You no longer have to dig through your VHS tape collection to get a glimpse of Rocky Balboa’s boxing robe and gloves; rather you can visit them in person along with Dorothy’s ruby red slippers, Abraham Lincoln’s top hat and Thomas Edison’s light bulb at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Just hours ago actor and director Sylvester Stallone Tuesday donated iconic items from his “Rocky” movies to the landmark museum so that they could be preserved for decades to come.
“I knew I was getting old, but I didn’t think I would be with the dinosaurs so soon,” Stallone jokingly told news reporters on hand for the event. “No, actually, I’m really unbelievably overwhelmed.”
Along with the red and yellow boxing robe he wore in the 1976 movie (which won the Oscar for best picture), Stallone also donated a black hat and a pair of autographed boxing gloves from “Rocky II” and shoes and his red, white and blue boxing shorts from “Rocky III.”
“These objects could not be better in conveying the interplay of sports and entertainment in American film history, but more specifically they could not better convey the importance of Sylvester Stallone to the film industry,” said one of the museum’s curators.
You can be one of the first to see the memorable objects when they go on display starting December 21st in the “Treasures of American History” exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum. The temporary exhibition features 150 well-known pieces from the Museum of American History while that building is closed for renovation.
If you are one of the five (I mean few) people who have never seen “Rocky,” the movie tells the story of an underdog fighter from Philadelphia who gets a chance at the heavyweight title. Amazingly (talk about longevity), Stallone will also star in “Rocky Balboa,” the sixth film in the series, which is set for release December 22nd (the day after the museum’s “Rocky” exhibit opens). Then again, at this point how could Stallone not reprise his role? After all, he has written and starred in all the “Rocky” movies.
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