Burt Young, Rocky Franchise Star, Dead At 83

Burt Young — real name Gerald Tommaso DeLouise — was born on April 30, 1940, and grew up in Queens, New York. Before becoming a household name, he studied at New York City’s Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg and served in the United States Marine Corps in the late 1950s, where he displayed his boxing skills. He shared as much with the Los Angeles Times, recalling that he won 32 of 34 fights in the USMC and all of his 14 professional bouts. However, he didn’t have a strong passion for the sport, so he pursued writing and acting instead.

Young’s professional acting career began in 1969 when he appeared in the uncredited role of a bartender on the television series “The Doctors.” From there, he acquired big and small screen credits left and right, somehow still finding time to sharpen his painting skills. He continued to act long after he achieved worldwide fame for his “Rocky” series performances. In the TV realm, the final project he appeared in before his death was 2019’s “Russian Doll,” featuring him in two episodes as Joe. Meanwhile, his last non-posthumous film credit is “The Final Code” from 2021, where he plays a detective.

Evidently, Burt Young explored numerous avenues throughout his life, and he thrived in all of them. He will be sorely missed.

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