
Burt Young died Wednesday, October 18th, 2023 at the age of 83. According to IMDB, Young has 168 acting credits to his name. I’ll always remember him as Paulie, the lovable loser and alcoholic from the Rocky movies, but he also had a great role as Bobby Bacala Sr. in one episode of the Sopranos and as Thornton Melon’s bodyguard Lou in Back To School.
Here are a few of my favorite Burt Young scenes…
JM: Young was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar in 1977 for his role as Paulie in the irst Rocky movie. He was great in that role.
JM: This is one of my favorite scenes from Rocky III. “Can I have a job?” “All you had to do was ask!” Hilarious.
JM: Paulie and Rocky had their differences, but they always had each other’s backs.
JM: “I don’t like these people!”
“You don’t like them? Maybe they don’t like you, either, Paulie.”
“What did I do to them?”
A classic and memorable line from Rocky III!
JM: At the beginning of Rocky IV, Rocky buys Paulie a robot. The interactions between them are funny.
JM: More humor from Paulie in Rocky IV.
JM: Paulie also had a soft side, as you can see in this scene from Rocky IV as Rocky is about to face off with Ivan Drago.
JM: “Hit the one in the middle” is one of my favorite quotes from the Rocky movies.
JM: Rocky wasn’t going to fight Tommy Gunn in Rocky V until Tommy slugged Paulie. Then it was on!
JM: More of Paulie from “Rocky Balboa.” You knew it was gonna be a great scene when Burt Young was in it.
JM: Young was great as this character in this episode of the mob hit “The Sopranos.” I wish they would have let him stick around longer!
JM: Young as a mob hit man. Great acting.
JM: I loved Rodney Dangerfield in “Back To School,” and I loved Burt Young as his tough guy bodyguard Lou! Lou smashing the napkin holder with his hand is classic!
JM: Rest In Peace Burt Young. He was a great actor. I’ll never forget these scenes, especially the levity he brought to the Rocky series of movies. He will be missed.