Robert Young
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Feb 22, 1907
- Died
- Jul 21, 1998 (aged 91)
- Place of birth
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Credits
- 135
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.
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Known for
Secret Agent
1936Movie
Robert Marvin
Crossfire
1947Movie
Finlay
The Mortal Storm
1940Movie
Fritz Marberg
Western Union
1941Movie
Richard Blake
That's Entertainment!
1974Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Northwest Passage
1940Movie
Langdon Towne
Filmography
That's Entertainment! III
1994Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
1990Movie
(archive footage)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
1990Movie
Self
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair
1988Movie
Dr. Marcus Welby
A Conspiracy of Love
1987Movie
Joe Woldarski
Mercy or Murder?
1987Movie
Roswell Gilbert
The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.
1984Movie
Dr. Marcus Welby
Hollywood’s Children
1982Movie
Self (archive footage)
Little Women
1978TV
Mr. Laurence
Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas
1977Movie
Jim Anderson
The Father Knows Best Reunion
1977Movie
James Anderson
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976Movie
(archive footage)
Donny & Marie
1976TV
Self
Dinah!
1974TV
Self
That's Entertainment!
1974Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
1973Movie
Judge Charles Raleigh
All My Darling Daughters
1972Movie
Judge Charles Raleigh
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
1971TV
Dr. Marcus Welby
Vanished
1971TV
Sen. Earl Gannon
The Partridge Family
1970TV
Marcus Welby, M.D.
1969TV
Dr. Marcus Welby
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
1969Movie
Marcus Welby
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
1969TV
Self
The Name of the Game
1968TV
Herman Allison
The Dick Cavett Show
1968TV
Self - Guest
ABC Stage 67
1966TV
Self - Host
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963TV
Nick Holloway
Highball Highway
1963Movie
Himself
The Merv Griffin Show
1962TV
Self
Window on Main Street
1961TV
Dr. Kildare
1961TV
Dr. Gilbert Winfield
The Steve Allen Show
1956TV
Self - Guest, Self
Climax!
1954TV
Lieutenant Commander Knowles
Father Knows Best
1954TV
Jim Anderson
Secret of the Incas
1954Movie
Stanley Moorehead
The Big Moment
1954Movie
Narrator
This Is Your Life
1952TV
Self
The Half-Breed
1952Movie
Dan Craig
Goodbye, My Fancy
1951Movie
Doctor James Merrill
The Second Woman
1950Movie
Jeff Cohalan
What's My Line?
1950TV
Self
And Baby Makes Three
1949Movie
Vernon 'Vern' Walsh
Bride for Sale
1949Movie
Steve Adams
That Forsyte Woman
1949Movie
Philip Bosinney
Adventure in Baltimore
1949Movie
Dr. Andrew Sheldon
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948TV
Self
Relentless
1948Movie
Nick Buckley
Sitting Pretty
1948Movie
Harry King
Crossfire
1947Movie
Finlay
They Won't Believe Me
1947Movie
Larry Ballentine
Lady Luck
1946Movie
Larry Scott
The Searching Wind
1946Movie
Alex Hazen
Claudia and David
1946Movie
David Naughton
Those Endearing Young Charms
1945Movie
Lt. Hurley 'Hank' Travers
The Enchanted Cottage
1945Movie
Oliver Bradford
The Canterville Ghost
1944Movie
Cuffy Williams
Golden Globe Awards
1944TV
Self - Nominee
Twenty Years After
1944Movie
(archive footage)
Claudia
1943Movie
David Naughton
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
1943Movie
Samuel Magee
Slightly Dangerous
1943Movie
Bob Stuart
Journey for Margaret
1942Movie
John Davis
Cairo
1942Movie
Homer Smith
Joe Smith, American
1942Movie
Joe Smith
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941Movie
Harry Moulton Pulham
Married Bachelor
1941Movie
Randolph Haven
Lady Be Good
1941Movie
Edward 'Eddie' Crane
Western Union
1941Movie
Richard Blake
The Trial of Mary Dugan
1941Movie
Jimmy Blake
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
1940Movie
Douglas Lamont
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
1940Movie
Self
Sporting Blood
1940Movie
Myles Vanders
The Mortal Storm
1940Movie
Fritz Marberg
Florian
1940Movie
Anton Erban
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940Movie
Self
Northwest Passage
1940Movie
Langdon Towne
Northward, Ho!
