Winkler's Friendship: Rocky's Surprising Birth

0:00On this March 20th, here's what's making entertainment headlines. Henry Winkler played a surprising role in the birth of the Rocky franchise through his friendship with Sylvester Stallone. Back in the 1970s, Stallone was a struggling actor with just one notable credit from, the Lords of Flatbush. He headed to Hollywood dreaming big but hit rock bottom, even selling his beloved bowl-mastive dog Butcus because he couldn't afford to feed him. One day, Stallone's car broke down on Sunset Boulevard with his wife and dog inside. He called Winkler, who was already famous as the fans on Happy Days. Winkler picked him up, took them to their new apartment, and Stallone handed over a script he'd written, hoping Winkler could help get it made. Winkler took the script straight to ABC and sold it as a television movie. The network loved it, but wanted someone else to rewrite it and star in it, which didn't sit right with Stallone. Winkler stood up for his friend, returned the money, and gave the script back. Stallone held firm too, turning down a $360,000 offer for the script alone because they wouldn't let him play Rocky Balboa.

1:03Instead of cashing in, he pushed forward, and that script became the blockbuster Rocky movie. Thanks to friends like Winkler and Stallone's grit, Rocky launched a legendary career in franchise that still packs a punch decades later.