Sylvester Stallone and His Very Cute Turtles

The "Rocky" actor has a fun bond with two of his co-stars.

Howdy! It’s Joey, back with more Fun Fact Friyay. BUT FIRST…

Did you know I have a book? Kind, But Kind of Weird: Short Stories on Life’s Relationships is a collection of stories that dissect the relationships that keep life rolling—the awkward and the offbeat, the coworkers and the cohabitants, the people waiting in the longest bathroom line at parties, and the passive-aggressive passersby.

If you like the vibe of Fun Fact Friyay, you’ll enjoy the book. And you just may learn a thing or two!

You can buy Kind, But Kind of Weird on Amazon or Bookshop. Your support helps keep this newsletter going. Thank you for being wonderful!

And now, onto today’s fact…

Sylvester Stallone kept the turtles, Cuff and Link, from the original Rocky movie.

Earlier this year, I went to Philadelphia. One of the overtly touristy things I wanted to do was see the Rocky statue and run up the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Were dozens of other people doing the same thing as me, even though it was a gloomy Monday afternoon? You bet! Was it a delight? Absolutely!

Something I did not see during this adventure was a turtle, let alone two of them. That’s because they’re hanging out with Sylvester Stallone.

In the movie, Stallone (as Rocky) shows off the pet turtles as his “exotic animals” as he’s trying to win the heart of Adrian.

It turns out the shelled creatures won over Stallone instead because he kept them and continued to care for them for decades and decades.

A few years back, Stallone posted a selfie with the delightfully named Cuff and Link. Since 1976, he’s had the turtles under his watch. He estimated they were 44 in 2018; Cuff and Link also appeared in Creed 2.

As far as we know, the turtles are still alive, so they celebrated the big 5-0 this year! Happy days, Cuff and Link. Hope you’re getting all the leaves you can munch on.