When Sylvester Stallone rumbles across the screen in the movie he’s now filming in New Orleans, “The Dispicables,” he’ll take along a piece of Bogalusa. Rather, it will take him. And a lot of local kids will have a solid, special connection.

Stallone just bought the custom motorcycle that, for the past year, sat in Scoop Daddy’s ice cream parlor – a veritable piece of art they were allowed to sit on for photo ops.

The bike is long, sleek, shiny green and chrome with warrior skeletons painted amidst flames plus additional character-defining touches.

A cigar-chomping Sylvester Stallone checks out Tommy Richardson’s custom-built motorcycle at the Easyrider Bike Show in New Orleans. He was hooked. The bike, also pictured below, now belongs to the actor, who will ride it in a movie he is filming. COURTESY PHOTO Advertisement

It was designed by Scoop Daddy’s Tommy Richardson, and built by him and Lee McKenzie. It was owned by Richardson until a week ago when the Rocky, Rambo tough guy, action-movie star spotted it on display at one of the nation’s premiere motorcycle shows at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

The motorcycle had already won first-place awards in the Radical Class category of Easyrider Bike Shows in both Memphis and Dallas, and was about to do the same in New Orleans last Saturday when Richardson decided to stroll around the venue to “check out the competition.”

He didn’t know that somebody else was also making the rounds at the time, surrounded by about 20 assistants or body guards, in search of just the right bike to compliment his own powerful presence on film.

“They went there shopping for a bike for the movie,” said Richardson. “I walked right by him. But Sharon and Bull Hartzog were there, and Sharon saw him and started trailing him.”

From about 30 feet across the room, Hartzog said, “Tommy…Tommy.” She pointed into a crowd, “Rocky.” At first Richardson didn’t understand. Then he saw Stallone, understood what he was doing and went into stealth mode.

“I followed him at a distance,” said Richardson. “I wanted to see his reaction to every bike he looked at. He would look, then move on, look, then move on. He spent a good three or four minutes at one, and I thought, OK, he’s showing good interest.”

Richardson was pleased and maybe a little cocky.

“I knew mine was hotter,” he said. “I’m not just being partial. It was.”

And Stallone was getting close.

“When he was rounding the corner, I knew he was going to see mine,” said Richardson. “He stopped, turned to his people and called them over. I thought, OK this is good. He kept looking, moved around to the front, pointed things out. I thought, I’ve got to get in there now.”

Richardson made his way through the crowd.

“I got about eight feet from him, and one of his guys put his arm out to stop me,” he said. “He didn’t say anything. He just put his arm out. I said, ‘It’s my bike. I want to give him the information.’ He said, ‘Oh, OK. He’s my boss. Come on.’”

When he was introduced, Richardson was told that Stallone likes to be called “Sly.”

“When his guy told him I was the builder he jumped around, really enthused,” said Richardson. “He said ‘This is nice. So far, it’s the nicest I’ve seen.’ I asked him if he’d like to sit on it. He jumped again and said, ‘Can I?’

“He stayed on my bike for 15 or 16 minutes, a long, long time. He asked 30 or 40 questions. Then he said, ‘Get his name and number.’”

The call came that night while Richardson was attending the Easyrider Bike Show awards ceremonies. And the joy of his first place win was soon compounded by the unexpected sale of the first bike he ever built.

“If it was anybody else, I wouldn’t have sold it,” said Richardson. “But just to know that someone of that caliber appreciates my bike that much… What do you do? You can build another one.”

But not just yet. Richardson said he’s ready to return to his regular “simple life” for a while. Still, his new buddy Sly continues to make it a bit more interesting than usual. He’s invited Richardson to come watch the filming of the movie, and he’s got weeks left to shoot.

The Bogalusa business man plans to take him up on the offer. He’s already been on the production lot, and he feels at ease with Stallone.

“He’s awesome,” said Richardson. “I have total admiration for him. He’s just so down to earth you would have thought he was from Bogalusa. He made us comfortable with him. It’s most impressive.”

Sly was apparently impressed with Richardson and his work as well. And now everyone in Bogalusa has even more reason to look forward to the release of “The Dispicables.”

The bike they see on the big screen under Stallone’s butt might have once been under their own. At least it was in the same town.

And it was made by a neighbor. His name will be in the credits.