Born 1913 as Byron Elsworth Barr in St. Cloud, Minnesota, American actor Gig Young was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Come Fill the Cup (1952) and Teacher’s Pet (1959), finally winning that award for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969).
Young was married five times. On September 27, 1978, at age 64, he married his fifth wife, a 31-year-old German magazine editor named Kim Schmidt. He met Schmidt in Hong Kong while working on Game of Death.
On October 19, 1978, three weeks after his marriage to Schmidt, the couple were found dead in their apartment at The Osborne in Manhattan. Police surmised that Young shot his wife and then himself. A motive for the murder was never discovered. Police said there was a diary opened to September 27 with “we got married today” written on it.
Young was at one time under the care of the psychologist and psychotherapist Eugene Landy, who later had his professional California medical license revoked amidst accusations of ethical violations and misconduct with patients. Author Stephen King wrote the short story “1408” inspired by his stay in room 1402 at New York’s Park Lane Hotel, which was misrepresented by the bellboy as the site of Young’s murder/suicide.
For his contribution to the television industry, Young has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6821 Hollywood Boulevard. These vintage photos captured portraits of young Gig Young in the 1940s and 1950s.
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