Otis E. Young (July 4, 1932 – October 12, 2001) was an American actor and writer. He co-starred in a television

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, '' The Outcasts'' (1968–1969), with Don Murray. Young was the second African-American actor to co-star in a television Western, the first being Raymond St Jacques on the final season of ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'' in 1965. Young played another memorable role as

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

shore patrol Shore patrol (SP) are service members who are provided to aid in security for the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps, and the British Royal Navy while on shore.Cutler and Cutler, p 202 They are often tem ...

partner Richard "Mule" Mulhall in the 1973 comedy-drama film ''

The Last Detail ''The Last Detail'' is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, from a screenplay by Robert Towne, based on the 1970 novel by Darryl Ponicsan. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, and Caro ...

'', and his later film credits included the low budget horror films ''

The Capture of Bigfoot ''The Capture of Bigfoot'' (a.k.a. ''The Legend of Bigfoot'') is a 1979 horror film from Bill Rebane, the director of '' Monster A-Go-Go''. Produced and originally released by Studio Film Corp, the film was re-released in 2010 by Troma Entertain ...

'' (1979) and '' Blood Beach'' (1981).

Early life and education

Young was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, one of 14 children. He joined the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

at the age of 17 and served in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

.Actor Otis Young Will Be Featured Speaker Here
''

Colorado Springs Gazette ''The Gazette'' is a daily newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It has operated since 1873. History The publication began as ''Out West'', beginning March 23, 1872, but failed in its endeavor. The company relaunched ...

''. Retrieved November 7, 2023. He then enrolled in acting classes at New York University School of Education where one of his classmates was the young

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024) was an American actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway theatre, Broadway play ''Take a Giant Step.'' Gossett co ...

Career

He trained at the

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

and worked off-Broadway as an actor and writer in the early 1960s. He appeared on Broadway in

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

's '' Blues for Mister Charlie'', with such notables as

Diana Sands Diana Patricia Sands (August 22, 1934September 21, 1973) was an American actress, perhaps most known for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger, the sister of Sidney Poitier's character, Walter, in the original stage and film versions of Lorraine Han ...

, and Al Freeman, Jr. His first movie appearance was in ''Murder in Mississippi'' (1965). On television, Young portrayed Jemal David, a former slave, in the ABC western '' The Outcasts'' (1968-1969). and the Episode "''Identity Crisis''" in ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

''. He studied theology at LIFE Bible College in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1983. After, he was ordained

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, eventually serving as senior pastor of Elim

Foursquare Gospel Church The Foursquare Church is an international Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1923 by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. It lies within the evangelical tradition. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California, United States. Hi ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

from 1986 to 1988. He taught acting classes at School Without Walls, a college-like alternative public

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Rochester, from 1987 through 1991. In 1989 he joined the faculty at

Monroe Community College Monroe Community College (MCC) is a public community college in Monroe County, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college has two campuses; the main campus in the town of Brighton, and the Downtown Campus in the City ...

in Rochester; he remained there as a Professor of Communication and head of the Drama Department until his retirement in 1999.

Death

Young suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in Los Angeles and died on October 12, 2001, aged 69, at the Veterans Hospital. A memorial ceremony was held at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

Chapel. He was survived by his wife, Barbara, and two sons, two daughters and mother, Gwendolyn.Profile at the African American Registry
via archive.org. Accessed May 15, 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Otis 1932 births 2001 deaths 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American clergy 20th-century American male actors American Pentecostal pastors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Providence, Rhode Island Male actors from Rochester, New York Male Western (genre) film actors Military personnel from Providence, Rhode Island Military personnel from Rhode Island Monroe Community College faculty Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Writers from Rochester, New York