'Rocky's' Most Famous Scene Was Totally Unscripted—And Filmed Without a Permit in 1976
'Rocky's' Most Famous Scene Was Totally Unscripted—And Filmed Without a Permit in 1976
Victoria MillerSun, February 22, 2026 at 1:42 PM UTC
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(Photo by United Artists on Getty Images)
In 1976, Rocky was the top movie of the year. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, andTalia Shire, the film about scrappy Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa (Stallone) raked in a box office total of $225 million globally, and became the highest-grossing film of 1976, per The Numbers.
Rocky, which won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Editing, and Best Director, was made on a small $1 million budget—and it made newcomer Stallone a star.
One of the most famous scenes in Rocky is a training montage in which the beloved boxer runs through the streets of Philadelphia in preparation for his upcoming boxing match with Apollo Creed (Weathers). The famous scene culminates with Balboa bounding up the 72 steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art as the movie’s theme song, Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now,” plays.
But the scene wasn’t originally planned as it was shown. During a 2025 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Stallone, 79, admitted he hadn’t even thought about shooting a scene at the Philly landmark and didn’t have a location permit.
"When I got to Philadelphia and did the movie Rocky, I wasn't even thinking about the steps. We didn't have any money to shoot there. We didn't have the license," he told host Jimmy Fallon. "I just got out of the car, I said, 'Let me just run up the steps, get a shot of it, and we'll get out of here before the police come.' "
Stallone noted that his real-life dog, Butkus, who appeared in the film, was almost in the scene. “The first take, I said, 'Let me carry my dog up the steps,’” Stallone recalled. “My dog is a buffalo; it's a 130 lb. bull mastiff. I get halfway up, my knees buckle. We're like, 'Dog, out. Back in the car, pal.'"
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"Anyway, we did it, and it became a very famous scene,” the actor added.
Sylvester Stallone was always 'fascinated' by steps
Stallone talked about the significance of the art museum steps scene in a 2021 interview posted by The Philadelphia Inquirer on YouTube.
“Ever since I was 10 years old, I’ve always been fascinated with steps,” the actor admitted. “I felt like you could see the whole world from up there, which basically you're seeing your own future. It's like look, this is what I have to survive and surpass to make a life. The symbolism on those steps …it's like unbelievable; it's like it's almost a pathway to your life. So that has always been an incredibly monumental image in my eyes. Plus it's so filled with challenges and symbolism, so people come, they're not running the Rocky steps, they're running like the steps of their life. Like, this is. If he can do it, I can do it.’”
Fifty years after the first Rocky film—there would be five sequels and three Creed spinoffs—the art museum steps remain a major tourist attraction in Philadelphia.
Per the Visit Philly website, thousands of fans annually recreate the famous scene as they make the trek up the 72 “Rocky Steps” steps leading to the art museum entrance. Stallone also donated a bronze Rocky statue, which was created in 1980 by artist A. Thomas Schomberg for a scene in Rocky III, to the City of Philadelphia.
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This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
