Sylvester Stallone is hurting and he’d like the media craze over his son’s death to diminish so he and his family can grieve without the outside noise.
Sage Stallone, 36, was found dead in his Hollywood home Friday. The cause of death is unknown at this point. An autopsy was performed on Sunday, but the results from toxicology tests will not be known for weeks.
Meanwhile, movie star Sylvester Stallone released a statement that called for calm as his family sorted through the tragedy.
“When a parent loses a child, there is no greater pain,” Stallone said in the release. “Therefore I am imploring people to respect my talented son’s memory and feel compassion for his loving mother, Sasha.”
Sasha Czack and Sylvester Stallone were married for 10 years, divorcing in 1985.
“Sage was our first child and the center of our universe and I am humbly begging for all to have my son’s memory and soul left in peace,” Stallone said in the statement.
Sage Stallone appeared in a number of films, including with his father in 1990’s “Rocky V,” playing the title character’s son, Rocky Balboa Jr.
He was also cast alongside his father in the 1996 disaster movie “Daylight,” in which Sylvester Stallone starred as a hero leading an escape from a New York tunnel collapse. His son portrayed a prison inmate.
Los Angeles County Coroner’s spokesman said Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officials had placed a security hold on the case, barring release of further information.
An LAPD spokesman said detectives from the department’s Robbery-Homicide division were involved in the case, a standard practice in high profile deaths, but that there was no indication of foul play.
“There was no evidence of forced entry or trauma to his body,” Lieutenant Andy Neiman said. “At this point, it’s a coroner’s case but Robbery-Homicide maintains jurisdiction should something change as a result of the coroner’s findings.”
