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IMDbPro

Gig Young(1913-1978)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeter
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Gig Young
Watch Trailer
Play trailer1:20
Game of Death (1978)
17 Videos
88 Photos
Gig Young was born Byron Barr to parents John and Emma Barr in Minnesota, and raised in Washington, DC, where he developed a passion for theatre while appearing in high school plays. After gaining some amateur experience, he applied for and received a scholarship to the acclaimed Southern California's Pasadena Community Playhouse. While acting in "Pancho", a south-of-the-border play by Lowell Barrington, he was spotted by a Warner Brothers talent scout, leading to his signing contracts with the studio. Still acting under his given name, Byron Barr, he played bits and extra roles. He experimented with varying screen names because there was already another actor with the same name (see Byron Barr). In 1942, in the picture The Gay Sisters (1942), he was given the role of a character whose name was Gig Young, which he liked well enough to finally adopt it as his permanent stage name. His intermittent roles and, therefore, income, required Young to supplement his income working at a gas station, but success in The Gay Sisters (1942) eventually allowed him the freedom to become a full-time actor. Although service in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II interrupted his ascension, after discharge he quickly established himself as a reliable light leading man, usually the second male lead to stars who were established box office draws. A dramatic part in Come Fill the Cup (1951) resulted in his being nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar; a second Supporting Actor nomination followed seven years later for his comedic performance in Teacher's Pet (1958). A prolific television career later complemented his film work. In 1969, his surprisingly seedy portrayal of a dance-marathon emcee in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) finally brought him that Supporting Actor Oscar. A succession of marriages, including one to actress Elizabeth Montgomery, failed. In 1978, only three weeks after marrying German actress Kim Schmidt, Young apparently shot her to death in their New York City apartment and then turned the gun on himself. The precise motivation for the sad and grisly murder-suicide remains unclear. Young was not quite 65, his bride, 31.
BornNovember 4, 1913
DiedOctober 19, 1978(64)
BornNovember 4, 1913
DiedOctober 19, 1978(64)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Won 1 Oscar

Photos88

Sidney Clute, Ken Scott, and Gig Young in McCloud (1970)
Ron Howard and Gig Young in The Twilight Zone (1959)
Byron Foulger and Gig Young in The Twilight Zone (1959)
Sheridan Comerate and Gig Young in The Twilight Zone (1959)
Frank Overton, Irene Tedrow, and Gig Young in The Twilight Zone (1959)
Buzz Martin and Gig Young in The Twilight Zone (1959)
Nan Peterson and Gig Young in The Twilight Zone (1959)
Lee Aaker, Jean Hagen, and Gig Young in Arena (1953)
Gene Kelly, Van Heflin, Lana Turner, and Gig Young in The Three Musketeers (1948)
Adele Mara and Gig Young in Wake of the Red Witch (1948)
Jane Greer, Peter Lawford, and Gig Young in You for Me (1952)
Gig Young in Strange Bedfellows (1965)

Known for

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
7.8
  • Rocky
  • 1969
Doris Day and Cary Grant in That Touch of Mink (1962)
That Touch of Mink
6.6
  • Roger
  • 1962
Doris Day and Richard Widmark in The Tunnel of Love (1958)
The Tunnel of Love
5.8
  • Dick Pepper
  • 1958
Doris Day and Clark Gable in Teacher's Pet (1958)
Teacher's Pet
7.1
  • Dr. Hugo Pine
  • 1958

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)
    Game of Death
  • John Savage and Gig Young in Gibbsville (1976)
    Gibbsville
  • Spectre (1977)
    Spectre
  • Roger Moore in Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976)
    Sherlock Holmes in New York
  • Dennis Weaver in McCloud (1970)
    McCloud
  • Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, George C. Scott, William Atherton, Burgess Meredith, Roy Thinnes, and Gig Young in The Hindenburg (1975)
    The Hindenburg
  • The Killer Elite (1975)
    The Killer Elite
  • The Turning Point of Jim Malloy (1975)
    The Turning Point of Jim Malloy
  • The Lives of Benjamin Franklin (1974)
    The Lives of Benjamin Franklin
  • The Great Ice Rip-Off (1974)
    The Great Ice Rip-Off
  • Delia Boccardo, Bradford Dillman, and Marina Malfatti in A Black Ribbon for Deborah (1974)
    A Black Ribbon for Deborah
  • Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
    Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
  • The Neon Ceiling (1971)
    The Neon Ceiling
  • Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)
    Lovers and Other Strangers
  • They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
    They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Videos17

Game of Death
Clip 2:22
Game of Death
Trailer
Trailer 2:35
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:26
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:59
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:18
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:23
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:48
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:27
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:15
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:08
Official Trailer
Original Theatrical Trailer
Trailer 3:27
Original Theatrical Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:20
Trailer

Personal details

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    • November 4, 1913
    • St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
    • October 19, 1978
    • New York City, New York, USA(suicide)
    • Kim SchmidtSeptember 27, 1978 - October 19, 1978 (her death)
    • Jennifer Young
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Cast in Blazing Saddles (1974) as the Waco Kid. Replaced by Mel Brooks with Gene Wilder shortly after filming began because the alcoholic Young was suffering from delirium tremens on the set.
  • Quotes
    My specialties are corpses, unconscious people and people snoring in spectacular epics.

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