Renowned actor Burt Young, well-known for his role as Paulie in the Rocky franchise, died at 83. According to the New York Times, the actor died on October 8th in Los Angeles.
Born in Queens, New York, in 1949, Young had started as a boxer, winning 32 of his 34 matches in the Marine Corps. Later on, he was inspired by Norma, a woman he met in a gin mill, to write to famous actor and acting teacher Lee Strasberg to become a performer. In his letter, he admitted that he had no acting experience but was still eager to give it a shot, even if he was “treading water.” Strasberg was impressed by the young boxer and invited him to his house. Later, the teacher complimented Young’s talent, calling him a ”library of emotions.“
Young soon developed a strong Hollywood career spanning nearly six decades, from Chinatown to the Netflix series Russian Doll. His career-defining role was Paulie, the tough brother-in-law of Sylvester Stallone’s titular character in Rocky. Young played Paulie across the franchise up to Rocky Balboa. In 2014, Young received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hoboken Film Festival for his role as Paulie. ”I just wanted to be the guy lucky enough to capture the essence of Burt Young on film, and I believe we did that for many, many years,“ Sylvester Stallone said in a speech at the festival, ”So Burt, I love you. I love your work, your writing, your painting, and most of all, luckily, I never got punched by ya, because he’s a knockout artist too. And a knockout as a human being.”
Many people have expressed their sorrow over the actor’s death, especially for the mark he left in acting. His manager, Lynda Bensky, praised Young for portraying the “poignancy of the soul.” “To my Dear Friend, BURT YOUNG, you were an incredible man and artist, I and the World will miss you very much…RIP,” Stallone posted on Instagram.
Young is survived by his daughter, brother Robert, and grandson.
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