Burt Young (* 30. April 1940 in New York City as Gerald Tommaso DeLouise † 8. October 2023 in Los Angeles, California) was the actor who played Paulie Pennino, the friend and later brother-in-law of Rocky Balboa, and the older brother of Adrian Pennino-Balboa in the Rocky film series.
Personal life[]
Young was born in Queens, New York, the son of the Italian-Americans Josephine and Michael DeLouise.[1] He was trained by Lee Strasberg at the Actor's Studio. Young was widowed and has one daughter, Anne Morea. He was a resident of Port Washington, New York.[2] He died on October 8, 2023 while in Los Angeles.[3]
Acting career[]
Young made his name playing rough-edged working class Italian-American characters, the best-known example being his signature role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law Paulie in Rocky (1976), for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was one of three actors (the other two being Stallone and Tony Burton) who have appeared in every Rocky film (although, additionally Talia Shire appears in Rocky I-V, and makes a flashback appearance in Rocky Balboa).
Other interests[]
Young was also a talented visual artist, a painter whose art has been displayed in galleries throughout the world. He was also a published author whose works include two filmed screenplays and 400-page historically based novel called Endings.
He had an excellent boxing record in the marines, winning 32 out of 34 matches. [4]
He also wrote two stage plays: SOS and A Letter to Alicia and the New York City Government From a Man With a Bullet in His Head.
References[]
- Burt Young's Official Website
- Burt Young at the Internet Movie Database