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).
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
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0001870
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q516390
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Filmography (Movies)
That's Entertainment! III
Character:(archive footage)
Release Date:01/07/1994
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
Character:(archive footage)
Release Date:04/06/1990
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic
Character:Self
Release Date:20/02/1990
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair
Character:Dr. Marcus Welby
Release Date:19/12/1988
A Conspiracy of Love
Character:Joe Woldarski
Release Date:18/10/1987
Mercy or Murder?
Character:Roswell Gilbert
Release Date:11/01/1987
The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.
Character:Dr. Marcus Welby
Release Date:16/05/1984
Hollywood’s Children
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:24/02/1982
Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas
Character:Jim Anderson
Release Date:18/12/1977
The Father Knows Best Reunion
Character:James Anderson
Release Date:15/05/1977
That's Entertainment, Part II
Character:(archive footage)
Release Date:16/05/1976
That's Entertainment!
Character:(archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:21/06/1974
My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
Character:Judge Charles Raleigh
Release Date:07/11/1973
All My Darling Daughters
Character:Judge Charles Raleigh
Release Date:22/11/1972
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
Character:Marcus Welby
Release Date:26/03/1969
Highball Highway
Character:Himself
Release Date:04/08/1963
Secret of the Incas
Character:Stanley Moorehead
Release Date:06/06/1954
The Big Moment
Character:Narrator
Release Date:07/03/1954
The Half-Breed
Character:Dan Craig
Release Date:03/05/1952
Goodbye, My Fancy
Character:Doctor James Merrill
Release Date:19/05/1951
The Second Woman
Character:Jeff Cohalan
Release Date:07/07/1950
And Baby Makes Three
Character:Vernon 'Vern' Walsh
Release Date:02/12/1949
Bride for Sale
Character:Steve Adams
Release Date:12/11/1949
That Forsyte Woman
Character:Philip Bosinney
Release Date:03/11/1949
Adventure in Baltimore
Character:Dr. Andrew Sheldon
Release Date:19/04/1949
Relentless
Character:Nick Buckley
Release Date:15/06/1948
Sitting Pretty
Character:Harry King
Release Date:10/03/1948
Crossfire
Character:Finlay
Release Date:15/08/1947
They Won't Believe Me
Character:Larry Ballentine
Release Date:16/07/1947
Lady Luck
Character:Larry Scott
Release Date:30/10/1946
The Searching Wind
Character:Alex Hazen
Release Date:09/08/1946
Claudia and David
Character:David Naughton
Release Date:25/02/1946
Those Endearing Young Charms
Character:Lt. Hurley 'Hank' Travers
Release Date:19/06/1945
The Enchanted Cottage
Character:Oliver Bradford
Release Date:28/04/1945
The Canterville Ghost
Character:Cuffy Williams
Release Date:20/07/1944
Twenty Years After
Character:(archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/1944
Claudia
Character:David Naughton
Release Date:04/11/1943
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
Character:Samuel Magee
Release Date:01/10/1943
Slightly Dangerous
Character:Bob Stuart
Release Date:01/04/1943
Journey for Margaret
Character:John Davis
Release Date:17/12/1942
Cairo
Character:Homer Smith, aka Juniper Jones
Release Date:17/08/1942
Joe Smith, American
Character:Joe Smith
Release Date:01/02/1942
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Character:Harry Moulton Pulham
Release Date:04/12/1941
Married Bachelor
Character:Randolph Haven
Release Date:16/10/1941
Lady Be Good
Character:Edward 'Eddie' Crane
Release Date:18/09/1941
Western Union
Character:Richard Blake
Release Date:21/02/1941
The Trial of Mary Dugan
Character:Jimmy Blake
Release Date:14/02/1941
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
Character:Douglas Lamont
Release Date:29/11/1940
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Character:Self
Release Date:24/10/1940
Sporting Blood
Character:Myles Vanders
Release Date:11/07/1940
The Mortal Storm
Character:Fritz Marberg
Release Date:20/06/1940
Florian
Character:Anton Erban
Release Date:05/06/1940
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Character:Self
Release Date:29/05/1940
Northwest Passage
Character:Langdon Towne
Release Date:23/02/1940
Northward, Ho!
