Gig Young

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Gig Young (actually Byron Elsworth Barr ; born November 4, 1913 in St. Cloud , Minnesota , † October 19, 1978 in New York City ) was an American actor . He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his appearance in Horses Only One Gives the Grace Shot .

Life

Young became known in many cinema and TV roles as the actor of mostly lovable character roles. Born Byron Elsworth Barr, he began his career in the 1940s and took his role name Gig Young from the film The Gay Sisters with Barbara Stanwyck in 1942 . He then played alongside Bette Davis in In Friendship and as the musketeer Porthos in the lavish coat-and-sword film The Three Musketeers (1948) alongside Gene Kelly and Lana Turner . He also served in World War II. 1951 with his performance in the alcoholic drama Come Fill the Cup (with James Cagney ) a first Oscar nomination for best supporting actor . Young was familiar with the subject matter of the film, as he became an alcoholic himself at an early age and had many failed relationships.

In the mid-1950s, Young also acted as the presenter of the series Warner Bros. Presents , where Warner Bros. presented his latest film productions. In this context, Young also made the famous interview with James Dean , where this driver asks to be careful - just a few weeks before his death in a car accident. In 1957, Young played the selfish and unwilling lover of an emancipated woman ( Katharine Hepburn ) in the comedy A Woman Who Knows , who would like to finally marry him, but in view of her liberal views does not want to admit this and ends up in the arms of Spencer Tracy lands. In 1958, Young's role in the comedy Reporter of Love, starring Doris Day and Clark Gable, led to another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. However, this success only resulted in similar roles. Young's career stagnated as his personal problems increased.

In 1969 he was finally awarded the Oscar and the Golden Globe for the supporting role of the unscrupulous master of ceremonies in a dance marathon in the bitter film Only Horses Are Given the Gunshot with Jane Fonda . After these awards, only a few appearances in mostly secondary films followed for Young, because his alcoholism increasingly impaired his ability to work: For example, Mel Brooks cast him in 1974 for a leading role in the western parody The Wilde Wild West , but after a few days of shooting he was due to unreliability by Gene Wilder replaced.

Gig Young was married five times, including the actresses Elaine Williams, with whom he had a daughter (* 1964), and from 1956 to 1963 with Elizabeth Montgomery . On September 27, 1978, he married the German magazine editor Kim Schmidt (* 1947). Three weeks later, Gig Young shot her in his New York apartment (in Suite 1BB of the Osborne Apartments, West 57th Street) and then shot himself. The reasons for the crime remained unclear.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Academy Award
  • 1970 Best Supporting Actor They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
  • 1959 Nominated for Best Supporting Actor Teacher's Pet
  • 1952 Nominated for Best Supporting Actor Come Fill the Cup
Golden Globe
  • 1970 Best Supporting Actor They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
  • 1959 Nominated for Best Supporting Actor Teacher's Pet
Primetime Emmy Award
  • 1971 Nominated for Best Actor The Neon Ceiling
BAFTA Award
  • 1971 Nominated for Best Supporting Actor They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards
  • 1970 Best Supporting Actor They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Laurel Awards
  • 1963 Best Supporting Actor That Touch of Mink
  • 1959 Best Supporting Actor The Tunnel of Love
  • 1958 4th place at Best Comedian Teacher's Pet
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
  • 1969 third place for best supporting actor They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Walk of Fame
  • 1960 star on the Walk of Fame at 6821 Hollywood Blvd.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Article on Gig Young
  2. ↑ [1]
  3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blogs.canoe.com

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Young, gig
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Barr, Byron Elsworth (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH November 4, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Cloud , Minnesota
DATE OF DEATH October 19, 1978
Place of death New York City