On this episode of Our American Stories, Burt Young grew up in Queens, the son of a working-class family, and spent his early years far from the world of film. He boxed professionally, served in the Marine Corps, and worked a series of jobs before ever thinking about acting.

That changed when he began studying under Lee Strasberg and started to take the craft seriously. Not long after, he came across the script for Rocky, and his live was forever changed.

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