Veteran character actor Burt Young, best known and Oscar nominated for his role as the brother-in-law and meat-cutting friend to Sylvester Stallone's prize-fighting protagonist in the "Rocky" films has died at age 83, his manager said on Wednesday. Young's death on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles was confirmed to Reuters by his Los Angeles-based manager Lynda Bensky.

Born Gerald Tommaso DeLouise in New York City's Queens borough, the burly performer served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1950s and later studied at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. He went on to build a career playing mostly tough-guy and Italian-American characters on television and film. He was best remembered for his role in the original 1976 "Rocky" film, playing Paulie Pennino, the alcoholic butcher and pal to Stallone's lead character, Rocky Balboa.