Your Scrapbook is currently empty. To suggest a correction or addition, visit the memorial page and click Suggest Edits. He is best remembered for 3 intense championship bouts with Tony The Man of Steel Zale within 21 months. Thanks for your help! And when you knocked him down, he always got up. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. He retained his rough-edged speech down to the ''dems'' and ''dese,'' as Mr. LaMotta put it, and never put on fancy airs. Professional Boxer. Mr. Graziano had suffered a stroke before being hospitalized on April 8, Diana Goldin, public affairs director for the hospital, said. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Rocky Graziano I found on Findagrave.com. Your password must be at least 8 characters, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. Try again later. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. As W. C. Heinz, a reporter who covered Mr. Graziano for The New York Sun, put it in an interview: ''You could louse Rocky up if you wanted him to jab and move. ''He was a natural comedian,'' said Mr. LaMotta. He was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1971. You can still file a request but no one will be notified. We were unable to submit your feedback at this time. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. To add a flower, click the “Leave a Flower” button. Failed to report flower. Please reset your password. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. In 1956, Mr. Graziano was the subject of a film, ''Somebody Up There Likes Me,'' in which Paul Newman portrayed him. For help using the website visit our help page or contact support@findagrave.com. ''As Rocky told it to me,'' said Mr. Heinz, ''this captain came from behind his desk and said something like, 'You think you're so tough?' He was portrayed by actor Paul Newman in the autobiographical movie, "Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956). Drag images here or select from your computer for Rocky Graziano memorial. Everybody loved him 'cause he was such a nice person.''. Please try again later. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. That popularity owed as much to the good humor he showed outside the ring as to the savagery he displayed between the ropes. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. ''Anything he said cracked you up. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Gender: Male Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Boxing. Mr. Graziano came to be a figure beloved by the fight crowd and the public. × There was a genuine openness about the guy that everybody liked.''. The violent and untimely death of Rocky Marciano in a plane crash on the eve of his 46 th birthday was an event that stunned the world - and a tragedy that should never have happened. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). ''Afterward,'' Mr. Heinz observed, ''he told the press: 'I wanted to kill him. Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile, Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile. ). For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Born Thomas Rocco Barbella, he held the title of Middleweight Boxing Champion of the World from 1947 to 1948. New York, New York County (Manhattan), New York, USA. Himself, Author of books: With his brawling style, Mr. Graziano compiled a record of 67-10-6 from 1942 to 1952. Rocky Graziano, Ex-Ring Champion, Dead at 71. Oops, we were unable to send the email. While on probation, he stole a bicycle and was sent for the first of three trips to reform school. Former world champion Graciano 'Rocky' Rocchigiani has passed away aged 54 after a fatal car accident. ''I quit school in the sixth grade because of pneumonia,'' he once said. You need a Find a Grave account to add things to this site. He could knock you out with either hand. Also an additional volunteer within fifty miles. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please enter location or other information that may help the volunteer in fulfilling this request. Born Thomas Rocco Barbella, Mr. Graziano grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the son of a former boxer nicknamed Fighting Nick Bob. Mr. Graziano often made himself and his delinquent childhood the butt of jokes. ''I was the best street fighter in history when I was growing up on the Lower East Side,'' he said. When he was about 18 months old, Marciano contracted pneumonia , from which he almost died. He said: 'What was I supposed to do? Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. We do not have any photo volunteers within fifty miles of your requested photo location. When I got into television commercials, I had to take a crash course in reading. Please contact Find a Grave at support@findagrave.com if you need help resetting your password. or don't show this again—I am good at figuring things out. He put on a good show.'' Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? I thought I could lick Jack Dempsey or Joe Louis or anybody. Sorry! Also an additional 2 volunteers within fifty miles. In 1991, he and Zale were inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame together. We’ve updated the security on the site. He would get one more shot at the middleweight title, but that came very late in his career, in April 1952, when Sugar Ray Robinson knocked him out in three rounds. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. ''Maybe this is not so bad a racket after all, I think. The former World Heavyweight Champion was killed alongside family friend Frankie Farrell, 22, and pilot Glenn Belz, 37, when their light aircraft came down in the American Midwest on the evening of 31 August 1969. If you have questions, please contact support@findagrave.com. A system error has occurred. Graziano married Norma Unger of German-Jewish descent, on August 10, 1943. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional, No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. ''The A.A.U. Rocky Graziano, the former middleweight boxing champion whose life was turned into a movie, died of cardiopulmonary failure last night at New York Hospital. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? His three bouts with Tony Zale in the years after World War II are considered classics of brutal action. And then one of them said, 'Let's get Graziano.' Nationality: United States Failed to delete memorial. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. After his boxing career, he appeared as an actor in films, including "Tony Rome" (1967), and on television, including "Miami Undercover," (1961). We have 2 volunteers within ten miles of your requested photo location. Born Thomas Rocco Barbella, he held the title of Middleweight Boxing Champion of the World from 1947 to 1948. ''Not because I had it, but because I couldn't spell it. After Graziano lost his next match, a 10-round decision to Chuck Davey, he retired. AKA Thomas Rocco Barbella. Stealing stuff. It's why he was so popular so many years. GREAT NEWS! Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Mr. Graziano's version of how he landed the role was self-deprecating.