Burt Young

Gerald Tommaso DeLouise (born April 30, 1940), better known by his stage name Burt Young, is an American actor, painter and author. He is best known for his Academy Award–nominated role as Rocky Balboa's brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino in the Rocky film series. He also had praised roles in The Gambler, Chinatown, Uncle Joe Shannon, Back to School, Once Upon a Time in America, and Convoy. 2Personal life Young was born in Queens, New York, the son of Josephine and Michael, a high school shop teacher. He is of Italian descent. He was trained by Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Young is a widower and has one daughter, Anne Morea. He lives in Port Washington, New York. Young served a tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps from 1957 to 1959. 2Career Young made his name playing rough-edged working class Italian-American characters, the best-known example being his signature role as Rocky Balboa's friend (and future brother-in-law) Paulie in Rocky (1976), for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Acto