Young was born in Providence, Rhode Island, one of 14 children. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of 17 and served in the Korean War. He then enrolled in acting classes at New York University School of Education where his classmate was the young Louis Gossett Jr.
He trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse, and worked off-Broadway as an actor and writer in the early 1960s. He appeared on Broadway in James Baldwin's Blues for Mister Charlie, with such notables as Diana Sands, 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 (season 5).

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