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Or wherever you get your podcasts. Burt Young is an immediately recognizable character actor whose half-muttered voice and flinty gaze made him the perfect fit for Rocky as Sylvester Stallone's ill-mannered brother-in-law, Paulie. Without any further ado, here's Burt Young with his story. Yes, I'm Burt Young.
I was born in Corona, Queens, New York. I had the greatest parents. My pop, he became like a minister in the high school. His name was Michael. He was a sheet metal mechanic for ice men. He could do anything, build anything.
He could smock you pretty good, too. He was a tough guy himself. He was a great guy. My mother, Josephine, she lived to about 93.
The most beautiful lady ever. Protected me from everything. Mama knew I couldn't do wrong. When I needed money as a kid, my father would give me 25 cents. I said, Mama, I need two grand. She said, Mike, write out a check, sign a check. That was it. She spoke.
He listened. The only trouble I ever had was when I left home. I believed in myself in life. I had 17 profiles.
I never lost a profile. I believed in myself. I was a very good fighter.
Custom model was my first manager. Charlie was a trainer. He trained Marceano. He converted me from southpaw to right-hander.
In those days, you couldn't fight left-hander. But fighting was part of my nature. I did an exhibition with Muhammad Ali.
That was one of my high spots at the Olympic Auditorium in California. We became fast friends, very good. You never say it when you give up boxing.
Who gets sad getting punched in the face? Growing up, I was early in the Marine Corps, 16. I was half a hoodlum, you know, really.
I had carpet laying business, 60 men working, everything on a short dollar, you know. I was pretty unhappy. And this beautiful girl, she was a barmaid in the Jackson Heights gym room. I started asking if she ever thought of being an actress. And she lit up, and she said she wanted to start with Lee Strasberg. And I thought that was a girl. I don't know who the hell Lee Strasberg was.
But I figured I can get her in anywhere. So I found out who he was, wrote him a letter. I don't know if acting has anything for me, but I'm trying to see me. And he did. He said, I never saw tension in a man's face. He said, but I fear you're an emotional library, he says.
Would you work with me? I said, yes. And I was able to take myself serious. Well, I read the script, the Rocky script. It was like a masterpiece in simplicity. It was half a character, half reality. But it was very touching, very moving. It was like moving poetry.
It was beautiful. I'm in the commissary in California. A young guy squats next to me. He says, Mr. Young, I'm Sylvester Stallone. I wrote Rocky. I said, congratulations. I'm proud. He says, you got to do it. I said, let me twist that arm a little bit. I'm going to do it. That's when we first met each other.
I was the highest paid actor in the first Rocky, more than he was. It was a strong piece of writing. I didn't take a chance.
I dove into it. You don't have to go too far for him. He's very bright and funny, too. But we worked very well together, very good.
We never had a harsh moment, really. I like working with him. And he's fast. He shoots fast. We would have shot after Rocky by now. I never knew it was going to go through the seal.
I didn't know what huge hits were. Rocky had a crush on the doorbell. And that was a lot of fun. My papa was much more talented. I was acting before he died. And he didn't understand it. Because he knew me as a hoodlum. We'd bring him to screenings early.
I had a projection room in Beverly Hills in my house out there. We'd show him some of the movies. The hell is it? He couldn't get it. Couldn't get it.
I don't think it can put me in a bottle. As an actor and as an artist, perhaps the acting, I'm a little more structured. I pick ammunition, bullets to use, to relax in, to fatten up. It could be greed.
It could be anger. And I fatten that up. The personal things that I used to get there. All these was quick and crafty. But you had many personal hobbies that were not me.
I made them as warm as I could make them. But you had to forgive the sucker for it. He was a pretty ugly guy many times. They miscast me. I'm a lovable son of a gun. It's just I go straight every minute. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler and a special thanks to Platinum Platypus for their work on this interview with Burt Young. Straight and simple. Like Rocky, what he said about Rocky is so true of so much great storytelling. It's simple.
It's straight and it moves people. The story of Burt Young, the story about so much, here on Our American Stories. Give a little. Give a lot.
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