1976 – Best picture winner “Rocky” premiered on this day in New York City. Sylvester Stallone became just the third person in Hollywood history to earn Oscar noms for best actor and best screenplay in the same year, joining legends Charlie Chaplin (“The Great Dictator”) and Orson Welles (“Citizen Kane”). After watching Chuck Wepner go the distance against Muhammad Ali, Stallone, a struggling actor at that point, unleashed a first draft of the ... more 

1976 – Best picture winner “Rocky” premiered on this day in New York City. Sylvester Stallone became just the third person in Hollywood history to earn Oscar noms for best actor and best screenplay in the same year, joining legends Charlie Chaplin (“The Great Dictator”) and Orson Welles (“Citizen Kane”). After watching Chuck Wepner go the distance against Muhammad Ali, Stallone, a struggling actor at that point, unleashed a first draft of the script in just three days. After extensive polishing, he sold the script to producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff with the caveat that Stallone himself would play the lead. Though they received some funds from United Artists, the producers each had to mortgage their homes to pay for the film to be made.  

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