Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone's half-sister, Toni-Ann Filiti, died Sunday night at age 48 after an extended fight with lung cancer, according to multiple news reports.

It's been a summer filled with tragedy for The Expendables 2 star, whose son Sage Stallone also passed away at 36 of yet-to-be determined causes.

Filiti entered UCLA's ICU August 10, where doctors had "done everything" they could. Prior to her hospitalization, she had been living with her mom.

Filiti's son and Stallone's nephew, Edd Filiti, had accused the actor, on Facebook, of neglecting Sage Stallone in recent years. He recanted that claim.

Filiti was married twice and had a son, Edd, with second husband Louis D'Alto, an actor who appeared in several Stallone vehicles. They split in 2001.

Our thoughts go out to Stallone and his family.

[Photo: WENN.com]

With no clear answer over how his son passed away, Sylvester Stallone is reportedly taking proactive steps to clear up questions surrounding the tragic death of 36-year old Sage.

According to TMZ, the veteran actor talked with Scott Ross this week, the private investigator who played a key role in both the Michael Jackson molestation case and the Chris Brown/Rihanna battery case. Ross met with Stallone, his brother Frank and an official from the coroner's office yesterday.

There's been no evidence of foul play, but questions continue to arise over Sage Stallone, whose body was found on Friday inside his bedroom.

Initial reports claimed an overdose and that Sage has been dead for days when discovered, but new evidence (e.g. Facebook posts) make it appear as if Sage were still alive within 17 hours of a housekeeper finding his corpse. Sources, meanwhile, swear he never had a problem with drugs.

An autopsy has been performed, but the results of toxicology tests will not be known for weeks.

[Photo: WENN.com]

With rumors continuing to circulate regarding the death of Sage Stallone - did he overdose? Was his corpse lying around for three days prior to being found? - the 36-year old's famous father has released a new statement.

"When a parent loses a child there is no greater pain," Sylvester Stallone tells TMZ. "Therefore I am imploring people to respect my talented son's memory and feel compassion for his loving mother Sasha."

As pictured above, the Stallones starred in 1990's Rocky V as father and son and, by all accounts, were close in real life.

Sage's cause of death remains unknown, while sources say his case has been moved to the Robbery Homicide because it is so high profile.

"This agonizing loss will be felt for the rest of our lives," the actor concludes. "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."

Sage Stallone, Sylvester Stallone's son, has died. He was 36.

The details surrounding the death are still unclear, but reports indicate that he was found in his L.A. apartment by either a maid or his girlfriend.

Paramedics were called to the home and pronounced him dead at the scene, with a prescription drug overdose the likely reason for his demise.

The prescription drug element to this story has not been confirmed at this time; however, Stallone's death earlier today has been confirmed.

Authorities are trying to determine if the death was intentional or accidental, but The Expendables 2 star Sylvester is said to be a "wreck."

Sage Stallone famously made his film debut alongside his father in the 1990 movie Rocky 5, playing the role of Rocky's son Robert Balboa.

Sage was the oldest of Sylvester's five kids, and his first of two with his first wife Sasha Czack. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.

UPDATE: Sylvester Stallone's rep, Michelle Bega, says he is "devastated and grief-stricken over the sudden loss of his son Sage Stallone."

"His compassion and thoughts are with Sage's mother, Sasha. Sage was a very talented and wonderful young man. His loss will be felt forever."

He may have made a bad decision with his recent DUI, but at least Ty Pennington isn't a washed-up, middle-aged, steroid-using fiend.

Sylvester Stallone pleaded guilty this morning in a Sydney court to bringing banned muscle-building hormones into Australia.

Richard Gere's nemesis will be sentenced next week.

The Rocky Balboa star didn't appear in court, but said in an apologetic letter to Sydney's Downing Center Local Court that he had "made a terrible mistake" because he was "ignorant" about local laws, according to the AP.

Right, because steroids are all good in the U.S. of A. Surprisingly, Jason Wahler hasn't been arrested for using any. Give it time.

Stallone was accused of bringing the restricted growth hormones into the country when a customs search in February turned up 48 vials of Jintropin, a human growth hormone.

Then, said a prosecutor yesterday, the Brandon Davis look-alike threw four vials of the male hormone testosterone out of his hotel room when customs officials searched it.

