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.
The above book, having read it, is an excellent account of Gig Young's life and I highly recommend it.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | November 9, 2022 1:41 AM |
An excellent photo of Gig Young back in the day.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | November 9, 2022 1:44 AM |
I remember Gig Young very well. His murder/suicide was a real horror show.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | November 9, 2022 1:47 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 Anonymous | reply 4 | November 9, 2022 1:48 AM |
Gig Young with his third wife, Elizabeth Montgomery of "Bewitched" fame.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | November 9, 2022 1:50 AM |
Elizabeth Montgomery back in the 60’s was a cold fish .
by Anonymous | reply 6 | November 9, 2022 2:02 AM |
R6 She divorced Gig because of his alcoholism.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | November 9, 2022 2:04 AM |
And she dropped all her friends from her circle with no explanation. She hurt people .
by Anonymous | reply 8 | November 9, 2022 2:07 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 Anonymous | reply 9 | November 9, 2022 2:08 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 Anonymous | reply 10 | November 9, 2022 2:09 AM |
Gig was engaged to Elaine Stritch.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | November 9, 2022 2:10 AM |
^ Guess who wore the pants in that household.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | November 9, 2022 2:11 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 Anonymous | reply 13 | November 9, 2022 2:12 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 Anonymous | reply 14 | November 9, 2022 2:36 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 Anonymous | reply 15 | November 9, 2022 3:38 AM |
Gig as guest panelist on What’s My Line. Gypsy Rose Lee with marbles in her mouth at 17:00
by Anonymous | reply 16 | November 9, 2022 3:49 AM |
Well, I have to tell you, R15, that I was nominated seven times as the best garbageman in my district!
by Anonymous | reply 17 | November 9, 2022 3:49 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.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | November 9, 2022 2:51 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 Anonymous | reply 19 | November 9, 2022 4:37 PM |
I don't remember him but I do know who he is. We never met.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | November 9, 2022 4:42 PM |
He deserved that Oscar. TSHDT was a terrific movie
by Anonymous | reply 21 | November 9, 2022 5:01 PM |
Five wives and only one child. I guess he was too busy making movies...........
by Anonymous | reply 22 | November 10, 2022 2:21 AM |
His daughter Jennifer many years later holding Gig's Oscar.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | November 10, 2022 2:24 AM |
He seemed unsure of himself in winning, but it was well-earned.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | November 10, 2022 2:37 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 Anonymous | reply 26 | November 10, 2022 2:43 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 Anonymous | reply 27 | November 10, 2022 2:49 AM |
It’s sad his demons fueled by alcohol abuse did him in . He seemed like a good guy
by Anonymous | reply 28 | November 10, 2022 3:05 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 Anonymous | reply 29 | November 10, 2022 3:51 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 Anonymous | reply 30 | November 10, 2022 4:33 AM |
Wasn’t he with Suzanne Pleshette at some point?
by Anonymous | reply 31 | November 10, 2022 5:07 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 Anonymous | reply 32 | November 10, 2022 5:10 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 Anonymous | reply 33 | November 10, 2022 5:39 AM |
R9
Gig Young was fired from Blazing Saddles because he passed out first day of filming due to alcohol withdrawal.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | November 10, 2022 6:24 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 ...
by Anonymous | reply 35 | November 10, 2022 6:29 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 Anonymous | reply 36 | November 10, 2022 9:31 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 Anonymous | reply 37 | November 10, 2022 9:35 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 Anonymous | reply 38 | November 10, 2022 10:19 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 Anonymous | reply 39 | November 10, 2022 11:25 AM |
R2- In your photo he looks like someone who might
SUCK COCK
by Anonymous | reply 40 | November 10, 2022 11:35 AM |
He had a face which seemed devoid of thought.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | November 10, 2022 11:46 AM |
[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 Anonymous | reply 42 | November 10, 2022 6:17 PM |