‘Rocky’ sidekick actor Burt Young dead at 83

US actor Burt Young, a former boxer who earned an Oscar nomination for his breakout role as Sylvester Stallone’s sidekick in the smash hit “Rocky” film series, has died at 83. Stallone, who starred as the boxer Rocky Balboa in the iconic Hollywood franchise, on Wednesday hailed his “dear friend” Young as an “incredible man” and artist. “I and the World will miss you very much…RIP,” wrote the “Rocky” star on Instagram.

Young’s daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, confirmed his death to The New York Times, which reported that he passed away on October 8 in Los Angeles. Born in Queens, New York, Young spent a short time as a professional boxer before launching into acting, where he spun his grizzled, bulldog persona into a prolific career spanning over half a century.

After several small roles in television and film, including Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown,” Young was cast as the stout sidekick Paulie in the 1976 drama “Rocky” written by Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen.

In addition to the film’s successful box office run, Young received an Academy Award nomination in 1977 in the Best Supporting Actor category. Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa’s opponent-turned-trainer in the series, said that Young was “a beautiful and talented soul.” He was such an integral part of the Rocky family… Paulie will be with us forever,” wrote the actor on X, formerly Twitter.—AFP

Terms of Use:

  • This website Arabian Daily is an individual’s property, not used for any commercial or sales purposes. What you see here are one’s random thoughts in action. I, by no means, endorse any product or party through this, unless stated explicitly.
  • All work you will find here is copyrighted unless stated otherwise. No part of this work can be reproduced in any way with the exception of a) if you share our work, it should link back to this website; b) if you quote any part of our work, it should be properly credited to us with a link to this website.
  • All images used on this website have been taken from open source image websites on the Internet. If any of them are copyrighted to you and you want us to take them down or add credits, please feel free to contact us here, or by using the contact form on this page.
  • The views expressed on Arabian Daily are solely ours. They do not represent any party or any particular school of thought. This website does not promote racism in any form.
  • Privacy Policy:
    This website will respect the readers’ and the writer’s privacy. We do not sell any of their personal or contact information to another company. We do not put your information on spam lists. Also, and more importantly, we are not responsible for the privacy practices of any of our advertisers or website commenters.
  • Reserve Rights: We reserve the right to change the focus on this website, to shut it down, sell it or to change the terms of use at our own discretion.