number 6 Maryland beat Virginia, 28-0 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. This clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Maryland received a bid to the Cotton Bowl, where Houston beat them.

* Number 7 Georgia had the week off, to prepare for arch-rival Georgia Tech the next week. They won, 13-10 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. Having already won the Southeastern Conference title, they advanced to the Sugar Bowl, but lost to Pitt, who clinched an undefeated season and the National Championship.

* Number 11 Texas A&M beat Texas Christian University (TCU), 59-10 at Kyle Field in College Station.

* Number 13 Notre Dame beat the University of Miami, 40-27 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. This was not one of the more memorable games between those schools.

* Number 15 Colorado beat Kansas State, 35-28 at KSU Stadium (now Bill Snyder Family Stadium) in Manhattan, Kansas. This clinched the Big Eight Conference title, and a berth in the Orange Bowl. This was the 1st season in which the Big 10 allowed any of its schools to go to a bowl game other than the Rose, and Ohio State beat Colorado.

* Number 16 Oklahoma State beat Number 14 Iowa State, 42-21 at Lewis Field (now Boone Pickens Stadium) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

* Rivalry: Kansas upset Number 19 Missouri, 41-14 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri.

* Army and Navy had the week off, preparing for each other as arch-rivals the next week (Navy won, 38-10 at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia); while Air Force beat Wyoming 41-21 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* Rutgers also had the week off. Five days later, on Thanksgiving, they beat Colgate, 17-9 at the new Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands, and completed an undefeated season, 11-0.

* Rivalry: Villanova beat Temple, 24-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* Rivalry: The University of Richmond beat William & Mary, 21-10 at City Stadium in Richmond, Virginia.

* Rivalry: North Carolina beat Duke, 39-38 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

* Rivalry: Clemson beat South Carolina, 28-9 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

* Rivalry: Kentucky beat Tennessee, 7-0 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

* Rivalry: Mississippi State beat Mississippi (Ole Miss), 28-11 at Mississippi Memorial Stadium in Jackson.

* Rivalry: Louisiana State University (LSU) beat Tulane, 17-7 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Rivalry: Indiana beat Purdue, 20-14 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, to win the Old Oaken Bucket.

* Rivalry: Illinois beat Northwestern, 48-6 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

* Rivalry: Wisconsin beat Minnesota, 26-17 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Rivalry: Brigham Young University (BYU) beat Utah, 34-12 at Rice Stadium (later Rice-Eccles Stadium) in Salt Lake City, to win the Beehive Boot.

* Rivalry: Stanford beat the University of California, 27-24 at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

* Rivalry: Oregon beat Oregon State, 23-14 at Parker Stadium (now Reser Stadium) in Corvallis, Arkansas.

* Rivalry: Washington beat Washington State, 51-32 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Denver Nuggets, 120-115 at Madison Square Garden. David Thompson scored 35 points in defeat.

* The Washington Bullets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 109-103 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 123-106 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics, 116-110 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit. Bob Lanier scored 40 points.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Kansas City Kings, 127-126 in overtime at The Summit in Houston. (It's now the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Joel Osteen's "megachurch.") Ron Boone scored 37 points in defeat.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Buffalo Braves, 130-93 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

There were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the St. Louis Blues, 3-1 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Minnesota North Stars, 8-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Darryl Sittler, Dave "Tiger" Williams and Jack Valiquette each scored 2 goals.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* And the Buffalo Sabres beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-3 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And there were 3 games played in the World Hockey Association:

* The New England Whalers and the Minnesota Fighting Saints played to a tie, 3-3 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Indianapolis Racers beat the Winnipeg Jets, 8-4 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* And the Houston Aeros beat the Phoenix Roadrunners, 5-2 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

And in English soccer, Arsenal and Liverpool played to a 1-1 draw at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.