Gig Young was a person. Explore the sad story of Hollywood’s broken star as we learn about Gig Young’s life and fall from grace. Explore the haunting story of this mysterious figure, from his good looks and playing success to his bad temper and tendency to hurt himself.
Who Was Gig Young?
He had good looks, acting chops, and commercial success. He mu*dered his wife, but he was also an abusive, self-destructive alc0h0lic who k!lled himself.
Many people may recognize the name Gig Young from the classic anthology episode “Walking Distance” of The Twilight Zone. In one episode, Young played a man who bumps into his younger self while thinking back on happier times.
The Twilight Zone Posted a tweet about what happened to Gig Young after “Walking Distance” was released:
October 30, 1959: A true Twilight Zone classic, “Walking Distance”, airs. A harried executive (Gig Young) visits his hometown to find it mysteriously unchanged — and meets himself as a boy. pic.twitter.com/ckhDvOu3yN
— The Twilight Zone (@TheNightGallery) October 30, 2022
Could that have been an expression of Young’s inner, unspoken desires? In search of peace and quiet away from the bright lights of Hollywood? On April 7, 1970, at Los Angeles’ Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Academy Awards for the previous year were handed out.
It was the second year the Oscars were broadcasted around the world on television and the second year without a host (during the brief period between the Bob Hope era and the majority of the 1970s, when hosting was handled by a committee).
Before Bob Hope’s final appearance and the start of the Johnny Carson era.
Midnight Cowboy was the first and only picture with an X rating to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. In True Grit, John Wayne received his lone Academy Award for his portrayal of the crusty Rooster Cogburn, and in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Maggie Smith won for her performance as the quirky Scottish teacher.
“Goldie Hawn…got the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Cactus Flower. And the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor goes to…Gig Young for his performance as Rocky, the sleazy and manipulative promoter of a Depression-era dance marathon in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”
Alc0h0lism was a major problem in Young’s later years. While filming Blazing Saddles (1974), he was diagnosed with delirium tremens on the first day of production and was replaced by Gene Wilder.
On December 28, 1956, Young wed Elizabeth Montgomery, a young actress 20 years his junior and the star of the TV show Bewitched. There were reports of domestic violence, so they split up in January of 1963.
Elaine Williams Young, Young’s fourth wife (they wed in October 1963), rose to prominence as a Beverly Hills real estate agent in the 1970s and, in the years that followed, acted as a go-between in numerous transactions involving a wide variety of Hollywood A-listers.
Elaine Young, who p@ssed away in April 2006, was known for fighting back after undergoing disfiguring plastic su*gery and for advocating reforms for cosmetic physicians who had adequate training. He wed Kim Schmidt, a German art gallery worker aged 31, on September 27, 1978, when he was 64 years old.
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Three weeks after their wedding, on October 19, 1978, both of them were found de@d in their New York City apartment, both having suffered g*nshot wounds to the head. The investigation has led police to conclude that Young committed su!cide by sh00ting his wife and then himself.
“The mu*der/su!cide occurred at The Osborne Apartments on West 57th Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway, a co-op building. On the day he d!ed, Gig Young taped an episode of the Joe Franklin TV show (which never aired) and then went home and committed the mu*der-su!cide.” It was a tragic conclusion to a magnificent if often rocky, career.
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