Stallone Reveals Feud: Which Star Hated Him After On-Set Fight 50 Years Ago?

Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone nearly came to blows on the set of a film ironically named “The Lords of Flatbush”! Released in 1974, this lesser-known movie is set in 1958 and follows a group of young teens from Brooklyn who form a gang called “The Lords of Flatbush.” Their pastimes? Chasing girls, stealing cars, and getting into fights. However, when love enters their lives, everything changes.

Richard Gere “Unmanageable”

Originally, the gang member Chico was played by a then-unknown Richard Gere. With just a TV movie under his belt, Gere had come from Broadway, where he had just portrayed Danny Zuko in Grease. On the other hand, Stallone had a few more screen appearances, and his role as Stanley in “The Lords of Flatbush” was his second lead role after the obscure “Rebel,” which would later be misleadingly re-released.

In 2006, Stallone recounted on the website Ain’t It Cool (via SlashFilm) about the rivalry that developed with Gere on set:

“He strutted around in his oversized motorcycle jacket like he was the meanest knight at the round table. One day, during an improvisation, he grabbed me (we were simulating a fight scene) and got a bit carried away. I kindly told him to relax, but he was deep in his role and it was impossible to reason with him.”

I shoved him out of the car

Stallone continued, describing another incident during filming: “We were rehearsing at Coney Island. It was lunch break (…) and the only warm place was the back of a Toyota. I was eating a hot dog, and he came in with a half-chicken covered in mustard and grease almost dripping from the aluminum foil. I said, ‘That’s going to drip everywhere.’ He replied, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ I said, ‘If it drops on my pants, you’re going to hear about it.’ He starts biting into the chicken and a little greasy river of mustard lands on my thigh. I elbowed him on the side of the head and pushed him out of the car.”

Fed up with Gere’s behavior, Stallone eventually asked the director to make a choice: “One of us has to go, the other has to stay. Richard was fired, and to this day, he dislikes me.”

Ultimately, Perry King took over the role, and filming resumed. Richard Gere returned to the stage and shot a new TV movie in 1975. After a couple of films in minor roles, Richard Brooks really gave him a break by casting him in a leading role in “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” which opened the doors of Hollywood for him.

A Killer Anecdote

Despite their differences, Stallone and Gere share a common link: both appeared in the police series “Kojak” when they were unknowns, Stallone in 1975 in S03E02 and Gere in 1976 in S04E01.