Sylvester Stallone leads the tributes to Rocky co-star Burt Young

19 October 2023 , 08:25

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Sylvester Stallone leads the tributes to Rocky co-star Burt Young

Sylvester Stallone has led the tributes for his Rocky co-star Burt Young following his sad death.

Burt Young, the actor best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Sylvester Stallone's best friend in Rocky, has died aged 83. His death was confirmed Wednesday by his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser.

Stallone took to Instagram on Wednesday night with a photo of the two of them on the set of the first Rocky film. He wrote: "You were an incredible man and artist, I and the World will miss you very much." James woods, who starred alongside Burt in Once Upon a Time in America, said his friend was one of a kind.

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Sylvester starred alongside Burt in Rocky (Getty Images)

The pair played best friends (AP)

Sharing a picture of them together on X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote: "Burt Young was a unique and authentic actor. When he played a role, you couldn’t imagine anyone else. We did Once Upon a Time in America and a little independent called Kicked in the Head together. RIP, my friend."

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Diane Franklin, who worked with Burt on the 1982 horror film Amityville II: The Possession, added: "It is with great sadness I share the news of actor, Burt Young passing. He was 83. For those who don’t know he played my father in “AMITYVILLE II:The Possession.” He was a beautiful, funny, talented man, with a deep soul. He will be deeply missed. #ripburtyoung."

Young had roles in acclaimed films and television shows including Chinatown, Once Upon a Time in America and The Sopranos. But he was always best known for playing Paulie Pennino in six Rocky movies. When Paulie first appears in 1976's Rocky, he's an angry, foul-mouthed meat packer who is abusive to his sister Adrian (Talia Shire), with whom he shares a small apartment in Philadelphia. He berates the shy, meek Adrian for refusing at first to go on a Thanksgiving-night date with his buddy and co-worker Rocky Balboa, and destroys a turkey she has in the oven.

Sylvester led tributes (Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

Rocky was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for Young. It won three, including Best Picture. Young and co-star Burgess Meredith, who was also nominated, lost to Jason Robards in All the President's Men. As the movies went on, Young's Paulie softened, as the sequels themselves did, and he became their comic relief. In 1985's Rocky IV, he reprograms a robot Rocky gives him into a sexy-voiced servant who dotes on him.

Paulie was also an eternal pessimist who was constantly convinced that Rocky was going to get clobbered by his increasingly daunting opponents. His surprise at Rocky’s resilience brought big laughs.

“It was a great ride, and it brought me to the audience in a great way,” Young said in a 2020 interview with Celebrity Parents magazine. “I made him a rough guy with a sensitivity. He’s really a marshmallow even though he yells a lot.”

Lauren Gordon