Stephen Young (actor)

Stephen Young
Young in Judd for the Defense (1969)
Born
Stephen Levy

(1939-05-19) May 19, 1939
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupations
  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Television host
Years active1963–2013

Stephen Young (born Stephen Levy;[1] May 19, 1939[2]) is a retired Canadian actor and television host. He worked mostly as a character actor and had supporting roles in the films Patton (1970), Soylent Green (1970),[3] and The Silent Partner (1978).[1]

Early life and education

Young was born in Toronto, Ontario[2] to a financier father. He attended high school at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute where he was student president.[4] Afterwards, he signed with the Cleveland Indians, but his professional bid ended when he seriously injured his knee playing ice hockey. He spent the next few years as a salesman, then wound up in radio and TV commercial production.[4]

Career

While travelling with a friend on a European excursion in the early 1960s, Young by chance got a bit part in the epic Cleopatra (1963), then landed similar minor assignments in such other European-filmed epics as 55 Days at Peking (1963), The Leopard (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and The Thin Red Line (1964).[4]

Upon returning to Toronto, Young decided to become a full-time actor, originally billing himself under his birth name and appearing in leads on both daytime and primetime TV dramas, including the Toronto-based daytime serial Moment of Truth.[4] He headed the cast of the Canadian adventure series Seaway.[4] Moving to Hollywood in 1966, he subsequently starred as young lawyer Ben Caldwell, assistant to high-profile criminal attorney Clinton Judd (Carl Betz) in the drama Judd, for the Defense.[1] The series was abruptly cancelled after only two seasons. Stephen Young also guest-starred in the cult science fiction TV series The Starlost in the episode "Astro-Medics" (1973).[2]

Young's theatrical film role appearances include Patton (1970), Soylent Green (1970), Rage (1972), Lifeguard (1976),[3] Deadline (1980),[5] and his final appearance in the 2013 low budget independent film The Angel Inn.

Young was a friend of John Candy and worked together on a few projects, including a lead role in the low-budget horror thriller The Clown Murders (1976), as well as the Interior Decorator in Who's Harry Crumb? (1989), and Freddie in The Silent Partner (1978), the latter of which he also produced.[1]

He appeared in television films, including the low-budget project The Mask of Sheba (1969), The Death Squad (1974), Between Friends (1983), A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester (1995), Strange Justice and Execution of Justice, both in 1999, and The Last Debate (2000).[5][2]

Young briefly hosted the Canadian game show Just Like Mom (1980–81).

In addition to recurring roles, Young guest starred, playing characters for a number of popular Canadian and American television series including The Mod Squad (1972), the character Dallet on both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman (1976), two episodes of The Littlest Hobo (1979, 1981), Magnum, P.I. (1983), Danger Bay (1985), Airwolf (1987), and In The Heat of the Night (1991), among others. In 1993, on the Canadian crime-fighting series Counterstrike, Young portrayed Senator David Carmichael who dies on an icy road while being chased by journalists working for Morton Downey Jr.'s character Monroe Park, who slandered him on his controversial news-talk show The Raw Truth. He also appeared in the Canadian series Traders (1997), followed by the 2002 television film A Portrait of Murder (also known as The Rendering) playing Detective Nick Sousa.[5][2]

Filmography

Film

Television

Stephen Young television credits
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1965–1966 Seaway Nick King 30 episodes [4][1]
1966 12 O'Clock High Captain Jerry Clinton 1 episode [2]
1967-1969 Judd for the Defense Ben Caldwell 49 episodes [2]
1969 The Mask of Sheba Travis Comanche TV movie [2]
1972 The Mod Squad Kip Hanson 1 episode [2]
1972 Oh, Nurse! Jimmy, Intern TV movie [5]
1972 The ABC Afternoon Playbreak Mike Rodman Episode: "This Child Is Mine" [2]
1973 The Starlost (The Invasion) Dr. Chris Episode: "Astro-Medics" [2]
1974 The Death Squad Lieutenant Andrece TV movie [5][2]
1975 Police Woman Ray Bradford 1 episode [2]
1975, 1976 The Streets of San Francisco Dwayne Rogers / Father Wilson 2 episodes [2]
1976 McMillan & Wife Lt. Don Corbett 1 episode [2]
1976 The Six Million Dollar Man Dallet 1 episode [2]
1976 The Bionic Woman Dallett 1 episode [2]
1977 Hawaii Five-O Quincy Episode: "To Die in Paradise"
1978 CHiPs Gerald Billings 1 episode [2]
1979, 1981 The Littlest Hobo Scott Phillips / Lloyd Wells 2 episodes [2]
1981 Hart to Hart Sgt. Cosgrove Episode: "Homemade Murder" [2]
1982 Trapper John, M.D. Tom 1 episode [2]
1982 Portrait of a Showgirl Congressman TV movie [5]
1983 Between Friends Martin TV movie [5][2]
1983 Magnum, P.I. Don Cassidy 1 episode [2]
1984 Love Leads the Way: A True Story Mike Mcshane TV movie [5]
1985 Picking Up the Pieces Asst. Principal Josh Cole TV movie [5]
1985 Danger Bay Clemmons 1 episode [2]
1987 Airwolf Martin Lundahl 1 episode [2]
1987 21 Jump Street R.B. Greaves 1 episode [2]
1988 Hunter Senator Alan Young 1 episode [2]
1990 Murder, She Wrote Ernie Dolan 1 episode [2]
1991 In The Heat of the Night Mike Lawrence 1 episode
1993 Counterstrike Senator David Carmichael Episode: "The Raw Truth"
1995 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester Unknown TV movie [5][2]
1997 Traders Douglas Walker Episode: "Family Legacy" [6]
1998 When Husbands Cheat Peter Fisher TV movie [5][2]
1999 Strange Justice Sen. Danforth TV movie [5][2]
1999 Execution of Justice George Moscone TV movie [5][2]
2000 The Last Debate Richard Meredith TV movie [5][2]
2002 A Portrait of Murder (The Rendering) Det. Nick Sousa TV movie [5][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Knelman, Martin (19 August 2014). Laughing on the Outside: The Life of John Candy. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781466878433. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak "Stephen Young". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media / NBCUniversal. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Stephen Young". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Brinsmead, Ralph E., ed. (3 December 1965). "Playing Nick King Takes a Lot of Hustling" (PDF). CBC Times. 18 (51) (December 11 – 17, 1965 ed.). Winnipeg: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: 35. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Stephen Young: Filmography". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Stephen Young". Apple TV+. Apple, Inc. Retrieved 20 August 2025.