Gloria DeLouise: The Untold Story of Burt Young’s Wife

Gloria DeLouise knew Burt Young before Rocky made him a familiar face around the world. They married in 1961, raised a daughter and spent years trying to build a life while he moved between jobs and eventually found his way into acting.

Their marriage ended with Gloria’s death in 1974. Two years later, Young appeared as Paulie in Rocky, the role that earned him an Academy Award nomination and stayed with him throughout his career.

Gloria’s own story received little public attention. But in interviews years later, Young shared memories of their marriage, including a move to Nantucket and her wish for him to find steady work.

Those recollections take their story back to a time before film premieres and award nominations, when the couple were still deciding where to live and how to make a living.

Gloria and Burt Young Married Before His Acting Career

Gloria and Young married in 1961. He was in his early twenties and had already served in the U.S. Marine Corps. The man audiences would later recognize as Burt Young is widely identified by his birth name, Gerald Tommaso DeLouise.

His working life took several turns before acting became his profession. He boxed, fitted carpets and took on other jobs that allowed him to earn money without setting up an expensive business.

In a later interview, he described being drawn to work that did not require an inventory. There was no clear plan leading him toward Hollywood at the beginning of their marriage.

Gloria was part of his life through those unsettled years. When Young later spoke about her, his memories included ordinary concerns about employment, housing and finding somewhere they could both be happy.

They Tried Starting Over on Nantucket

At one point, Gloria and Young left New York for Nantucket.

Young recalled finding silk-screening work there. The island offered a change from the life they had been living, but Gloria did not take to it.

According to his account, she disliked both Nantucket and the rundown house where they stayed. After roughly a year and a half, the couple returned to Queens.

Back in New York, Gloria encouraged him to find more dependable employment. Young remembered sanitation work as one option she wanted him to consider.

At that stage, acting was still ahead of him. The jobs available to him were a more immediate concern than the career for which he would eventually become known.

Young Spoke Candidly About Trouble in Their Marriage

Burt Young during filming of Tom in America in 2012. Photo: SilvioPozatto / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped and color-adjusted.

Young’s recollections also included a difficult period at home.

In a 2006 interview, he said he had been unhappy in his marriage when he became interested in another woman. He described trying to get closer to her, while denying that he was cheating on his wife.

That acquaintance unexpectedly led him toward acting. She wanted to study with Lee Strasberg but had been unable to get into his classes.

Young did not initially know who Strasberg was. Hoping to help her, he wrote to the acting teacher himself.

Strasberg responded, and Young ended up studying with him for two years. What began with an entirely different intention became a turning point in his working life.

“Acting had everything I was fishing for,” Young said.

Gloria’s account of that period is not included in the interview. The story comes from Young’s recollection, shared decades after their marriage.

Gloria Died Before His Rocky Breakthrough

Gloria died in 1974, after approximately 13 years of marriage. The major obituary accounts reviewed do not establish her cause of death.

Young was already getting screen work. In Chinatown, released that year, he played a husband who receives photographs revealing his wife’s infidelity.

His breakthrough came in 1976 with Rocky. As Paulie, he played Adrian’s brother and Rocky Balboa’s often difficult friend. The performance brought him a supporting actor Oscar nomination.

He returned to the character in the next five Rocky films, making Paulie a recurring part of the series.

Gloria did not live to see that success. She had shared the years when Young was finding his profession, but the role most closely associated with his name arrived after her death.

Their Daughter Anne Was Part of His Later Life

Gloria and Young had a daughter, Anne, who is identified in later reporting as Anne Morea Steingieser.

Decades later, Anne was the family member who confirmed her father’s death. Young died in Los Angeles on October 8, 2023, at 83. He was also survived by a grandchild.

His career had continued through films, television appearances and work in the theater. He also painted, an interest he pursued alongside acting.

But when he looked back on his earlier life, Gloria still appeared in his memories. During a 2002 interview, the reporter noted that he became tearful while speaking about her.

There is little reliable published information about Gloria’s childhood or professional life, and no detailed account of their marriage in her own words. Much of what remains comes through the experiences Young chose to discuss.

He remembered the house she disliked, the move back to Queens and her hope that he would find stable work. Before audiences knew him as Paulie, Gloria had known him as a husband still trying to work out what came next.