Sylvester Stallone has revealed that he learned of his son Sage's death in a stark phone call in which he was simply told: 'He's gone. I'm sorry. Click.'
Speaking to The New York Times, Stallone recalled receiving the call on Friday the 13th in 2012 from his mother's then-husband, a doctor he had never met. The actor said the message left him struggling to process what he had just been told.
Stallone, 80, said the loss was followed by intense grief and guilt, with questions about whether he could have done something differently continuing to weigh on him.
Stallone Recalls Learning of Sage's Death
Describing the phone call years later, Stallone said the news was delivered without the explanation or conversation he might have expected.
'It was so cold,' he recalled, before recounting how the caller told him: 'Sage, he's gone.' Stallone said he initially misunderstood the statement, asking: 'Gone where?' The caller then clarified that Sage had died.
The actor said the shock was followed by the practical demands of arranging a funeral and dealing with the aftermath alongside Sage's mother and the rest of the family.
Sylvester Stallone EMOTIONALLY opens up about the PAINFUL loss of his son Sage at just 36, revealing the BRUTAL way he found out over the phone and how the GUILT afterward left him constantly wondering what he could’ve done differently 💔
— Killa 🌺 (@KillaKreww) September 26, 2026
“About a week later, I was all alone in… pic.twitter.com/yVKRQn5xWb
'What Could I Have Done?'
Stallone said Sage's death left him wrestling with guilt and repeatedly questioning whether he could have done something differently. 'You have so many episodes of guilt,' he said. 'What could I have done? Should I have been there?'
He described replaying different possibilities in his mind and wondering whether being there or doing something differently might have made a difference. Stallone said he had no idea his son had a heart condition, describing it as something he would have expected to affect someone much older.
The actor also recalled initially trying to hold himself together as he dealt with the immediate aftermath of his son's death.
'A Wail Came Out of Me'
Stallone said that about a week later, while alone in his room, a wail came out of him that he had never heard before. 'A wail came out of me. I'd never heard it before or since,' he said, describing the moment as an experience of intense 'pain and grief and guilt'.
Stallone said the sound felt unlike anything he had experienced before, adding that the loss had taken him into 'a whole other world'.
Despite the pain, he spoke warmly about Sage, describing him as 'a very kind kid' and reflecting on what their future might have held. 'We would have done wonderful things in the future,' Stallone said.
Sage Stallone's Death
Sage, Stallone's eldest son with his first wife, actress Sasha Czack, was found dead at his Studio City home in July 2012. He was 36.
Sage was an actor and filmmaker who appeared alongside his father in Rocky V, playing Rocky Balboa's son, Robert Balboa Jr. He also worked behind the camera and was involved in independent film projects.
The Los Angeles County coroner later determined that Sage died of coronary artery disease caused by atherosclerosis and classified the death as natural. In the interview, Stallone said he had not known his son had a heart condition, describing the discovery as something he would have expected in someone much older.
Stallone has previously spoken about the impact of Sage's death, including in the 2023 documentary Sly, where he reflected on their relationship and his experience of losing his son. In his latest interview, Stallone offered a particularly personal account of the moment he first learned Sage was gone, as well as the grief and guilt that followed.
