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Burt Young, whose career as a film tough guy won him an Academy Award nomination for his role in the boxing fairy tale Rocky, died Oct. 8 in Los Angeles. He was 83 and no cause or location was given.
His death was confirmed by his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, to the New York Times.
Young’s resume included more than 160 film and television credits, including appearances in Chinatown, Once Upon a Time in America and The Pope of Greenwich Village. An ex-Marine and former professional boxer, Young parlayed a bulldog countenance into a long Hollywood career.
His television gigs included roles on M*A*S*H* and he appeared in films like The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight (1971) and Cinderella Liberty (1973), Back to School (1986) and Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989).
He also wrote and starred in Uncle Joe Shannon, (1978), the story of a jazz trumpeter whose life implodes before he finds redemption.
But it was with Rocky that his star truly shined. He played Paulie, a butcher and brother of Adrian (Talia Shire), the latter who blossomed from a lonely introvert into Rocky’s girlfriend by the end of the show. He also introduced Rocky to the slabs of hanging beef that he used to train in an unusual adaptation of a heavy bag.
Rocky received 10 Academy Award nominations, including Young’s for Best Supporting Actor, and won three Oscars, including Best Picture.
Burt Young (an adopted name as an actor) was born on April 30, 1940, in Queens, N.Y. He began boxing when he was in the Marine Corps, and trained under legendary manager Cus D’Amato. He had a record of 17-1.
Moving on from that, he set up a meeting for a woman at a bar who wanted to meet Lee Strasbeg, the famed acting teacher. Young found a spark, and wound up studying with Strasberg for two years.
In addition to his daughter, Young is survived by a brother, Robert, and a grandson. His wife, Gloria, died in 1974.
Everett Collection
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