Robert Young

Acting

Born February 22, 1907 — Died July 21, 1998 Chicago, Illinois, USA

Robert George Young (February 22, 1907 – July 21, 1998) was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best (NBC and then CBS) and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. (ABC). Young appeared in over 100 films between 1931 and 1952. After appearing on stage, Young was signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and, in spite of having a "tier B" status, he co-starred with some of the studio's most illustrious actresses, such as Katharine Hepburn, Margaret Sullavan, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Helen Hayes, Luise Rainer, Hedy Lamarr, and Helen Twelvetrees. Yet, most of his assignments consisted of B movies, also known as "programmers," which required two to three weeks of shooting (considered very brief shooting periods at the time). Actors who were relegated to such a hectic schedule appeared, as Young did, in some six to eight movies per year. As an MGM contract player, Young was resigned to the fate of most of his colleagues—to accept any film assigned to him or risk being placed on suspension—and many actors on suspension were prohibited from earning a salary from any endeavor at all (even those unrelated to the film industry). In 1936, MGM summarily loaned Young to Gaumont British for two films; the first was directed by Alfred Hitchcock with the other co-starring Jessie Matthews. While there he surmised that his employers intended to terminate his contract, but he was mistaken. He unexpectedly received one of his most rewarding roles late in his MGM career, in H.M. Pulham, Esq., featuring one of Hedy Lamarr's most effective performances. He once remarked that he was assigned only those roles which Robert Montgomery and other A-list actors had rejected. After his contract ended at MGM, Young starred in light comedies as well as in trenchant dramas for studios such as 20th Century Fox, United Artists, and RKO Radio Pictures. From 1943, Young assayed more challenging roles in films like Claudia, The Enchanted Cottage, They Won't Believe Me, The Second Woman, and Crossfire. His portrayal of unsympathetic characters in several of these later films—which was seldom the case in his MGM pictures—was applauded by numerous reviewers. Young's career began an incremental and imperceptible decline, despite a propitious beginning as a freelance actor without the nurturing of a major studio. He continued starring as a leading man in the late 1940s and early 1950s, but only in mediocre films, then he subsequently disappeared from the silver screen - only to reappear several years later on a much smaller one. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Young (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Movies(113)

That's Entertainment! III

(archive footage)

1994

Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To

(archive footage)

1990

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic

Self

1990

Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair

Dr. Marcus Welby

1988

A Conspiracy of Love

Joe Woldarski

1987

Mercy or Murder?

Roswell Gilbert

1987

The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.

Dr. Marcus Welby

1984

Hollywood’s Children

Self (archive footage)

1982

Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas

Jim Anderson

1977

The Father Knows Best Reunion

James Anderson

1977

That's Entertainment, Part II

(archive footage)

1976

That's Entertainment!

(archive footage) (uncredited)

1974

My Darling Daughters' Anniversary

Judge Charles Raleigh

1973

All My Darling Daughters

Judge Charles Raleigh

1972

Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities

Marcus Welby

1969

Highball Highway

Himself

1963

Secret of the Incas

Stanley Moorehead

1954

The Big Moment

Narrator

1954

The Half-Breed

Dan Craig

1952

Goodbye, My Fancy

Doctor James Merrill

1951

The Second Woman

Jeff Cohalan

1950

And Baby Makes Three

Vernon 'Vern' Walsh

1949

Bride for Sale

Steve Adams

1949

That Forsyte Woman

Philip Bosinney

1949

Adventure in Baltimore

Dr. Andrew Sheldon

1949

Relentless

Nick Buckley

1948

Sitting Pretty

Harry King

1948

Crossfire

Finlay

1947

They Won't Believe Me

Larry Ballentine

1947

Lady Luck

Larry Scott

1946

The Searching Wind

Alex Hazen

1946

Claudia and David

David Naughton

1946

Those Endearing Young Charms

Lt. Hurley 'Hank' Travers

1945

The Enchanted Cottage

Oliver Bradford

1945

The Canterville Ghost

Cuffy Williams

1944

Twenty Years After

(archive footage)

1944

Claudia

David Naughton

1943

Sweet Rosie O'Grady

Samuel Magee

1943

Slightly Dangerous

Bob Stuart

1943

Journey for Margaret

John Davis

1942

Cairo

Homer Smith, aka Juniper Jones

1942

Joe Smith, American

Joe Smith

1942

H.M. Pulham, Esq.

