Sage Stallone found dead: Autopsy planned, some details emerge

An autopsy is planned for Sage Stallone, actor Sylvester Stallone’s eldest son, who may have been dead for several days before he was found Friday afternoon at his home in the Hollywood Hills.

Authorities told L.A. Now that foul play was not suspected in the death of the 36-year-old actor, writer and producer, who made his film debut opposite his father playing Rocky Balboa Jr. in “Rocky V.”

Word that the younger Stallone may have been dead for a while comes via law-enforcement sources who spoke to TMZ, explaining that Sage’s housekeeper had been following standing instructions not to enter his bedroom, but ultimately checked on him Friday after his mom could not get in touch with him.

OBITUARY: Sage Stallone, dead at 36

“I never knew him to drink alcohol. I never saw him take drugs. I never knew of anything like that at all,” his lawyer and friend George Braunstein told E! News on Saturday.

“He wasn’t depressed,” Braunstein told L.A. Now on Friday, noting that the cause of death was under investigation. “He was thinking about getting married. He had his whole life ahead of him.”

Sage was Sly’s first son with his first wife, Sasha Czack. Sylvester and Sasha, parents of two sons together, split in 1985. After a short marriage to Brigitte Nielsen, “The Expendables” star wed his current wife, Jennifer Flavin.

“Sylvester Stallone is devastated and grief-stricken over the sudden loss of his son,” a rep for the actor said in a statement to several outlets.

“His mother is devastated,” Braunstein told E! News. “They’re trying to sort everything out .... They may be celebs, but they’re regular parents. It’s tragic.”

A police commander told People that reports that Sage may have died from a prescription drug overdose were premature. “It could have been a heart attack or a stroke,” he said.

The autopsy will be conducted in the next few days, Ed Winter of the coroner’s office said at a news conference Friday. Toxicology tests will take several weeks.

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Sage Stallone, son of Sylvester, found dead at home

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