Gig Young (November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a slimy dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? An alcoholic, Young was implicated in the murder-suicide which resulted in the deaths of him and his wife in 1978.

Biography

Young was married five times; his first marriage to Sheila Stapler lasted seven years, ending in 1947. In 1950, he married Sophie Rosenstein, the resident drama coach at Paramount, who was several years Young's senior. She was soon diagnosed with cancer, and died just short of two years after the couple's wedding. After her death, Young was engaged to actress Elaine Stritch.

He met actress Elizabeth Montgomery after she appeared in an episode of Warner Bros. Presents in 1956, and the two married later that year. In 1963, Montgomery divorced Young because of his alcoholism.

Young married his fourth wife, real estate agent Elaine Williams, nine months after his divorce from Montgomery was final. Williams was pregnant with Young's child at the time and gave birth to his only child, Jennifer, in April 1964. After three years of marriage, the couple divorced. During a legal battle over child support with Williams, Young denied that Jennifer was his biological child. After five years of court battles, Young lost his case.

On September 27, 1978, Young, age 64, 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.

Young's daughter Jennifer was allegedly a close friend and roommate of Heidi Fleiss, the so-called "Hollywood Madam". Jennifer has denied allegations that she was ever a sex worker for Fleiss, yet was a co-author of the book Hooking Up: You'll Never Make Love In This Town Again AGAIN, which was a sequel book that claims to have vetted information on some Hollywood stars paying hookers for sex.

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