Burt Young, who played Paulie Pennino in the Rocky movies alongside Sylvester Stallone, has died at the age of 83, his daughter Anne Morea Steingieser confirmed.
The Rambo actor shared a heartbreaking tribute after hearing the news of his passing. Sharing a throwback photo of himself and Burt on the set of the movie, he wrote: “To my Dear Friend, BURT YOUNG, you were an incredible man’s and artist, I and the World will miss you very much…RIP.”
Fans also expressed their heartbreak in the comments section, with one writing: “Rest in peace, Burt Young… He was a great man, this is so sad…”
Young’s manager, Lynda Bensky, also said in a statement to PEOPLE: “Burt was an actor of tremendous emotional range. He could make you cry and he could scare you to death.
“But the real pathos that I experienced was the poignancy of his soul. That’s where it came from.”
His daughter told the New York Times that he passed away on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles.
Young, whose real name is Gerald Tommaso DeLouise, starred in more than 160 movie and television projects.
His first credited role was in the 1970 movie ‘Carnival Of Blood’ and he went on to star in other projects before playing the character of Paulie in the Rocky franchise.
For his impressive performance in the movies, he received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2017, Young shared the moment he got his iconic role in the Rocky films. “Sylvester comes to me. He introduces himself. ‘You gotta do this part.’ I said, ‘I’m gonna do it,’ and he lit up like a pumpkin,” he recalled.
“We’ve been very close ever since. He’s a friendly guy, Sylvester. Very intelligent, very quick,” he added.
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