The tough-guy actor, whose roles included alcoholic Paulie in Rocky and a menacing gangster in Once Upon a Time in America, died on October 8 in Los Angeles, but his death has only now been announced.
Young’s death was confirmed by his daughter Anne Morea Steingieser to the New York Times.
She talked of how her dad found a kindred spirit in swaggering Hollywood director Sam Peckinpah: “Both were mavericks and outlaws, with a deep respect for art.
“They understood each other because of the intensity and honesty Peckinpah demanded. He had no tolerance for lack of authenticity.”
Young amassed more than 160 film and television credits, regularly playing mobsters, detectives or bedraggled blue-collar workers.
He had a background as a Marine and professional boxer, and critics hailed him for always bringing complex layers of sensitivity to his tortured characters.
Iconic acting teacher Lee Strasberg, who once coached Young, said the star contained a “library of emotions”.
His 1970s appearances included roles on the TV hit M*A*S*H and in films such as Cinderella Liberty and Chinatown, in which he had a scene-stealing part as a cuckolded husband who gets tangled in a web of incest and murder.
Rocky Balboa star Sylvester Stallone (left) with Burt Young at the film's premiere in 2006. Photo / AP
He is perhaps best known for playing Rocky’s future brother-in-law alongside Sylvester Stallone in the first Rocky film.
His part as a butcher friend of the boxer and abusive brother of Adrian, played by Talia Shire, earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
He said about being cast in the film: “I was the only actor that didn’t audition in the first Rocky. And I got the most money for it.
“It really wasn’t a fighting story, it was a love story, about someone standing up.
“Not even winning, just standing up.”
He added about Paulie: “I made him a rough guy with a sensitivity. He’s really a marshmallow, even though he yells a lot.”
Young was born Gerald Tommaso DeLouise and adopted his screen name when he became an actor.
He was born on April 30, 1940, in Queens, New York. His dad was a sheet-metal worker, an iceman and eventually a high school shop teacher and dean.
He joined the Marines at 16, where he started boxing, and had a brief career in the ring under trainer Cus D’Amato, who shepherded the careers of Floyd Patterson and Mike Tyson.
