Burt Young is an American actor, screenwriter, writer and artist. Most famous for his participation in the Rocky series of films, where he played Polly, the best friend of the protagonist and brother of his wife. Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor. He wrote several scripts, plays and books. He is a successful artist, his work is exhibited around the world.
Childhood and youth
Bert Young was born on April 30, 1940 in the Queens area of New York City. Real name is Gerald Tomazzo DeLuis. He studied acting at the studio of the famous teacher Lee Strasberg, whose students were also Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Marilyn Monroe.
In 1957 he joined the United States Marine Corps. He became interested in boxing during the service, spent 34 fights in two years, 32 of which he won. After leaving the Marine Corps, he began his career as a professional boxer, spent seventeen fights under various pseudonyms, and won everything. The manager of Bert Young was the legendary Kaz D'Amato, who later represented Mike Tyson.
Carier start
He began to act actively in the late sixties. The filmography of Bert Young during this period is rich in guest appearances in television series and supporting roles in full-length projects. Appeared in one of the series of the popular series "MES". He played in the neo-novel of Roman Polanski "Chinatown". Together with James Kann appeared in the films "Player" and "Killer Elite."
Confession
Real fame came to Yang after the sports drama "Rocky" was released. The low-budget film, made according to the script of the then-unknown Sylvester Stallone, became a real hit and received the Oscar in the category "Best Film". Bert Young himself was nominated as the best supporting actor, but did not receive the statuette.
The actor repeated the role of Polly in five sequels of the picture, becoming one of the four actors that appeared in all six films of the franchise. In the spin-off of the Creed series, Bert did not play, as the character was decided to be "killed" behind the scenes.
After the success of “Rocky,” Bert Young began to act actively. Each year, several paintings came out with his participation. The most notable works of the seventies and eighties are the action movie directed by Sam Pekinpa "Convoy" and the gangster painting of the legendary Sergio Leon "Once Upon a Time in America". In 1978, two films were produced based on Young's scripts: Uncle Joe Shannon and the television movie Daddy I Don't Like.
In the nineties, the actor continued to act actively, however less successfully, many of the films of that period went directly to the video or were not released at all.
Burt Young also worked extensively on television. He has acted as a guest star on the hit TV series The Great Equalizer, Miami Police, Colombo, and Walker, The Texas Ranger.
Later roles
In the twenty-first century, Bert Young is still removed, but not as active as before. The most striking role of this period is the guest appearance in the cult series "Soprano Clan". The actor also played supporting roles in the successful independent films Transamerica, Win, and Gangsta Love. He recently appeared on the TV series Horace and Pete and Kevin Can Wait.
Currently, there are more than ten feature films with Bert Young in production or at the post-production stage. The actor also works in the theater. In 2017, in one of the theaters in Los Angeles, a play was held for two months with his participation.
Personal life
Not much is known about the actor’s personal life. He is a widower, from a single marriage there is one daughter. Bert Young also has a grandson.
In his free time, the actor loves to draw. His works have been successfully exhibited in prestigious galleries around the world, and also painted the cover for the poetry collection of the famous writer Gabriel Tinti. In addition to several scripts and theatrical plays, he wrote and published the historical novel, The Ends.