Harry Moulton Pulham

1941

Married Bachelor

Randolph Haven

1941

Lady Be Good

Edward 'Eddie' Crane

1941

Western Union

Richard Blake

1941

The Trial of Mary Dugan

Jimmy Blake

1941

Dr. Kildare's Crisis

Douglas Lamont

1940

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

Self

1940

Sporting Blood

Myles Vanders

1940

The Mortal Storm

Fritz Marberg

1940

Florian

Anton Erban

1940

Hollywood: Style Center of the World

Self

1940

Northwest Passage

Langdon Towne

1940

Northward, Ho!

Himself

1940

Miracles for Sale

Michael Morgan

1939

Maisie

Charles 'Slim' Martin

1939

Bridal Suite

Neil McGill

1939

Hollywood Hobbies

Self (uncredited)

1939

Honolulu

Brooks Mason / George Smith

1939

The Shining Hour

David Linden

1938

Rich Man, Poor Girl

Bill Harrison

1938

Hollywood Goes to Town

Self

1938

The Toy Wife

Andre Vallaire

1938

Paradise for Three

Fritz Hagedorn

1938

Josette

Pierre Brassard

1938

Three Comrades

Gottfried Lenz

1938

Navy Blue and Gold

Roger 'Rog' Ash

1937

The Bride Wore Red

Rudolph 'Rudi' Pal

1937

The Romance of Celluloid

Self (archive footage)

1937

The Emperor's Candlesticks

Grand Duke Peter

1937

Married Before Breakfast

Tom Wakefield

1937

I Met Him in Paris

Gene Anders

1937

Dangerous Number

Hank

1937

Stowaway

Tommy Randall

1936

The Longest Night

Charley Phelps

1936

Sworn Enemy

Henry 'Hank' Sherman

1936

The Bride Walks Out

Hugh McKenzie

1936

The Three Wise Guys

Joe Hatcher

1936

Secret Agent

Robert Marvin

1936

It's Love Again

Peter Carlton

1936

The Bride Comes Home

Jack Bristow

1935

Remember Last Night?

Tony Milburn

1935

Red Salute

Jeff

1935

Calm Yourself

Preston Patton

1935

Vagabond Lady

Tony Spear

1935

West Point of the Air

Little Mike Stone

1935

The Band Plays On

Tony Ferrera

1934

Death on the Diamond

Larry Kelly

1934

Paris Interlude

Pat

1934

Whom the Gods Destroy

Jack Forrester

1934

Hollywood Party

Radio Announcer (uncredited)

1934

The House of Rothschild

Capt. Fitzroy

1934

Lazy River

William 'Bill' Drexel

1934

Spitfire

John Stafford

1934

Carolina

Will Connelly

1934

The Right To Romance

Bobby Preble

1933

Saturday's Millions

Jim Fowler

1933

Tugboat Annie

Alec (Son)

1933

Hell Below

Lieut. (JG) 'Brick' Walters

1933

Today We Live

Claude William Hope

1933

Men Must Fight

Geoffrey Aiken

1933

Strange Interlude

Gordon Evans as a young man

1932

The Kid from Spain

Ricardo

1932

Unashamed

Dick Ogden

1932

New Morals for Old

Ralph Thomas

1932

The Wet Parade

Kip Tarleton

1932

Hell Divers

Graham - Pilot Reporting Missing Airplanes (uncredited)

1932

The Guilty Generation

Marco Ricca, also known as Marco Smith

1931

The Sin of Madelon Claudet

Dr.Claudet

1931

The Black Camel

Jimmy Bradshaw

1931

Calling Hubby's Bluff

Party Guest (uncredited)

1929

The Campus Vamp

Student at Dance / at Beach (uncredited)

1928

Robert Young

TV Shows(22)

Movies(113)