As the son of radio, TV and film character actor
Carleton G. Young, dark, dexterous and
good-looking Tony Young was exposed early on to the machinations of the
Hollywood industry. Born in New York in 1937, he was raised in
Hollywood after his father's on-camera character work increased.
Although Tony was offered some film roles in the early 1950s while
still a teen, his father insisted that Tony receive a proper education
first before putting together any kind of acting career.
Following a hitch with the US Air Force, Tony attended Los Angeles City
College. Working initially as an NBC page, his interest in acting had
not flagged after all this time and the virile, brawny wannabe began
landing TV roles in 1959 with such western shows as
Overland Trail (1960),
The Deputy (1959),
Bronco (1958) and
Laramie (1959), not to mention bit
parts in the films
Walk Like a Dragon (1960) and
The Marriage-Go-Round (1961).
In 1961, Tony was handed his own weekly series as a cavalry undercover
agent in the TV western
Gunslinger (1961). While the
program was short-lived, it managed to basically pigeonhole him as a
western player. Such low-budget films as
He Rides Tall (1964) (in which he
played a U.S. marshal) and
Taggart (1964)
(in which he is accused of murder and must clear his name) followed.
On the TV front, reliable guestings occurred on such popular shows as
Star Trek (1966),
The Virginian (1962),
Medical Center (1969),
Bonanza (1959) and
The Streets of San Francisco (1972).
From there Tony moved more into to character work supporting
Elvis Presley in his non-musical western
Charro! (1969) and
James Garner in the Italian
"spaghetti western"
A Man Called Sledge (1970).
Roles in action-adventure and blaxploitation flicks also came and went
in the early 70s, including
Chrome and Hot Leather (1971),
Play It As It Lays (1972),
Black Gunn (1972),
Superchick (1973) and
The Outfit (1973).
Thrice married and divorced to actresses, he was first briefly married to Playboy playmate
Connie Mason, then to
Madlyn Rhue who bore him one child and co-starred with him on both film and TV before and after their divorce, and finally to
Sondra Currie. Tony's father died of cancer in 1971 at age 64. Tony, who retired from acting in the early 1990s, later succumbed to lung cancer in 2002 at the very same age as his
father.
Quantum Leap(1989)as John Huston
Dark Justice(1991)as Nashman
Up Your Alley(1989)as Restaurant Patron
The New Mike Hammer(1984)as Mickey Gross
Tuff Turf(1985)as Dancer
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion(1979)as Self
Here's Hollywood(1960)as Self
