Burt Young, an Academy Award nominee best known for playing Paulie in the “Rocky” movie series, has passed away at the age of 83, his management confirmed to ABC News.
“Burt had a wide variety of emotions as an actor. He has the power to frighten you to death as much as make you cry. But it was the tenderness of his spirit that gave me the true sense of sadness. That’s where it originated, the legendary actor’s manager Lynda Bensky revealed in a statement.
The New York Times broke the news that Young passed away earlier this month in Los Angeles.
Young worked in Hollywood for a considerable six decades.
He costarred in the 1974 film “Chinatown” with Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston as Curly.
Young co-starred opposite James Caan in the movie “The Gambler,” which featured a professor who runs into financial difficulties due to his gambling debt, as Carmine in the same year.
In the 1970s, Young played a number of characters on television, including in the 1976 television productions “Serpico” and “The Rockford Files,” as well as the 1975 TV movie “Hustling.”
He appeared in all six “Rocky” movies up till “Rocky Balboa” in 2006, playing Paulie, Sylvester Stallone’s cantankerous but endearing character’s brother-in-law. This part served as his career-defining performance.
Young received a nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 1977 Academy Awards for his work in the first movie.
In response to the news, Stallone posted on Instagram on Wednesday night, “To my Dear Friend, BURT YOUNG, you were an incredible man and artist, I and the World will miss you very much…RIP.”
Sam Peckinpah’s 1978 cult masterpiece “Convoy,” in which Young played a key role, is another reason why people recall Young.
In recent episodes of Netflix’s “Russian Doll,” which stars Natasha Lyonne, the actor, who also painted, played Joe in two episodes.