Character:Himself
Release Date:10/02/1940
Miracles for Sale
Character:Michael Morgan
Release Date:10/08/1939
Maisie
Character:Charles 'Slim' Martin
Release Date:22/06/1939
Bridal Suite
Character:Neil McGill
Release Date:26/05/1939
Hollywood Hobbies
Character:Self (uncredited)
Release Date:03/05/1939
Honolulu
Character:Brooks Mason / George Smith
Release Date:03/02/1939
The Shining Hour
Character:David Linden
Release Date:18/11/1938
Rich Man, Poor Girl
Character:Bill Harrison
Release Date:12/08/1938
Hollywood Goes to Town
Character:Self
Release Date:07/07/1938
The Toy Wife
Character:Andre Vallaire
Release Date:10/06/1938
Paradise for Three
Character:Fritz Hagedorn
Release Date:04/06/1938
Josette
Character:Pierre Brassard
Release Date:03/06/1938
Three Comrades
Character:Gottfried Lenz
Release Date:02/06/1938
Navy Blue and Gold
Character:Roger 'Rog' Ash
Release Date:19/11/1937
The Bride Wore Red
Character:Rudolph 'Rudi' Pal
Release Date:08/10/1937
The Romance of Celluloid
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:27/08/1937
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Character:Grand Duke Peter
Release Date:02/07/1937
Married Before Breakfast
Character:Tom Wakefield
Release Date:18/06/1937
I Met Him in Paris
Character:Gene Anders
Release Date:28/05/1937
Dangerous Number
Character:Hank
Release Date:22/01/1937
Stowaway
Character:Tommy Randall
Release Date:25/12/1936
The Longest Night
Character:Charley Phelps
Release Date:02/10/1936
Sworn Enemy
Character:Henry 'Hank' Sherman
Release Date:11/09/1936
The Bride Walks Out
Character:Hugh McKenzie
Release Date:10/07/1936
The Three Wise Guys
Character:Joe Hatcher
Release Date:15/05/1936
Secret Agent
Character:Robert Marvin
Release Date:11/05/1936
It's Love Again
Character:Peter Carlton
Release Date:06/05/1936
The Bride Comes Home
Character:Jack Bristow
Release Date:25/12/1935
Remember Last Night?
Character:Tony Milburn
Release Date:28/10/1935
Red Salute
Character:Jeff
Release Date:12/09/1935
Calm Yourself
Character:Preston Patton
Release Date:28/06/1935
Vagabond Lady
Character:Tony Spear
Release Date:03/05/1935
West Point of the Air
Character:Little Mike Stone
Release Date:23/03/1935
The Band Plays On
Character:Tony Ferrera
Release Date:21/12/1934
Death on the Diamond
Character:Larry Kelly
Release Date:14/09/1934
Paris Interlude
Character:Pat
Release Date:27/07/1934
Whom the Gods Destroy
Character:Jack Forrester
Release Date:12/07/1934
Hollywood Party
Character:Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Release Date:24/05/1934
The House of Rothschild
Character:Capt. Fitzroy
Release Date:07/04/1934
Lazy River
Character:William 'Bill' Drexel
Release Date:16/03/1934
Spitfire
Character:John Stafford
Release Date:08/03/1934
Carolina
Character:Will Connelly
Release Date:02/02/1934
The Right To Romance
Character:Bobby Preble
Release Date:17/11/1933
Saturday's Millions
Character:Jim Fowler
Release Date:30/09/1933
Tugboat Annie
Character:Alec (Son)
Release Date:04/08/1933
Hell Below
Character:Lieut. (JG) 'Brick' Walters
Release Date:08/06/1933
Today We Live
Character:Claude William Hope
Release Date:03/03/1933
Men Must Fight
Character:Geoffrey Aiken
Release Date:17/02/1933
Strange Interlude
Character:Gordon Evans as a young man
Release Date:30/12/1932
The Kid from Spain
Character:Ricardo
Release Date:17/11/1932
Unashamed
Character:Dick Ogden
Release Date:02/07/1932
New Morals for Old
Character:Ralph Thomas
Release Date:04/06/1932
The Wet Parade
Character:Kip Tarleton
Release Date:26/03/1932
Hell Divers
Character:Graham - Pilot Reporting Missing Airplanes (uncredited)
Release Date:16/01/1932
The Guilty Generation
Character:Marco Ricca, also known as Marco Smith
Release Date:19/11/1931
The Sin of Madelon Claudet
Character:Dr.Claudet
Release Date:23/10/1931
The Black Camel
Character:Jimmy Bradshaw
Release Date:21/06/1931
Calling Hubby's Bluff
Character:Party Guest (uncredited)
Release Date:03/02/1929
The Campus Vamp
Character:Student at Dance / at Beach (uncredited)
Release Date:25/11/1928
Television Appearances
Little Women
Character:Mr. Laurence
Donny & Marie
Character:Self
Dinah!
Character:Self
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Character:Dr. Marcus Welby
Vanished
Character:Sen. Earl Gannon
The Partridge Family
Character:
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Character:Dr. Marcus Welby
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
Character:Self
The Name of the Game
Character:Herman Allison
The Dick Cavett Show
Character:Self - Guest
ABC Stage 67
Character:Self - Host
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Character:Nick Holloway
The Merv Griffin Show
Character:Self
Window on Main Street
Character:
Dr. Kildare
Character:Dr. Gilbert Winfield
The Steve Allen Show
Character:Self - Guest
The Steve Allen Show
Character:Self - Recipient
Climax!
Character:Lieutenant Commander Knowles
Father Knows Best
Character:Jim Anderson
This Is Your Life
Character:Self
What's My Line?
Character:Self - Mystery Guest
What's My Line?
Character:Self - Panelist
The Ed Sullivan Show
Character:Self
Golden Globe Awards
Character:Self - Nominee
Images
