Burt Young was the most famous actor in the “Rocky” cast in the mid-’70s, prompting Sylvester Stallone to beg him to take a role in a film that would become legendary (Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic) (Bruce Glikas via Getty Images)
The legacy of Rocky is so powerful that 47 years later it immediately becomes synonymous with the careers of all of its protagonists. Proof of this is the immediate association that arises after hearing the news of the death of Burt Youngwith headlines in the press and condolences on social networks honoring the mark he left behind with his role Paulie, the boxer’s brother-in-law, the defeated best friend, jealous but loyal.
In the mid-’70s, Burt Young was the most well-known actor in the cast. The one who had the most productive career. So when a virtually unknown Stallone with no experience as a protagonist approached him with his script written in three and a half days, he had to do something that would show how the tide has turned since then.
Young, the Queens-born actor who transitioned from boxer to United States Marine between 1957 and 1959 at age 16 — his father lied about his age to get him into the service — stole scenes in films like “Chinatown.” and “Once Upon a Time.” in America he died on October 8th in Los Angeles at the age of 83.
His daughter Anne Morea Steingieser confirmed the news to The New York Times, while his manager Lynda Bensky celebrated the “intensity of his soul” and remembered him as an actor who “could make you cry and scare you to death” (People) . Sylvester Stallone He also added an Instagram post to the news saying, “My dear friend Burt Young, you were an incredible man and artist, I and the world will miss you greatly.”
Born in 1940 and raised in a working-class neighborhood in Queens, New York, his real name was Gerald Tommaso DeLouise, but he adopted “Burt Young” when he began working as an actor. However, he had no intention of becoming an artist. In reality, he had started out as a boxer until fate got in his way. Or rather, a girl.
This was said in a 2017 interview, revealing that since the woman in question wanted to study acting at Lee Strasberg’s prestigious studio, she followed in his footsteps just to be by his side. They performed together, but she was petrified when she saw Paul Newman and Eliza Kazan among the judges. Instead, he secured a place at the prestigious institute and learned and prepared while working as a carpet cleaner, salesman and installer (THR). Years later he received an Oscar nomination for Rocky received two telegrams. “One was from her and said, ‘Remember you owe me,'” Burt said.
Continue reading the story
When Rocky Burt Young changed his life with international recognition in 1976 and with a character that would define cinematic eternity, Burt Young was already enjoying prestige, having worked with rising stars such as Roman Polanski, Jack Nicholson, James Caan and Faye Dunaway. Because of this, Stallone didn’t dare ask him to audition. In addition, he was the only one in the entire ensemble who did not have to take any tests..
Sylvester Stallone had to beg Burt Young to agree to play the feisty Paulie in Rocky (Photo by United Artists/Courtesy of Getty Images) (United Artists via Getty Images)
Sly, who risked everything on the biggest opportunity of his life, having written the script when he was broke (he had sold his dog to get ahead but then got it back with Rocky’s check) and tricked the producers into giving him the To give permission to play the protagonist (at first they wanted Ryan O’Neil or Burt Reynolds), he jumped into the pool the day he saw him at the MGM studios. And he practically begged him to agree to be Adrian’s brother in the story.
“I was the only actor who didn’t audition for the first ‘Rocky,'” he said in an interview with The Rumpus (via Independent). “And I got the most money for it.” He then remembered Stallone “kneeling next to me” and begging him to accept. “He tried to convince me.”
“I was on the MGM lot when Sly Stallone came by and introduced himself, told me he had written Rocky and said, ‘You have to do it,'” he recalled in another interview with The Sweet Science (via The Daily Beast). “I wanted to do it right away, but I wanted them to beg a little and not seem too eager.”
“I thought the script contained the cleanest street prose I had ever read. Stallone is not only a workaholic, he is also a genius who always looks three years ahead. “He has a real eye for what’s going on in the world.”
Burt Young was begged but eventually accepted. Sylvester Stallone’s plea in the middle of MGM studios begging him to appear in his film paid off. But not only because of the young actor’s request and interest, but also because Young really trusted the story he had written. When his agent expressed that he wasn’t sure whether he should accept, he responded, “We’re talking about the best thing that’s probably going to happen to me in my life.”
“We’re talking about the best thing that’s probably going to happen to me in my life,” Burt Young said of the Rocky script. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images) (Sunset Boulevard via Getty Images)
And he wasn’t wrong. Yes OK Burt Young He developed one of the most prolific careers in Hollywood with more than 160 credits, switching between film and television at will. his work in Rocky earned him his first and only Oscar nomination (he lost to Jason Robards for “All the President’s Men”), but most of all, he gained something even more invaluable: the affection of the audience.
He played Paulie in six films in the saga (the first five parts were released between 1975 and 1990 and the sequel, released some time later, Rocky Balboa, in 2006) and as the story progressed he gave the character increasingly complex nuances. , stirring a presence that never went unnoticed.
His version of Paulie was that of a temperamental, immature man with difficult emotional outbursts, who went from defending his friend Rocky when someone insulted him to becoming a dark shadow after later causing the premature birth of the boxer’s first baby. yelling at his sister Adrian. Paulie was also the one who dragged Rocky into the street fight, the one who bankrupted him, but also the one who came back to be by his side whenever needed, despite the grudge he held after Adrian’s death.
Paulie was a character who left his mark on the history of Rocky and on the different generations that discovered his characters over almost five decades. Burt Young He was the most popular actor of the original cast. Stallone had to beg on his knees to be allowed to take part in his long-awaited project. Obviously, the story changed with the $225 million that Rocky earned at the box office (although it had cost less than a million to produce), the win at the Oscars with the Best Picture award (and two more statuettes), and that associated climb for New Year’s Eve. Since this moment. He would become the most famous player on the entire team when they began working three years later Rocky II Although it all started with a request.
This article was written exclusively for Yahoo en Español by Cine54.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED | ON VIDEO
Sylvester Stallone says he feels like the last dinosaur
Burt Young, the actor who played Rocky’s wayward brother-in-law in the six films based on the boxer’s life, has died
“Rocky” gave Sylvester Stallone more life than a cat in Hollywood
“Rocky V” hides Sylvester Stallone’s son’s sad regrets with his father