Rocky
Balboa Statue is Up for Auction
Tue Feb 3, 4:24 PM ET
By JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated
Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA - Yo, tough
guy! You want a piece of the Italian Stallion?
Come up with $3 million and you can get the whole thing
— larger than life, cast in bronze, and quite a statement
for the front lawn.
A fledgling organization in central Pennsylvania with
little money but big dreams for a 300-acre sports museum and
library is trying to auction one of sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg's
three "Rocky" statues.
"We're using 'Rocky' as a fund-raising event and
to try and generate publicity for the project," said Harvey
Abrams, president of the International Institute for
Sport and Olympic History.
Since the organization is incorporated as a nonprofit, Abrams
says it will "give away" the statue to the first person
to donate $3 million. If the auction on eBay expires
Thursday without a bidder, which he acknowledges is likely,
Abrams said he will entertain other offers and —
attention bargain hunters — he may let "Rocky"
go for as low as $1 million.
Abrams said he has an
agreement with Schomberg that if a donor comes up with
the money, the institute will pay the sculptor $700,000
to buy his two other "Rocky" statues. The donor
would get one and the other would be displayed at the planned
museum.
Cynthia Schomberg, the sculptor's wife
and agent, confirmed the agreement details. The molds
for the two statues are identical to the original "Rocky"
that stands outside the Wachovia Spectrum arena, she
said.
Abrams, a rare-books dealer in State College who
specializes in Olympic and sports history, hopes that
"Rocky" will kick-start a fund-raising campaign
that would include selling naming rights to the library, theater
and museum — at $25 million apiece.
"Right now we have less than $1,000 in the bank. ... It's
been a rocky road," acknowledged Abrams, no pun
intended.
The tale of Rocky Balboa, the prizefighting palooka with
a heart of gold, won the 1976 Academy Award for best
film, made a star of Sylvester Stallone and spurred
four sequels.
The original bronze statue of the fictional South Philadelphia
fighter was commissioned by Stallone for "Rocky
III" (1982) and also appeared in "Rocky V"
(1990). After the fifth and final Rocky film, Stallone
donated the statue to the city — and a new battle began.
Stallone and some officials wanted the 8 1/2-foot
statue of the actor's alter ego, boxing gloves raised in victory,
to be permanently installed at the Philadelphia Museum of
Art, where Rocky bounded up 72 steps as moviegoers
cheered.
They lost the bout to museum officials and art aficionados who
argued that the bronze Balboa was a movie prop, not art,
and that "its exaggerated proportions and caricature"
would sully the internationally renowned museum's image.
After much bobbing and weaving about where the exiled 2,000-pound
pugilist should call home, it eventually came to rest
at the South Philadelphia stadium complex.
Abrams has tried online auction site eBay before,
putting "Rocky" on the block in May for a
$5 million donation to no avail, and said he has also been
unable to spark the interest of the U.S. Olympic Committee
and the brawny brawler himself.
"We tried to talk to Sly. He wouldn't respond,"
Abrams said.
Stallone was out of the country and could not be reached
for comment, his publicist Michelle Bega said.
___
On the Net:
Auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item2886632713&category553
Harvey Abrams: http://www.harveyabramsbooks.com/501c3Rocky.html
A. Thomas Schomberg: http://www.schombergstudios.com
- Craig
Zablo
