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