Do you remember actor Gig Young?

Publish date: 2024-03-13

Gig Young was a gifted actor but was ultimately relegated to supporting roles in most of his movies. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "They Shoot Horses Don't They?". He increasingly had a problem with alcoholism and he and his career began to spiral down. In a tragic and bizarre Hollywood ending he shot and killed his fifth wife and then put the gun in his mouth and killed himself - murder/suicide. He was 64 years old when he died, a sad demise for a talented but troubled man.

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by Anonymousreply 42November 10, 2022 7:17 PM

The above book, having read it, is an excellent account of Gig Young's life and I highly recommend it.

by Anonymousreply 1November 9, 2022 2:41 AM

An excellent photo of Gig Young back in the day.

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by Anonymousreply 2November 9, 2022 2:44 AM

I remember Gig Young very well. His murder/suicide was a real horror show.

by Anonymousreply 3November 9, 2022 2:47 AM

Young was never a huge star but he worked steadily. He'd finish one film and move immediately onto another well paying short term job.

From this we get the Gig Economy.

by Anonymousreply 4November 9, 2022 2:48 AM

Gig Young with his third wife, Elizabeth Montgomery of "Bewitched" fame.

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by Anonymousreply 5November 9, 2022 2:50 AM

Elizabeth Montgomery back in the 60’s was a cold fish .

by Anonymousreply 6November 9, 2022 3:02 AM

R6 She divorced Gig because of his alcoholism.

by Anonymousreply 7November 9, 2022 3:04 AM

And she dropped all her friends from her circle with no explanation. She hurt people .

by Anonymousreply 8November 9, 2022 3:07 AM

Mel Brooks fired him from Blazing Saddles after one day of filming because he was drunk and then cast Gene Wilder as The Waco Kid. Young was too drunk to read Charlie’s lines in Charlie’s Angels, so Aaron Spelling replaced him with John Forsythe.

by Anonymousreply 9November 9, 2022 3:08 AM

[quote] Gig Young was a gifted actor

I can't agree. He had a face which seemed devoid of thought.

He may have been useful in a supporting role. As a butler, perhaps.

by Anonymousreply 10November 9, 2022 3:09 AM

Gig was engaged to Elaine Stritch.

by Anonymousreply 11November 9, 2022 3:10 AM

^ Guess who wore the pants in that household.

by Anonymousreply 12November 9, 2022 3:11 AM

I remember seeing him in a scary movie, The Shuttered Room, and despite it being very low budget, it was so creepy and scary that I had to get up and turn all the lights on.

by Anonymousreply 13November 9, 2022 3:12 AM

I well remember him from my youth. He always seemed perpetually drunk but able to get through life. I had an uncle like that he would make a big ice tea glass cocktail around 11am and nurse it for many hours throughout the day until he fell asleep.

by Anonymousreply 14November 9, 2022 3:36 AM

R10 Gig WAS a gifted actor. He was nominated for an Oscar a number of times and eventually won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

by Anonymousreply 15November 9, 2022 4:38 AM

Gig as guest panelist on What’s My Line. Gypsy Rose Lee with marbles in her mouth at 17:00

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by Anonymousreply 16November 9, 2022 4:49 AM

Well, I have to tell you, R15, that I was nominated seven times as the best garbageman in my district!

by Anonymousreply 17November 9, 2022 4:49 AM

Gig Young and his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for They Shoot Horses Don't They. He was a force to be reckoned with at one time.

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by Anonymousreply 18November 9, 2022 3:51 PM

I liked Joan Crawford’s retort about Gig, in “Torch Song.” When asked by the driver where to drop him off, she quips, “Any dark bar.”

by Anonymousreply 19November 9, 2022 5:37 PM

I don't remember him but I do know who he is. We never met.

by Anonymousreply 20November 9, 2022 5:42 PM

He deserved that Oscar. TSHDT was a terrific movie

by Anonymousreply 21November 9, 2022 6:01 PM

Five wives and only one child. I guess he was too busy making movies...........

by Anonymousreply 22November 10, 2022 3:21 AM

His daughter Jennifer many years later holding Gig's Oscar.

