Molloy, LBIFF honor Burt Young

The Long Beach International Film Festival held an Academy Awards party and food tasting event at the Madison Theatre in Rockville Centre on Feb. 28.

This year, the LBIFF was raising funds for a student to attend the Madison Theatre Summer Film Intensive, and a scholarship was established in the name of actor Burt Young, who played the iconic character of Paulie in the “Rocky” films. Young, a Port Washington resident, was honored at the event for his dedication and life as a filmmaker and supporter of the arts.

The evening featured a selection of food from restaurants all over the area, followed by an Academy Awards viewing party on the Madison Theatre stage.

At the 2013 Long Beach International Film Festival, Young and UFC champion Chris Weidman presented an award to the City of Long Beach in recognition of the community’s perseverance after Hurricane Sandy. When he addressed the crowd, Young used Stallone’s famous quote from the 2006 film “Rocky Balboa” — “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”