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Known for:	They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, That Touch of Mink, Teacher's Pet
Birth name:	Byron Elsworth Barr
Birthday:	4 November 1913, St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Height:	6' 1" (1.85 m)

Daughter Jennifer Young born 1964. Adopted the name 'Gig Young' verbatim from that of the character he portrayed in The Gay Sisters. Shot and killed German actress Kim Schmidt, his bride of three weeks, in their New York apartment, then turned the gun on himself and died instantly. Cast in Blazing Saddles as the Waco Kid. Replaced by Mel Brooks with Gene Wilder shortly after filming began because the alcoholic Young was suffering from delirium tremens on the set. Dreaming of a comeback on Broadway, Young had recently appeared in a Canadian tour of the play "Nobody Loves an Albatross" before his October 19, 1978 suicide. Young is considered the ultimate victim of the "Oscar curse", so-called because many Academy Award winners have seen their careers decline or reach a dead-end after winning the ultimate accolade from their peers. According to his fourth wife, Elaine Williams (Elaine Young), "What he was aching for, as he walked up to collect his Oscar, was a role in his own movie, one that they could finally call a Gig Young movie." Young was shattered when that opportunity did not materialise. "For Gig, the Oscar was literally the kiss of death, the end of the line", according to Elaine Williams. His will, which covered a $200,000 estate, left his Academy Award to his agent, Martin Baum, and Baum's wife. The wording of the will called it "the Oscar that I won because of Martin's help". New York City police found the statuette beside the bodies of Young and his wife. "Gig knew real pain". (His agent, Martin Baum, speaking at his memorial service. Portrayed by Steve Hughes in _James Dean: Race with Destiny (1997)_ . Was originally cast as the voice of Charles Townsend for the TV Series Charlie's Angels, but was too drunk to record his lines and was replaced at the last minute by John Forsythe.

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