File:Gig_Young_-_1953.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Film & TV
Saint Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Come Fill the Cup (1952) and Teacher's Pet (1959), before winning for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969).
Known for
- Elvis: A Life in Music — Self (archive footage)2026
- Remembering Gene Wilder — Self (archive photo/footage)2024
- The Twilight Zone: A 60th Anniversary Celebration — Martin Sloan (archive footage)2019
- Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade — Self (archive footage)2004
- Death In Hollywood1990
- Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies — (archive footage) (uncredited)1988
- Bruce Lee, the Legend — Self1984
- Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)1983
- Game of Death — Jim Marshall1978
- Spectre — Dr. Ham Hamilton1977
via TMDB
Key facts
- Born
- Byron Elsworth Barr , ( 1913-11-04 ) November 4, 1913, St. Cloud, Minnesota , U.S.
- Died
- October 19, 1978 (1978-10-19) (aged 64), New York City , New York , U.S.
- Cause of death
- Ballistic trauma ( murder–suicide )
- Occupation
- Actor
- Years active
- 1940–1978
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Family name
- Young
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- St. Cloud
- Occupation
- film actor
- Employer
- Warner Bros. Entertainment
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Field of work
- acting
- Genre
- Western
- Conflict
- World War II
- Image
- Gig Young - 1953.jpg
- Number of children
- 1
Show 10 more facts
- Commons category
- Gig Young
- date of birth
- 1913-11-04
- date of death
- 1978-10-19
- manner of death
- Suicide
- nominated for
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- Commons gallery
- Gig Young
- cause of death
- gunshot wound
- birth name
- Byron Elsworth Barr
- start of work period
- 1940-00-00
- writing language
- English language
Sources (8)
via Wikidata · CC0
~17 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor. He was active in film, television, and theatre from the late 1930's through the 1970's, and was initially known for his portrayals of characters with "light-hearted sophistication." He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), with two previous nominations for Come Fill the Cup (1952) and Teacher's Pet (1959).
Young's career was tempered by a troubled personal life. Dissatisfied with the quality of roles, his worsening alcoholism caused him to lose several high-profile roles, severely hurting his career prospects. In 1978, Young murdered his 31-year-old wife three weeks after their wedding before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide at the age of 64.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gig Young” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.