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Rocky Statue Location Approved
By Rich Drees
September 6, 2006- In a fight as tough as any he fought in his
movies, the eight and a half foot bronze statue of celluloid boxer
Rocky Balboa has finally been approved to be erected at the base of
the Philadelphia Museum of Art stairs made famous in the first
Rocky film.
The city’s Art
Commission, a panel of eight art experts appointed by the mayor to
oversee art and design on the city's public property, approved the
proposal in a 6 to 2 vote at this afternoon’s commission meeting.
The two dissenting members of the commission argued that the statue,
created by noted sports sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg for a scene in
Rocky 3 (1982) which Sylvester Stallone’s Philadelphia born
and bred boxer character Rocky Balboa is honored by his home town,
was not art but a movie prop. The commissioners who voted
Although the
proposal had been defeated earlier in the summer, its passage had
been anticipated as early as the
middle of last month.
The approval
comes just in time for the start of “Philly Loves Rocky”
Week, which will feature numerous events including a boxing exhibit
and a “Rocky And Adrian Look-A-Like” Contest.
The statue will
be dedicated in a ceremony at the Museum of Art steps on Friday,
September 8 at 6pm. Rocky star Sylvester Stallone is expected
to attend.
A sixth
Rocky film, titled simply Rocky Balboa, is scheduled for
release on December 22, 2006. |