Sylvester Stallone recalls being sent to psychiatric ward as teenager

Stallone recalled his time at Devereux Manor High School in Pennsylvania, a school he attended as a teenager. According to his account, students who broke rules could be sent to a section known as Park Lodge or the “Snake Pit”.

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“At this school, there were five different departments for different ages. And in my age group, it would be the teenagers. If you ever snuck out to see a girl or do something like that, you’d be reprimanded by being taken to a place called Park Lodge or the Snake Pit, which on the outside looked like a big old Tudor home from the ’20s.

“And then you walked inside and you now entered the heart of insanity. The smell, the filth, people running around naked and clawing, hands tied, drooling. And this is what they thought would impress you never to break the rules again.”

Stallone said he was subsequently taken inside and placed in a padded cell. He recalled that he spent “a couple weeks” there and described the experience as disturbing but also formative.

“I was there for a couple weeks. It was wild. But this, to me, was one of the better things that happened too.”

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The actor said he came away from the experience believing that he could withstand attempts to break his spirit.

“I said, I know they’re going to try to break me. I was attacked there. They tried to rip my groin off.”

‘They tried to rip my groin off’

Stallone said he was attacked by another resident he identified as “Jay Bird”, the son of actor Lloyd Nolan. He recalled the man as a large individual who was often naked.

“He was big, had no hair, always naked, rotten teeth. They called him Jay Bird because he was always naked as a jaybird. And I go into the bathroom on the way to the food mess hall, and he comes in and comes around me and he’s like ripping on my throat and he is going into my pants and grabbing my groin.”

Stallone said two guards eventually intervened.

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“Then, the two guards come in and they’re beating the crap out of him with razor straps. I go, ‘What the hell is wrong with him?’ And they say, ‘You’re in a crazy house, boy. Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s crazy.’”

Stallone said the experience ultimately left him with a belief that he could survive whatever came his way.

“When I came out of there and was standing before the school principal and he said, ‘You learned your lesson?’ I said, ‘I learned a lot more than that lesson. A much better lesson: You can’t break me.’”

He added, “So when I got to New York City in my 20s and everything that came after that, I always felt I was unbreakable in that way. My heart could be broken, like every human being, but I’m talking about will.”

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Sylvester Stallone recalls abusive father

Stallone also opened up about his relationship with his father, describing an upbringing marked by violence and fear. He recalled living with his father after his parents separated and said there were frequent outbursts followed by periods of silence.

“It would be these constant bombastic explosions and then total silence. Because if he were talking, and then you said, ‘I don’t know if I agree with that,’ he’d start spinning his fork and suck his teeth, and you knew what was coming. Next thing you know, wham! You know, he had very big hands. You just learned to duck a little bit.”

Stallone said he deliberately left many of these memories out of The Steps because he did not want the book to become a “pity party”.

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“I didn’t put a lot of stuff in the book because I didn’t want a pity party, but it was insane.”

He then recalled an incident that happened before church. His father had asked him to go to a nearby store and buy bread. Stallone instead returned with a sandwich spread after being distracted by friends.

“Before we go to church, he said, ‘Go to the store and buy some bread.’ I bring home sandwich spread, not bread, and he kicked me in the stomach, laid me out, got in the car and went to church. I’m there in the street with mayonnaise. It’s unbelievable.”

Stallone also recalled another disturbing incident involving an animal.

“There was a cat making noise outside the house. He went inside, and went out, got the cat, you know, ‘Come here, come here.’ Took it into the laundry room, shot it and left it in the wash tub. Now I think he did that to impress me. Like, ‘You’ll never be as tough as your old man.’ And I won’t. There is no chance. That’s a whole other league.”

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“I’m using tough as a masculine banner for something much more perverse and weird. And dark,” he added.

Stallone said he eventually confronted his father about the abuse when he was in his 40s.

“When I was 43, 44 and he was 25 years older than me, I said I wish you and I could be the same age for three minutes.”

When his father asked why, Stallone told him, “Because I’d like to give you some of your own medicine, and you would know what it’d be like to have your a** kicked.”

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According to Stallone, his father did not back down. “He takes off his jacket and says, ‘Don’t worry, bring it on.’ He was ready to go at 60 years old.”

‘My mother never hugged me’

Stallone also spoke about his relationship with his mother and said affection was largely absent from his childhood.

“My mother never — and my brother will attest — hugged me. Ever, ever,” Stallone said.

Sylvester Stallone remains one of Hollywood’s most recognisable action stars. He shot to fame with Rocky (1976), which he wrote and starred in, earning Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. He went on to build two of cinema’s most enduring franchises with Rocky and Rambo.

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