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here
are more Burt Youngs than you might think. The “Paulie” character
from the five Rocky movies and all those hitmen and gang leaders from
the latest Mafia saga are the least of it. Start with the fact that the
64-year-old Corona native is coming up on appearances in 100 motion pictures
and an equal number of television shows. All those seemingly improvised
shambling screen performances that make you think he was picked up off
the street just for the role? That patented wistfulness came from years
of training with the American guru of the Stanislavski Method, the Actors
Studio’s Lee Strasberg. And then you have Burt Young the long-time
off-Broadway stage actor, Burt Young the writer, Burt Young the painter
and Burt Young the restaurateur.
Sometimes there are too many Burt Youngs even for Burt Young. For instance, take a look at the movies he has been making since he debuted as “Gimpy the hunchback” in the 1970 forget-me-quick Carnival of Blood. We know about the Oscar nomination he received in 1976 for the first of his forays as Sylvester Stallone’s brother-in-law in that series about the Philadelphia boxer. The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, The Killer Elite, Once Upon a Time in America, Back to School, The Pope of Greenwich Village — all recognizable titles. But then there are the dozens of others — the straight-to-video fiascos with names like Very Mean Men, The Day the Ponies Came Back, The Boys Behind the Desk, The Boys of Sunset Ridge, Crooked Lines, Checkout, and Tashunga. “Pig Pen,” “Scuzzi,” “Bedbug Eddie,” “Werner,” “Sydney Delacroix” — he’s played them all on the VCR, compliments not only of Hollywood but also of Germany, Italy, France and most of the other members of the European Union. When Young mutters something about a classic called Bride of Violence II, he sounds astonished he had not also appeared in Bride of Violence I.
The inevitable fate of the working actor? We caught up to Young at the PBA’s Widows’ and Children’s Christmas party to ask him this and a few other things. Although the native New Yorker now lives in Los Angeles, he has made the PBA party an annual commitment.
A: Must be 15 or 16 by now. I don’t care where I am. If I can make it, I’ll make it.
Q: Any particular reason?
A: First of all, I like cops. I think they’ve got the most thankless job in the world. And it hasn’t gotten any easier in recent years. Once upon a time, you had the citizenry behind them all the way. Now for a whole lot of reasons, that’s not the case anymore. That’s why something like the PBA is very important. Much of what has driven a wedge between cops and citizens goes back to politics, and an organization like the PBA — it seems to me anyway — has to protect you from the politicians. You can criticize this or that particular, but the overall institutional role of the union is vital.
A: Frankly, that’s always a mixed bag for me. I’d rather be nowhere else. But then you think about why the kids are there, and it’s not easy. I’ve watched a lot of them grow up over the years and I’m amazed at what they must have had to deal with emotionally and psychologically at home without a father or mother. You can’t act your way through that.
Q: In a non-professional sense.
A: Right. I’m not putting down acting. Personally, it’s the most gratifying thing I do. Just that you got to keep in mind there’s always a line between what people go through in their everyday lives and what you as an actor or writer or something else can portray them as doing.