Excerpts from Jacqueline Stallone’s speech at the book launch, Borders, Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur, January 22, 2007. They were printed as the foreword to the 2007 edition and are reproduced here as they were printed.
I have loved Malaysia! It is the last place in the world I ever expected to come, but I met Gerald two years ago on the e-mail, and we started e-mailing each other back and forth. He was telling me about his book. Then one day, he sent me the book and I thought it was wonderful and I showed it to Sylvester, and he liked it too because it was true everything he said, so Gerald said: “if I ever published it will you come to visit me?”
And believe or not a month ago; two years to the day that he called me the first time, I said I will come out next month and here I am sitting here talking about Rocky.
Sylvester had a tough childhood. He was born with lots of handicap and physical disabilities. His face was paralyzed and his body half-crippled because he was injured at birth. He didn’t have many friends growing up, and couldn’t get along with the other kids, and they were all mean.
When he was little I used to take him to the park and the other mothers used to sneer at him, “why he can’t talk and why can’t he walk?” Even the doctors asked me to give him away, “Forget about him,” but I can’t do that. Sylvester was very unpopular and was thrown out of 17 schools. It was very sad.
I believed in the impossible and I took a chance. I encouraged him to exercise to develop a good body. He didn’t like it. I wasn’t easy. It was a full time job, but it paid off.
I never thought he would be a good actor. If he had gone to school halfway, get a job, I would be very happy. If you have seen his movies like Rocky and Rambo, which he writes and acts, there is minimal dialogue. He’s not Shakespeare. He is good at one liners and body talk where he uses his body to do the talking.
All his movies talk about people who think they can’t do it, but are willing to try, and why not, there is nothing to lose.
In Hollywood people like to hire famous stars but in his movies, Sylvester likes to take unknowns who want a crack at life and give them an opportunity. He knows what it means as nobody gave him a break. And if he can do it anyone can do it!
The quotes from this book are real. These are words that used to get him by. One line here, one line there. It’s amazing that Gerald have these quotes.
Two years ago when Gerald sent me a copy of the book, I showed it to Sylvester and he said: “Wow, this is really something! How did this kid remember all these things about me?”
I think you will like the quotations in this book because these are the rules we all lived by. We aren’t geniuses or experts. This has been our life, it gets us by.
We don’t believe there is any such thing as “No”, I think you can do anything you want to do, if you only want to do it. The reason half the people aren’t successful is because they don’t know if they want to do it or not, and put effort into it.
I hope you do read the book. I think you will all get something out of it.
Jacqueline spoke from memory, and some of her dates differ from my own records. Her words are reproduced exactly as they were printed.