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by Anonymousreply 23November 10, 2022 3:24 AM

He seemed unsure of himself in winning, but it was well-earned.

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by Anonymousreply 24November 10, 2022 3:37 AM

His performance in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is one of the best I've ever seen. He really deserved his Oscar for that. He was perfect in that.

He was also perfect in "Walking Distance", one of the best episodes of "The Twilight Zone."

by Anonymousreply 26November 10, 2022 3:43 AM

I have always been aware of him, but he never made much of an impression on me. I get him confused with Bob Cummings sometimes.

by Anonymousreply 27November 10, 2022 3:49 AM

It’s sad his demons fueled by alcohol abuse did him in . He seemed like a good guy

by Anonymousreply 28November 10, 2022 4:05 AM

[quote] Do you remember actor Gig Young?

Yes, he was a poor-man's version of Cary Grant— without the looks or the charm or the good roles.

by Anonymousreply 29November 10, 2022 4:51 AM

Two things always come to mind when I come across his name:

1)My late mother had a HUGE crush on Gig. (Her only other crush, AFAIK, was Tom Mix, lollollol)

2) "No gap; there's no gap here!" Which his youth-obsessed character in [italic]Lovers and Other Strangers[/italic](one of my favorite films) kept exclaiming.

His [italic]Twilight Zone[/italic] episode was sad and boring.

by Anonymousreply 30November 10, 2022 5:33 AM

Wasn’t he with Suzanne Pleshette at some point?

by Anonymousreply 31November 10, 2022 6:07 AM

[quote] His Twilight Zone episode was sad and boring.

Uh, no. It's considered one of the greatest Twilight Zone episodes. I guess you just don't "get it."

by Anonymousreply 32November 10, 2022 6:10 AM

I only remember him from his florid death, and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They.

He wasn’t really a top tier star.

by Anonymousreply 33November 10, 2022 6:39 AM

R9

Gig Young was fired from Blazing Saddles because he passed out first day of filming due to alcohol withdrawal.

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by Anonymousreply 34November 10, 2022 7:24 AM

At time of murdering his wife and committing suicide Gig Young was under care of so called psychologist and psychotherapist Eugene Landy. A very nasty bit of work ...

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by Anonymousreply 35November 10, 2022 7:29 AM

He was funny as hell triggering the heck out of Clark Gable as Doris Day’s all too perfect all interest in Teacher’s Pet.

by Anonymousreply 36November 10, 2022 10:31 AM

I've read about Gig Young, in biographies about other Hollywood Stars. His downfall was slow and sad. I've also read about Eugene Landy, too. Evil, evil, evil is what EL, was. His "brand" of therapy was predatory and he was nuts.

by Anonymousreply 37November 10, 2022 10:35 AM

R32, I'm with you. "Walking Distance" is so beautiful and elegiac. Rod Serling's closing monologue alone is worth the price of admission. All the performances are strong and convincing--Gig Young's most definitely included, the cinematography is stunning (those carousel horses!) and Bernard Herrmann's score is a masterpiece. Sorry, R30!

by Anonymousreply 38November 10, 2022 11:19 AM

Just to chime in to agree that his performances in THEY SHOOT HORSES is unbelievably great. He plays a pretty sordid character and he makes the figure understandable if not sympathetic. It's a brave performance.

by Anonymousreply 39November 10, 2022 12:25 PM

R2- In your photo he looks like someone who might

SUCK COCK

by Anonymousreply 40November 10, 2022 12:35 PM

He had a face which seemed devoid of thought.

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by Anonymousreply 41November 10, 2022 12:46 PM

[quote] He may have been useful in a supporting role. As a butler, perhaps.

Yes, devoid of personality, Nondescript.

Should have starred in 'Remains of the Day'

by Anonymousreply 42November 10, 2022 7:17 PM

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