Sly Stallone's Son Sage Found Dead At 36
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — Sylvester Stallone's son Sage was found dead at his Los Angeles apartment Friday. He was 36.
Sage Moonblood Stallone was found unresponsive by an employee and a relative. There were no signs of foul play or trauma, and no suicide note was found, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told CBS2 and KCAL9 that night.
He was found Friday afternoon at his home on Mullholland Drive in the Studio City area, and police arrived and confirmed he was dead, Winter said. Prescription bottles were recovered in the investigation, but Winter could not say what kind or how many, and whether they had a role in his death.
Winter said an autopsy will be performed in the next few days and investigators will look into Stallone's medical history, but a cause of death was likely to take several weeks while toxicology tests are performed.
Sage Stallone, who made his film debut opposite his father in "Rocky 5," also appeared in "Daylight," "The Evil Inside Me," and "Promises Written in Water."
A representative for Sylvester Stallone released the following statement: "Sylvester Stallone is devastated and grief-stricken over the sudden loss of his son Sage Stallone. His compassion and thoughts are with Sage's mother, Sasha. Sage was a very talented and wonderful young man, his loss will be felt forever."
George Braunstein, an attorney for Sage, confirmed the death to CBS2 Friday afternoon.
"No one saw this coming," Braunstein said. "Sage was full of life, and had a bright future ahead of him in the film industry as a producer and actor."
Sage's mother is Sly Stallone's first wife, Sasha Czack. The elder Stallone appeared Thursday at Comic-Con, the San Diego pop culture festival, to promote his upcoming film "Expendables 2" with friend and co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was not clear whether he had remained at the convention or had returned to Los Angeles Friday.
In 1996, Sage Stallone and veteran film editor Bob Murawski co-founded Grindhouse Releasing, a company dedicated to preserving and promoting the B-movies and exploitation films of the 1970s and 80s.
"He was very respectful of all the actors in all the movies," Braunstein said. "You couldn't mention a movie that he didn't know everything about."
Sage Stallone also directed the 2006 short "Vic," which screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival.
Braunstein said Stallone was planning on getting married for the first time, and had frequent requests to work on films.
"He was a full of life filmmaker with his whole future ahead of him," Braunstein said. "He was just very up and enthusiastic and positive.
"I think it was probably some sort of accident," he said of the death.
Braunstein said Sage Stallone greatly admired his father but was working hard to make his own name in the film industry.
"He was very proud of his father and proud to be his father's son," Braustein said.
(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
