Robert Young
Acting
Born: February 22, 1907 · Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died: July 21, 1998 (aged 91)
Highest Rated
Biography
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
Known for
Secret Agent
1936
Crossfire
1947
The Mortal Storm
1940
Western Union
1941
That's Entertainment!
1974
Northwest Passage
1940
Secret of the Incas
1954
They Won't Believe Me
1947
Sitting Pretty
1948
The Canterville Ghost
1944
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
That's Entertainment! III
1994
Photos (4)
Movies (104)
The Mortal Storm
Fritz Marberg
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage) (uncredited)
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Secret Agent
Robert Marvin
They Won't Believe Me
Larry Ballentine
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Grand Duke Peter
Crossfire
Finlay
Carolina
Will Connelly
Hollywood Party
Radio Announcer (uncredited)
The Enchanted Cottage
Oliver Bradford
Western Union
Richard Blake
Northwest Passage
Langdon Towne
The House of Rothschild
Capt. Fitzroy
The Canterville Ghost
Cuffy Williams
Secret of the Incas
Stanley Moorehead
The Half-Breed
Dan Craig
Lady Luck
Larry Scott
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
Twenty Years After
(archive footage)
Hell Below
Lieut. (JG) 'Brick' Walters
Slightly Dangerous
Bob Stuart
The Black Camel
Jimmy Bradshaw
Lady Be Good
Edward 'Eddie' Crane
Three Comrades
Gottfried Lenz
Bride for Sale
Steve Adams
Relentless
Nick Buckley
Sworn Enemy
Henry 'Hank' Sherman
Sitting Pretty
Harry King
Cairo
Homer Smith, aka Juniper Jones
The Second Woman
Jeff Cohalan
The Toy Wife
Andre Vallaire
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Harry Moulton Pulham
Married Bachelor
Randolph Haven
West Point of the Air
Little Mike Stone
The Shining Hour
David Linden
Navy Blue and Gold
Roger 'Rog' Ash
That Forsyte Woman
Philip Bosinney
Today We Live
Claude William Hope
Lazy River
William 'Bill' Drexel
Claudia and David
David Naughton
The Wet Parade
Kip Tarleton
Goodbye, My Fancy
Doctor James Merrill
Death on the Diamond
Larry Kelly
Stowaway
Tommy Randall
The Bride Walks Out
Hugh McKenzie
Tugboat Annie
Alec (Son)
Honolulu
Brooks Mason / George Smith
Florian
Anton Erban
The Bride Wore Red
Rudolph 'Rudi' Pal
Bridal Suite
Neil McGill
Joe Smith, American
Joe Smith
Vagabond Lady
Tony Spear
I Met Him in Paris
Gene Anders
Maisie
Charles 'Slim' Martin
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
(archive footage)
The Guilty Generation
Marco Ricca, also known as Marco Smith
Dangerous Number
Hank
All My Darling Daughters
Judge Charles Raleigh
The Big Moment
Narrator
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
Douglas Lamont
Red Salute
Jeff
Whom the Gods Destroy
Jack Forrester
The Longest Night
Charley Phelps
New Morals for Old
Ralph Thomas
Claudia
David Naughton
Spitfire
John Stafford
My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
Judge Charles Raleigh
Remember Last Night?
Tony Milburn
The Father Knows Best Reunion
James Anderson
A Conspiracy of Love
Joe Woldarski
Adventure in Baltimore
Dr. Andrew Sheldon
Paradise for Three
Fritz Hagedorn
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
Marcus Welby
The Bride Comes Home
Jack Bristow
Journey for Margaret
John Davis
The Kid from Spain
Ricardo
Josette
Pierre Brassard
The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.
Dr. Marcus Welby
Rich Man, Poor Girl
Bill Harrison
Saturday's Millions
Jim Fowler
The Sin of Madelon Claudet
Dr.Claudet
Miracles for Sale
Michael Morgan
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
Samuel Magee
It's Love Again
Peter Carlton
The Searching Wind
Alex Hazen
Mercy or Murder?
Roswell Gilbert
And Baby Makes Three
Vernon 'Vern' Walsh
Sporting Blood
Myles Vanders
Those Endearing Young Charms
Lt. Hurley 'Hank' Travers
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair
Dr. Marcus Welby
Married Before Breakfast
Tom Wakefield
Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas
Jim Anderson
Hell Divers
Graham - Pilot Reporting Missing Airplanes (uncredited)
Men Must Fight
Geoffrey Aiken
The Band Plays On
Tony Ferrera
Paris Interlude
Pat
Calm Yourself
Preston Patton
The Right To Romance
Bobby Preble
Strange Interlude
Gordon Evans as a young man
Calling Hubby's Bluff
Party Guest (uncredited)
The Campus Vamp
Student at Dance / at Beach (uncredited)
Unashamed
Dick Ogden
The Trial of Mary Dugan
Jimmy Blake
The Three Wise Guys
Joe Hatcher
TV Shows (9)
Father Knows Best
Jim Anderson · 203 eps
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Gilbert Winfield · 1 eps
The Partridge Family
1 eps
Climax!
Lieutenant Commander Knowles · 1 eps
The Name of the Game
Herman Allison · 1 eps
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Dr. Marcus Welby · 171 eps
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Dr. Marcus Welby · 2 eps
Vanished
Sen. Earl Gannon · 2 eps
Little Women
Mr. Laurence · 2 eps
Self / Appearances (21)
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · 1 eps
The Merv Griffin Show
Self · 1 eps
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
What's My Line?
Self · 4 eps
Dinah!
Self · 1 eps
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · 2 eps
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Steve Allen Show
Self · 1 eps
This Is Your Life
Self · 1 eps
Donny & Marie
Self · 2 eps
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
Self · 1 eps
ABC Stage 67
Self - Host · 1 eps
Hollywood Hobbies
Self (uncredited)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Self
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
Self
Hollywood Goes to Town
Self
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Self
The Romance of Celluloid
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood’s Children
Self (archive footage)
Northward, Ho!
Himself
Highball Highway
Himself