PHILADELPHIA - Rocky Balboa - or more specifically, a statue of the Hollywood palooka, boxing gloves raised in triumph - is being restored to a spot outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Despite complaints that the statue is piece of kitsch undeserving of display near Renoirs and Monets, the city Art Commission voted, 6-2, Wednesday to move the 2,000-pound bronze out of storage and put it on a street-level pedestal near the museum steps. The statue sat atop the museum steps in the 1980s, but was removed after just a few months.
The steps have been a big tourist attraction since used in one of the most famous scenes in Sylvester Stallone's 1976 movie "Rocky," with visitors to Philadelphia imitating the Italian Stallion's sweat-suited dash to the top.
The 8-foot-6 Rocky is expected to be on his granite pedestal in time for a dedication ceremony Friday.