1940Movie
Himself
Miracles for Sale
1939Movie
Michael Morgan
Maisie
1939Movie
Charles 'Slim' Martin
Bridal Suite
1939Movie
Neil McGill
Hollywood Hobbies
1939Movie
Self (uncredited)
Honolulu
1939Movie
Brooks Mason / George Smith
The Shining Hour
1938Movie
David Linden
Rich Man, Poor Girl
1938Movie
Bill Harrison
Hollywood Goes to Town
1938Movie
Self
The Toy Wife
1938Movie
Andre Vallaire
Paradise for Three
1938Movie
Fritz Hagedorn
Josette
1938Movie
Pierre Brassard
Three Comrades
1938Movie
Gottfried Lenz
Navy Blue and Gold
1937Movie
Roger 'Rog' Ash
The Bride Wore Red
1937Movie
Rudolph 'Rudi' Pal
The Romance of Celluloid
1937Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Emperor's Candlesticks
1937Movie
Grand Duke Peter
Married Before Breakfast
1937Movie
Tom Wakefield
I Met Him in Paris
1937Movie
Gene Anders
Dangerous Number
1937Movie
Hank
Stowaway
1936Movie
Tommy Randall
The Longest Night
1936Movie
Charley Phelps
Sworn Enemy
1936Movie
Henry 'Hank' Sherman
The Bride Walks Out
1936Movie
Hugh McKenzie
The Three Wise Guys
1936Movie
Joe Hatcher
Secret Agent
1936Movie
Robert Marvin
It's Love Again
1936Movie
Peter Carlton
The Bride Comes Home
1935Movie
Jack Bristow
Remember Last Night?
1935Movie
Tony Milburn
Red Salute
1935Movie
Jeff
Calm Yourself
1935Movie
Preston Patton
Vagabond Lady
1935Movie
Tony Spear
West Point of the Air
1935Movie
Little Mike Stone
The Band Plays On
1934Movie
Tony Ferrera
Death on the Diamond
1934Movie
Larry Kelly
Paris Interlude
1934Movie
Pat
Whom the Gods Destroy
1934Movie
Jack Forrester
Hollywood Party
1934Movie
Radio Announcer (uncredited)
The House of Rothschild
1934Movie
Capt. Fitzroy
Lazy River
1934Movie
William 'Bill' Drexel
Spitfire
1934Movie
John Stafford
Carolina
1934Movie
Will Connelly
The Right To Romance
1933Movie
Bobby Preble
Saturday's Millions
1933Movie
Jim Fowler
Tugboat Annie
1933Movie
Alec (Son)
Hell Below
1933Movie
Lieut. (JG) 'Brick' Walters
Today We Live
1933Movie
Claude William Hope
Men Must Fight
1933Movie
Geoffrey Aiken
Strange Interlude
1932Movie
Gordon Evans as a young man
The Kid from Spain
1932Movie
Ricardo
Unashamed
1932Movie
Dick Ogden
New Morals for Old
1932Movie
Ralph Thomas
The Wet Parade
1932Movie
Kip Tarleton
Hell Divers
1932Movie
Graham - Pilot Reporting Missing Airplanes (uncredited)
The Guilty Generation
1931Movie
Marco Ricca, also known as Marco Smith
The Sin of Madelon Claudet
1931Movie
Dr.Claudet
The Black Camel
1931Movie
Jimmy Bradshaw
Calling Hubby's Bluff
1929Movie
Party Guest (uncredited)
The Campus Vamp
1928Movie
Student at Dance / at Beach (uncredited)