Behind the Hollywood scenes, you were a marine, a boxer and an accomplished painter. Acting, however, is where you shined the brightest, in particular as Paulie Pennino in six, powerhouse, Rocky movies.
You also possessed a penchant for the pulpy, noir-ish and lurid, as proven by Chinatown; The Gambler 1974; The Killer Elite 1975; North Star; Blood Red; Blood Beach; Red-Blooded American Girl II; Amityville II: The Possession; The Amityville Murders; Hack!; The Hideout; Convoy; Excessive Force; Twilight's Last Gleaming; Born to Win; Once Upon a Time in America; The Last Don; Go Go Tales; Zarra's Law; The Pope of Greenwich Village; and Last Exit to Brooklyn.
But that grittiness was often lightened, as your biographical, devotional and comedic submissions show: The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight; Back to School; ... All the Marbles; Harry and Walter Go to New York; The Adventures of Pluto Nash; Transamerica; Basketball Dreams; Bottom of the 9th; Carnera: The Walking Mountain; The Brawler; The Great Niagara; Very Mean Men; Blue Moon; Mickey Blue Eyes; Murph the Surf (Live a Little, Steal a Lot); Rob the Mob; Murder Can Hurt You; The Choirboys; Club Fed; Win Win; Lookin' to Get Out; Red American; Going Overboard; Road to Lemon Grove; She's So Lovely; Kiss the Bride; Betsy's Wedding; The Undertaker's Wedding; Wait Until Spring, Bandini; Heaven Before I Die; Diving In; Downtown: A Street Tale; Over the Brooklyn Bridge; New York, I Love You; Bright Angel; The Florentine; The Deli; A Summer to Remember; and the underrated but effective, Uncle Joe Shannon, which you wrote.
Then there are your various, television appearances on The Rockford Files; Columbo; Baretta; Serpico; Miami Vice; Law & Order; Airwolf; The Equalizer; Walker, Texas Ranger; M*A*S*H; The Sopranos; Tales from the Crypt; Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1980s edition); The Outer Limits (1990s edition); and (on a recent, recurring basis) Russian Doll.
When all's said and done, Mr. Young, you were the epitome of a Renaissance Man, never flaunting your versatility, but making damn certain that, no matter the medium, your fans got more than their money's worth.
