Robert Young
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
Credits
- 1994 · That's Entertainment! III as (archive footage)
- 1990 · Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To as (archive footage)
- 1990 · The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic as Self
- 1988 · Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair as Dr. Marcus Welby
- 1987 · A Conspiracy of Love as Joe Woldarski
- 1987 · Mercy or Murder? as Roswell Gilbert
- 1984 · The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. as Dr. Marcus Welby
- 1982 · Hollywood’s Children as Self (archive footage)
- 1978 · Little Women as Mr. Laurence
- 1977 · Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas as Jim Anderson
- 1977 · The Father Knows Best Reunion as James Anderson
- 1976 · That's Entertainment, Part II as (archive footage)
- 1976 · Donny & Marie as Self
- 1974 · That's Entertainment! as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1973 · My Darling Daughters' Anniversary as Judge Charles Raleigh
- 1972 · All My Darling Daughters as Judge Charles Raleigh
- 1971 · Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law as Dr. Marcus Welby
- 1971 · Vanished as Sen. Earl Gannon
- 1969 · Marcus Welby, M.D. as Dr. Marcus Welby
- 1969 · Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities as Marcus Welby
- 1969 · The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour as Self
- 1968 · The Name of the Game as Herman Allison
- 1968 · The Dick Cavett Show as Self - Guest
- 1966 · ABC Stage 67 as Self - Host
- 1963 · Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre as Nick Holloway
- 1963 · Highball Highway as Himself
- 1962 · The Merv Griffin Show as Self
- 1961 · Window on Main Street as
- 1961 · Dr. Kildare as Dr. Gilbert Winfield
- 1956 · The Steve Allen Show as Self - Guest
- 1956 · The Steve Allen Show as Self - Recipient
- 1954 · Climax! as Lieutenant Commander Knowles
- 1954 · Father Knows Best as Jim Anderson
- 1954 · Secret of the Incas as Stanley Moorehead
- 1954 · The Big Moment as Narrator
- 1952 · This Is Your Life as Self
- 1952 · The Half-Breed as Dan Craig
- 1951 · Goodbye, My Fancy as Doctor James Merrill
- 1950 · The Second Woman as Jeff Cohalan
- 1950 · What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
- 1950 · What's My Line? as Self - Panelist
- 1949 · And Baby Makes Three as Vernon 'Vern' Walsh
- 1949 · Bride for Sale as Stephen Tracy Adams
- 1949 · That Forsyte Woman as Philip Bosinney
- 1949 · Adventure in Baltimore as Dr. Andrew Sheldon
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- 1948 · Relentless as Nick Buckley
- 1948 · Sitting Pretty as Harry King
- 1947 · Crossfire as Finlay
- 1947 · They Won't Believe Me as Larry Ballentine
- 1946 · Lady Luck as Larry Scott
- 1946 · The Searching Wind as Alex Hazen
- 1946 · Claudia and David as David Naughton
- 1945 · Those Endearing Young Charms as Lt. Hurley 'Hank' Travers
- 1945 · The Enchanted Cottage as Oliver Bradford
- 1944 · The Canterville Ghost as Cuffy Williams
- 1944 · Twenty Years After as (archive footage)
- 1943 · Claudia as David Naughton
- 1943 · Sweet Rosie O'Grady as Samuel Magee
- 1943 · Slightly Dangerous as Bob Stuart
- 1942 · Journey for Margaret as John Davis
- 1942 · Cairo as Homer Smith, aka Juniper Jones
- 1942 · Joe Smith, American as Joe Smith
- 1941 · H.M. Pulham, Esq. as Harry Moulton Pulham
- 1941 · Married Bachelor as Randolph Haven
- 1941 · Lady Be Good as Edward 'Eddie' Crane
- 1941 · Western Union as Richard Blake
- 1941 · The Trial of Mary Dugan as Jimmy Blake
- 1940 · Dr. Kildare's Crisis as Douglas Lamont
- 1940 · A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound as Self
- 1940 · Sporting Blood as Myles Vanders
- 1940 · The Mortal Storm as Fritz Marberg
- 1940 · Florian as Anton Erban
- 1940 · Hollywood: Style Center of the World as Self
- 1940 · Northwest Passage as Langdon Towne
- 1940 · Northward, Ho! as Himself
- 1939 · Miracles for Sale as Michael Morgan
- 1939 · Maisie as Charles 'Slim' Martin
- 1939 · Bridal Suite as Neil McGill
- 1939 · Hollywood Hobbies as Self (uncredited)
- 1939 · Honolulu as Brooks Mason / George Smith
- 1938 · The Shining Hour as David Linden
- 1938 · Rich Man, Poor Girl as Bill Harrison
- 1938 · Hollywood Goes to Town as Self
- 1938 · The Toy Wife as Andre Vallaire
- 1938 · Paradise for Three as Fritz Hagedorn
- 1938 · Josette as Pierre Brassard
- 1938 · Three Comrades as Gottfried Lenz
- 1937 · Navy Blue and Gold as Roger 'Rog' Ash
- 1937 · The Bride Wore Red as Rudolph 'Rudi' Pal
- 1937 · The Romance of Celluloid as Self (archive footage)
- 1937 · The Emperor's Candlesticks as Grand Duke Peter
- 1937 · Married Before Breakfast as Tom Wakefield
- 1937 · I Met Him in Paris as Gene Anders
- 1937 · Dangerous Number as Hank
- 1936 · Stowaway as Tommy Randall
- 1936 · The Longest Night as Charley Phelps
- 1936 · Sworn Enemy as Henry 'Hank' Sherman
- 1936 · The Bride Walks Out as Hugh McKenzie
- 1936 · Secret Agent as Robert Marvin
- 1936 · The Three Wise Guys as Joe Hatcher
- 1936 · It's Love Again as Peter Carlton
- 1935 · The Bride Comes Home as Jack Bristow
- 1935 · Remember Last Night? as Tony Milburn
- 1935 · Red Salute as Jeff
- 1935 · Calm Yourself as Preston Patton
- 1935 · Vagabond Lady as Tony Spear
- 1935 · West Point of the Air as Little Mike Stone
- 1934 · The Bands Plays On as Tony Ferrera
- 1934 · Death on the Diamond as Larry Kelly
- 1934 · Paris Interlude as Pat
- 1934 · Whom the Gods Destroy as Jack Forrester
- 1934 · Hollywood Party as Radio Announcer (uncredited)
- 1934 · The House of Rothschild as Capt. Fitzroy
- 1934 · Lazy River as William 'Bill' Drexel
- 1934 · Spitfire as John Stafford
- 1934 · Carolina as Will Connelly
- 1933 · The Right To Romance as Bobby Preble
- 1933 · Saturday's Millions as Jim Fowler
- 1933 · Tugboat Annie as Alec (Son)
- 1933 · Hell Below as Lieut. (JG) 'Brick' Walters
- 1933 · Today We Live as Claude William Hope
- 1933 · Men Must Fight as Geoffrey Aiken
- 1932 · Strange Interlude as Gordon Evans as a young man
- 1932 · The Kid from Spain as Ricardo
- 1932 · Unashamed as Dick Ogden
- 1932 · New Morals for Old as Ralph Thomas
- 1932 · The Wet Parade as Kip Tarleton
- 1932 · Hell Divers as Graham - Pilot Reporting Missing Airplanes (uncredited)
- 1931 · The Guilty Generation as Marco Ricca, also known as Marco Smith
- 1931 · The Sin of Madelon Claudet as Dr.Claudet
- 1931 · The Black Camel as Jimmy Bradshaw
- 1928 · The Campus Vamp as Student at Dance / at Beach (uncredited)