Adelphi University will honor Burt Young for his accomplishments in acting with a Doctor of Fine Arts degree at the university’s commencement ceremony that will be held on May 19 in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Burt Young’s career spans many platforms in show business, including on stage, on screen and in print. He was primarily on the off-Broadway stage before making the leap to film in 1970. Numerous supporting roles preceded his memorable role in 1976’s Rocky (1976) as Sylvester Stallone’s ill-mannered brother-in-law, Paulie Pennino. He reprised that role in all of the subsequent Rocky sequels while enjoying turns in a wide variety of films and TV series, most notably a guest spot on The Sopranos.
Young busied himself in independent and international productions after the new millennium while enjoying critical accolades for his paintings, which were shown in galleries all over the world. There were also stage appearances in New York and Los Angeles, as well as a few standout film and television roles. He later appeared as himself alongside Sylvester Stallone on the reality series The Contender, before picking up the mantle of Paulie for the sixth and apparently final Rocky film, 2006’s Rocky Balboa.
