Sylvester Stallone has spoken for the first time since the death of his son Sage, declaring he was the 'centre of our universe', as he desperately called for speculation surrounding his death to stop.
Sylvester Stallone has spoken for the first time since the death of his son Sage (Picture: WireImage)
The 66-year-old actor released a statement today following the death of his 36-year-old son who was found dead at his home in Studio City, Los Angeles on Friday.
Speaking to TMZ, Sly said: 'When a parent loses a child there is no greater pain. Therefore I am imploring people to respect my talented son's memory and feel compassion for his loving mother Sasha.'
He continued: 'This agonising loss will be felt for the rest of our lives. Sage was our first child and the centre of our universe and I am humbly begging for all to have my son's memory and soul left in peace.'
The cause of death of Sylvester's son remains unknown, with the autopsy of Sage being completed yesterday.
Toxicology results are still pending and a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner told CNN it may take another two months to distinguish Sage's cause of death.
Family: Sage and Sly Stallone starred in Rocky V together (Picture: United Artists)
The Rocky actor's grief-stricken statement comes as it was reported that Sage had planned to marry his girlfriend 'as early as next weekend'.
His lawyer George Braunstein said the actor was 'very full of life' and he wanted to tie the knot in Las Vegas in the near future.
'He was very creative, energetic and very full of life. We were just joking about how he was going to get married and have a fun marriage. There was nothing dark or depressing, no problems, certainly no financial problems,' Mr Braunstein told E! television network.
Prescription pill bottles were recovered from Sage's room but coroner Ed Winter did not say what they contained.
His room was littered with cigarette butts, beer and 'two drawers filled with various pill bottles', a police source told celebrity news website TMZ.
The insider said Sage may have been dead for four days, or even possibly a week, before his body was found by his housekeeper.
However, Braunstein vehemently denied this, claiming Sage posted pictures on his personal Facebook page 17 hours before his body was found.
Sylvester Stallone starred with Sage in Rocky V in 1990
He added to E! News that he has also never known Sage to take drugs or even drink alcohol.
'Never, no, not from the day I met him. I never knew him to drink alcohol. I never saw him take drugs. I never knew of anything like that at all,' he said.
Braunstein continued: 'I'm going to wait to see what the coroner says. I think it was either natural causes or a terrible accident. I don't think it had anything to do with drugs, he wasn't that kind of guy. He wasn't anyone trying to take his life.'
Sage – the eldest of Sylvester's five children from three marriages – was the son of Sasha Czack, Stallone's first wife.
Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger pictured at Comic-Con in San Diego the day before Sage's body was found last week (Picture: AP)
When they split in 1985, Sage apparently grew apart from his father but their relationship was restored after the pair played father and son in Rocky V in 1990.
Sylvester was in San Diego attending Comic Con when he first heard of his son's death.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has starred alongside Sylvester in many films, has also now released a statement regarding Sage's death.
He said: 'My thoughts and prayers are with Sly and his family. Sly has become a great friend over the past couple decades, and I know how important his children are to him.
'I want him to know that my family and I, and his fans all over the world, support him during this difficult time.'
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