Through thick and thin, these Rocky characters always went the distance for Rocky (Sylvester Stallone). As the beloved film turns 50, and as the new Rocky biopic I Play Rocky approaches, we’re looking back on the people closest to the boxer’s heart.
Adrian (Talia Shire)
Love is at the heart of Rocky. Everything else is secondary. As Sylvester Stallone told Variety in 2019, “He happens to box for a living, but the story is about his love for [Adrian].”
Masterfully played by Talia Shire, who was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her work in the original, Adrian is the shy, soft-spoken clerk at a pet store who becomes the heart of Rocky Balboa‘s life. Rocky has known Adrian for years through her brother Paulie (Burt Young), but he finally works up the nerve to ask her on a date…and the story truly begins.
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Their relationship blossoms just as Rocky gets the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Adrian initially worries about Rocky getting hurt, but ultimately she gives him the strength to believe he belongs in the ring. After Rocky goes the distance with Apollo in the first film, Rocky famously ignores the announcement of the decision and searches for Adrian in the crowd, and they profess their love for each other.
Adrian and Rocky marry in Rocky II, and she becomes a devoted mother and a steadying presence as Rocky adjusts to fame and championship success. When Rocky struggles after losing to Clubber Lang (Mr. T) in Rocky III, Adrian reminds him that he isn’t the same fighter he was before—he can be even better.
In Rocky IV, Adrian fears for Rocky when he decides to fight Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) after Apollo’s death. She pleads with her husband: “Have you read the papers? Do you know what everybody says? It’s suicide! You’ve seen him. You know how strong he is. You can’t win!” Rocky goes to Moscow anyway, causing a rift between them, but in a moving scene later in the film, Adrian joins him, again becoming his emotional support as he prepares for the biggest fight of his life.
Rocky V finds Adrian begging Rocky to give up training Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) and tend to his own family. “I know Tommy makes you feel great,” she says. “He makes you feel like you’re winning again. But you’re losing us! Rocky, you’re losing your family!”
A decade and a half later, when Stallone was writing Rocky Balboa, both he and Shire agreed that the film would have more emotional impact if Rocky was dealing with Adrian’s death.
Stallone wrote Adrian as having passed away from ovarian cancer in 2002, and though the film was missing half of the loving couple who defined Rocky’s entire story, Adrian’s presence loomed large. And the Italian restaurant that Rocky now owns is named in her honor.
Suprisingly, Shire wasn’t the first choice for the role, but once she auditioned, it was clear she was the only person who could play Adrian. As Shire once told Yahoo! Entertainment, “I was a very shy woman, so I understood that girl. And I understood that the greatest thing in the world for myself, and for a woman like that, was to have some man appreciate her.…Sylvester wrote Adrian to truly be [Rocky’s] partner: a woman he looked to for guidance about right and wrong. And people become very beautiful when they’re loved.” — Ryan A. Berenz
Mick (Burgess Meredith)
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We Could all use a trainer like Mickey Goldmill in our corner.
Before taking on the role of Mick, who helps Rocky get into fighting shape in the first three Rocky movies, Burgess Meredith spent over 40 years making his name in Hollywood. He debuted with a bit part in the 1935 Noël Coward drama The Scoundrel before going on to starring roles in 1936’s Winterset, 1939’s Of Mice and Men and more. On TV, he was legendary for a 1959 episode of The Twilight Zone, playing a cantankerous man who wants to be left alone to read his books; and the campy 1960s Batman TV series, stealing scenes as the Penguin. But with Rocky, Meredith found a role that suited him to a T and earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
At the start of the franchise, Mick, a former boxer, is the owner of the local gym in Philadelphia where Rocky trains. Mick sees potential in Rocky but expresses disappointment that he decided to be a loan shark’s collector instead of focusing on his craft.
When Mick learns that Rocky has a championship fight against Apollo Creed, he shows up at Rocky’s apartment and asks to be his manager. Rocky, frustrated that Mick has opportunistically approached him, admonishes him, but then quickly cools and accepts his offer.
