Burt Young, Oscar-nominated ‘Rocky’ actor, dies at 83

Actor Burt Young, who is best known for playing Paulie in Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Rocky’ films, died in Los Angeles. He was 83.

His manager Lynda Bensky confirmed the news to ABC News and said, ‘Burt was an actor of tremendous emotional range. He could make you cry and he could scare you to death. But the real pathos that I experienced was the poignancy of his soul. That’s where it came from.’

Burt Young was born and raised in New York's Queens. Before he entered the film industry, Burt was in the Marine Corps and also tried his hands on boxing.

Burt Young appeared in Italian-American characters, often as a mob boss, a street-smart detective or a working-class man. He is best known for the iconic role of Rocky Balboa's friend and brother-in-law Paulie in ‘Rocky’ in 1976. He even earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

Burt was one of the only four actors, after Sylvester Stallone, Stu Nahan and Tony Burton (except Talia Shire), who starred in all six of the films from the Rocky franchise. Burt did not return in ‘Creed’ (2015) as his character was described as dead (in 2012).

Burt Young also appeared in more than 160 film and television shows. He was seen in films like Chinatown (1974), The Gambler (1974), The Killer Elite (1975), Convoy (1978), Uncle Joe Shannon (1978), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), A Summer to Remember (1985), Back to School (1986), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1990), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), Transamerica (2005), Win Win (2011), and Bottom of the 9th (2019). He was also a part of the documentary, Stallone: Frank, That Is.

He appeared on television for The Rockford Files, Baretta, Law & Order, Walker, Texas Ranger, All In The Family, M*A*S*H, Miami Vice, Roomies and many more.

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