Burt Young: Rocky Balboa’s brother-in-law and more

Burt Young, at right, as Paulie Pennino, with his brother-in law Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/18/movies/burt-young-dead.html

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In one of the most pivotal scenes in “Rocky III”, he takes a mouthful of water from Rocky right in the chest. That is one of my memories of Burt Young, who played Rocky’s brother-in-law right through the entire Rocky series, spanning six decades.

When I saw today that Burt Young had died, it reminded me of how great a movie “Rocky III” was, all the “Rocky” movies to be exact, and the part Burt Young played in them.

He was 83.

Adrian’s brother
“Rocky” was an incredible movie about a journeyman fighter, and part time enforcer for a Philadelphia loan shark, who gets his shot at the world heavyweight title and makes it count.

We see him, initially, as a dim-witted, punch-drunk fighter who is really good at taking a punch. We soon learn there is much more to him. He is a caring, sensitive man who is in love with a mousey woman named Adrian. She becomes the love of his life and, ultimately, his wife and mother of his son.

Like any relationship, this one comes with in-laws. For Rocky, it is Adrian’s brother Paulie Pennino. He was a character who did evolve over time.

Initially, he worked in a meat packing plant. That was the setting of one of the iconic scenes in “Rocky”, when he starts hitting a side of beef like a punching bag. He bloodies his knuckles and stops when Paulie yells, “Hey, you’re breaking the ribs.”

Paulie drinks heavily, really feels sorry for himself, and can be jealous of his friends and family. At one point, drunk and jealous of Rocky’s fame, he stumbles into an arcade. There he sees a ”Rocky” pinball game and throws his bottle at the picture, smashing the machine.

Ultimately, Rocky hires Paulie to work in his corner, and he is there when Rocky regains his title, defeating Clubber Lang. Right before they walk out for the title fight, Paulie tells Apollo he “done good”. Initially, he had disagreed with Apollo’s training methods, but did see the light in the end.

One of the funniest parts of Apollo’s training methods was when Rocky was swimming. At one point, when Rocky is making a turn, he grabs Paulie, who is standing at the edge of the pool, and pulls him into the water.

Burt Young ended up being in “Rocky” where he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor; “Rocky II”; “Rocky III”; “Rocky IV”; “Rocky V”; and “Rocky Balboa”. By the time of the movie “Creed”, Paulie had died. Wikipedia reveals Burt Young's death was February 22, 2012.

More than Paulie
Burt Young appeared in a lot of movies in addition to “Rocky” from the 1970s into the 21st Century such as “Chinatown”, “The Choir Boys”; “Convoy”; “Once Upon a Time in America”; “The Pope of Greenwich Village”; “Back to School”; “Betsy’s Wedding”; “Mickey Blue Eyes”; “The Adventures of Pluto Nash”; and much more.

He also appeared on TV, guest starring in shows such as “M*A*S*H”; “The Rockford Files”; and “Baretta” in the 1970s. Then, in the 1980s, he was in the TV movie “Murder Can Hurt You”, as Lieutenant Palumbo, a spoof of Columbo; “Miami Vice”; “Airwolf”; “The Equalizer”; “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”; and “Roomies”.

The years after he guest starred in “Tales from the Crypt”; “Columbo”; “Walker, Texas Ranger”; “Law and Order”; “The Outer Limits”; “The Sopranos”; “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”; “Kevin Can Wait”; and more.

Parting thoughts
There are actors so associated with their roles that, if someone hears their name or sees their picture, they instantly think of the character.

That’s exactly how Burt Young was with Paulie Pennino.

Even in all the tributes to him when the news broke of his death, the first thing every one of those tributes referred to was his work as Paulie.

He did play the character over a 30-year period that spans four decades, so he was a part of the Rocky Balboa universe.

What I will always remember was how he provided a bit of comic relief. However, he also, in his last turn as Paulie, gave Rocky a pep talk about getting out all the grief, rage and anger he let build up inside.

I didn’t know that Burt Young had been nominated for an Oscar for playing Paulie.

At times like the pep talk he gave his brother-in-law before a big fight, I can see why.