Photo via AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian
The Museum of the Moving Image is planning on screening Burt Young films in the coming weeks in tribute to the Oscar nominated actor who died earlier this month in Los Angeles at the age of 83.
Young was born and raised in Corona and rocketed to fame playing Paulie Pinnino, the curmudgeonly corner-man in Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky” in 1976, a role that he would continue to play in five sequels.
“I’ve always been really a big fan of him as a character actor. I think he sort of came around in that kind of time for American character actors,” Museum of the Moving Image Curator of Film Eric Hynes told QNS. “I think that at the time, Hollywood and the American new wave was hungry for kind of authentic men and authentic women, but in particular, authentic male character actors. The fact that he was himself a boxer added a certain authenticity to his character. He was no one’s idea of a traditional leading man but I actually thought he was just really fine, funny, full of life character on screen.”
In addition to the “Rocky” franchise, Young was a frequent scene-stealer in other major motion pictures such as “Chinatown” with Jack Nicholson, “Once Upon a Time in America” with Robert DeNiro, and “Back to School” with Rodney Dangerfield who grew up in Kew Gardens. Young also did four films in four years with James Caan, who grew up in Sunnyside. The Museum of the Moving Image hosted the Caan Film Festival last October in tribute to the film star who died in July, 2022 at the age of 82.
“When we did the Caan Film Festival and I was watching all of his films, it stuck me how often Young appeared with him and I had a thought — he’s from Corona and there was this inkling of doing a subset of Young films and I’m disappointed I didn’t follow through then,” Hynes said. “We’ll definitely show a few of his films especially because there is such a geographical and personal connection…
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