His role as Paulie Pennino in the series “Rocky” brought Burt Young to worldwide fame. In the iconic sports drama, he played the brother-in-law and best friend of Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone – and was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Now that the actor has passed away at the age of 83, This was confirmed on Wednesday by his daughter Anne Morea Steingieser . The cause of death is unknown.
Burt Young was born Gerald Tommaso DeLouise in Queens, New York. As an actor, because of his stocky appearance, he was often cast as a rough worker, thug or loser type with a sharp edge and a loose mouth. Burt Young made his breakthrough in 1976 with Sylvester Stallone in ‘Rocky’. He played the kind-hearted Paulie Pennino a total of six times in the series’ history – and was last seen in the role in 2006’s “Rocky Balboa.”
Burt Young was more than just Paulie
But Burt Young was more than just Paulie Pennino from the ‘Rocky’ series. The character actor has appeared in front of the camera in approximately 160 film and television productions and has also worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest directors. He appeared in front of the camera in Roman Polanski’s ‘Chinatown’, Sam Peckinpah’s ‘Convoy’ and in ‘Once Upon a Time in America’, the latest film from directing legend Sergio Leone.
He was also active in the theater. In recent years he increasingly withdrew from the film industry. He was last seen in the 2021 true crime thriller ‘The Final Code’. He was also active in other artistic fields and thus earned a name for himself as a painter.
His longtime companion Sylvester Stallone shared his memories of Burt Young on Instagram: . Fans from all over the world also express their condolences in the post we added above.