Mick has an extremely fiery personality, and pushes Rocky through an intense training regimen that culminates in a moral victory: Rocky’s loses his first fight against Apollo via split decision, becoming the first of Apollo’s opponents ever to do so.
In Rocky II, Mick is hesitant to train Rocky for his rematch due to the eye injuries Rocky sustained in the first fight, with further damage risking permanent blindness, though Mick eventually agrees.
In Rocky’s second bout against Apollo, Mick watches from Rocky’s corner as he is outclassed by Apollo for most of the fight. However, in the final round, both men are knocked down, and Mick passionately encourages Rocky to get up, which he does. Apollo doesn’t, giving Rocky the dramatic victory.
Mick’s final appearance (outside of a flashback in Rocky V) comes in Rocky III. Rocky plans to retire, but he is goaded into a fight against Clubber Lang (Mr. T). Mick agrees to train him with the understanding this will be Rocky’s final match. Right before the fight, Mick, who has been dealing with heart issues, attempts to break up a brawl between Rocky’s and Clubber’s teams and is shoved by Clubber, suffering cardiac arrest.
Despite Rocky’s concern, Mick refuses to let him cancel the fight. Rocky, distracted by Mick’s condition, loses in a second-round knockout. Rocky rushes backstage to be with Mick, whose condition has worsened. He tells Rocky, “I love you, kid” before passing away. Rocky later defeats Clubber in a rematch, avenging the longtime friend and trainer who was always in his corner. — Scott Logan
Paulie (Burt Young)
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We meet Paulie Pennino, portrayed by Burt Young, as Rocky’s best friend, but by the second film, they are brothers-in-law.
In many ways, Paulie kickstarts two of the biggest events in Rocky’s life: First, he was the one who introduced Rocky and his sister Adrian and then encouraged the two to pursue a relationship. And, because Paulie initially works at a meat packing plant, he invites Rocky to train in the freezer against slabs of beef, for his fight against Apollo Creed, one of the most memorable visuals from the first film.
While a caring and loyal friend, Paulie is plagued by anger issues and a drinking problem. His frustration and disbelief that Adrian didn’t stop Rocky from coming out of retirement in Rocky II leads to a heated argument between the siblings. The stress of the confrontation causes Adrian to faint, and soon after she prematurely gives birth to a son, then falls into a coma, though she eventually recovers. Paulie stays by her side and the two watch on TV as Rocky wins his rematch against Apollo.
In Rocky III, Paulie becomes extremely jealous that Rocky has won the world heavyweight championship. While drunk, he takes his frustrations out on a Rocky pinball machine, destroying it. He is arrested, and Rocky bails him out. Paulie eventually breaks down and asks Rocky for a job, and Rocky agrees to hire him to be one of his cornermen.
Paulie continues to corner for Rocky in Rocky IV. Despite his complaints about the cold and their outdated cabin, he accompanies the boxer to Siberia to train for his fight against Ivan Drago, after the death of Apollo.
In Rocky V, Rocky and Paulie’s relationship is tested once again after Paulie mismanages Rocky’s finances, forcing him to sell his home and valuable possessions and move back to Philadelphia. Later, Paulie is assaulted by Rocky’s former trainee, Tommy Gunn, whom Rocky defeats in a street fight.
Paulie’s final appearance takes place in Rocky Balboa, where he helps Rocky with the running of his restaurant and corners for him once again in his return to the ring against Mason “The Line” Dixon.
The role of Paulie was a natural fit for Young. Prior to acting, he served in the Marine Corps, where he boxed regularly. While Rocky is considered his breakout performance, he also appeared in 1974’s Chinatown and The Gambler before Rocky, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In Creed, it is revealed that Paulie passed away in 2012 and is buried next to Adrian, and Rocky continues to visit their graves regularly. — Scott Logan
TV Guide Magazine’s Rocky 50th Anniversary Special Issue is available for order online now at Rocky.TVBooks.com, and for purchase on newsstands nationwide.
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