The maximum penalty for Sylvester Stallone's offense could be 5 years in prison and $91,500 in fines, but he will face up to $18,500 for each charge because his case is being heard in local (not federal) court.

Will Rocky be stripped of his many titles?

Sylvester Stallone was officially charged with importing performance and image enhancing drugs in a Sydney, Australia courtroom, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

According to Australian authorities, the 60-year-old action star, who did not appear in court, was caught at Sydney Airport with several vials of a steroid known as hGH (human growth hormone), during a random baggage check.

Customs officials claim they found a total of 48 vials of the steroids after they raided Stallone's Sydney hotel room, limo and private jet.

Maybe Stallone started the felching rumor about his former acting rival, Richard Gere, to distract the media from his own steroid use. Something to think about.

Stallone will be required to enter a plea on April 24. If found guilty, he faces a fine of up to $22,000. That's less than Britney Spears drops per month to her rehab clinic of choice.

According to a popular steroids website, "Body builders may illicitly self-administer hGH to improve size and strength, usually by subcutaneous injection into the lower abdomen." HGH has also "become a popular but expensive medication prescribed in anti-aging therapies."

It's only a matter of time before Pete Doherty discovers this stuff!

Stallone was visiting Australia in February to promote his latest film, Rocky Balboa. Who knew he would go down under drug suspicion.

Reps for Stallone had no comment. No word on whether the home of Stallone look-alike Brandon Davis has been raided as part of the steroid probe.

T.H. Gossip can't help but wonder: Should Brandon Davis have played Rocky's son in the newly-released motion picture event, Rocky Balboa?

Absolutely not, because Brandon Davis is not only a total assclown, but a dude with no acting experience. But with his messed-up dark hair, oily-looking face and pouty lips, the partying pal of Paris Hilton could pass for a younger, wimpier Sylvester Stallone. See below:

 

Uncanny, don't you think? And the similarities don't end with their looks. Davis' nickname is "Greasy Bear," while Stallone once got in a fight with Richard Gere involving some greasy chicken! Also, Davis was the one who unceremoniously anointed Lindsay Lohan "Firecrotch," and the 60-year-old Stallone surely banged scores of redheads in his prime.

Okay, so we're reaching. They all can't be Suri Cruise / Bjork caliber.

Was Sylvester Stallone the source of that bizarre urban myth involving Richard Gere and a gerbil placed strategically up his...

Anyway. According to Sly, Gere thinks he did start the hilarious, yet also disturbing "felching" tale that dogs Richard to this day.

As Stallone tells it, the bad blood between the two all started when he and Gere had a falling-out on the set of the 1974 flick The Lords of Flatbush.

Stallone said that Gere was supposed to have the role played by Perry King, but he and Gere "never hit it off" and the man known best as Rocky Balboa got so mad at Gere that he once elbowed him in the head... over some chicken.

"[Gere] would strut around in his oversized motorcycle jacket like he was the baddest knight at the round table," Stallone said.

He also says that one time during a fight scene, things got a little too real. At another point, things got physical during a lunch when Stallone went into a Toyota to eat lunch.

"I was eating a hot dog and he climbs in with a half a chicken covered in mustard with grease nearly dripping out of the aluminum wrapper," Stallone recounted.

"I said, ‘That thing is going to drip all over the place.' He said, ‘Don't worry about it.' I said, ‘If it gets on my pants you're gonna know about it.' He proceeds to bite into the chicken and a small, greasy river of mustard lands on my thigh. I elbowed him in the side of the head and basically pushed him out of the car. The director had to make a choice: one of us had to go, one of us had to stay."

THG NOTE: Whatever started the feud between Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton is unknown, but we guarantee it wasn't as funny as this - and did not involve food (obviously).

Richard Gere's spokesman wasn't available for comment, possibly due to being preoccupied with small rodents (zing!) but according to Stallone:

"Richard was given his walking papers, and to this day, seriously dislikes me. He even thinks I'm the individual responsible for the gerbil rumor. Not true, but that's the rumor."

If nothing else, we'd like to thank Sly for putting the Gere story back in the news. We haven't heard that rumor in about 10 years... and it's certainly just as funny (if not even more disturbing) as the Dustin Diamond sex tape.