By VICKI ABELSON
Burt Young…brilliant actor, gifted fine artist, devoted father and grandfather, and a gentle, loving, attentive friend. I was so blessed to meet him, thank you, Candy, and get to know and spend time with him, thank you, Randy… much more a son than a son-in-law, a son in the true sense of the word.
I was traveling and late to hear. My heart to his daughter, Anne; Randy, their son; and all who loved him. Below, my words after having the privilege of interviewing him in their family home.
Looking back at the photos of our visits I noted during his time at Women Who Write he held my hand throughout the interview. Such a sweetheart.
Hoodlum to boxer, painter. writer, Marine, lover, to iconic, Academy Award-nominated actor, Burt Young, has lived a life bursting with color, much like one of his stunning works of art. From the soaps to Chinatown, Nicholson, to a fateful meeting with a young, then unknown, Sylvester Stallone, who wrote a part with him in mind, Burt was the only actor who didn’t audition and earned more than the writer, director, and star himself, in Rocky.
Paulie a role that would come to define him. Where did Burt end and Paulie begin… it’s a fine line… one he would draw six times, culminating in Rocky Balboa, perhaps the sweetest of the lot since its first beginnings.
Starting out stealing watches, dropping out of our mutual alma mater. Newtown High School, Burt joined the Marines at 15, with his father’s more than blessing, he helped him… to get young Burt off the streets and out of trouble.
There were 18 pro fights, undefeated, an exhibition with Mohammed Ali, his hero, which Burt won, to falling for a broad who wanted to study with Lee Strasberg. To get the girl, Burt got in and joined Marilyn Monroe, whom he dated, and Jane Fonda…
I’ll let Burt tell that one… Strasberg’s words to the shy, quiet, Burt are prophetic. Burt set out to prove him right. From The Pope of Greenwich Village, Once Upon A Time in America, Back To School, The Sopranos… way too much work to mention.
Co-starring with Nicholson, Duvall, Roberts, Alda, Dangerfield, Caan, Gandolfini, Giammitti… the list far too long to list… the women… Talia Shire, for one, together for 11 years, much to Sly’s chagrin… to his current Valentine… there have been quite a few. He likes them young for their bravery and their… tune in for that.
A soft-spoken sweetheart of a man
Vicki Abelson is a columnist and talk show host at Game Changers With Vicki Abelson. Check it out at vickiabelson.com
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Vicki Abelson and Burt Young
