1907-02-22 Chicago, Illinois, USA
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
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That's Entertainment! III | (archive footage) | 1994-07-01 |
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Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To | (archive footage) | 1990-06-04 |
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic | Self | 1990-02-20 |
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Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair | Dr. Marcus Welby | 1988-12-19 |
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A Conspiracy of Love | Joe Woldarski | 1987-10-18 |
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Mercy or Murder? | Roswell Gilbert | 1987-01-11 |
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The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. | Dr. Marcus Welby | 1984-05-16 |
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Hollywood’s Children | Self (archive footage) | 1982-02-24 |
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The Father Knows Best Reunion | James Anderson | 1977-05-15 |
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Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas | Jim Anderson | 1977-12-18 |
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That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976-05-16 |
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That's Entertainment! | (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1974-06-21 |
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My Darling Daughters' Anniversary | Judge Charles Raleigh | 1973-11-08 |
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All My Darling Daughters | Judge Charles Raleigh | 1972-11-22 |
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Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities | Marcus Welby | 1969-03-26 |
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Highball Highway | Himself | 1963-08-04 |
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Secret of the Incas | Stanley Moorehead | 1954-06-06 |
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The Big Moment | Narrator | 1954-03-07 |
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The Half-Breed | Dan Craig | 1952-05-03 |
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Goodbye, My Fancy | Doctor James Merrill | 1951-05-19 |
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The Second Woman | Jeff Cohalan | 1950-07-07 |
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That Forsyte Woman | Philip Bosinney | 1949-11-03 |
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Adventure in Baltimore | Dr. Andrew Sheldon | 1949-04-19 |
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And Baby Makes Three | Vernon 'Vern' Walsh | 1949-12-02 |
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Bride for Sale | Stephen Tracy Adams | 1949-11-12 |
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Sitting Pretty | Harry King | 1948-03-10 |
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Relentless | Nick Buckley | 1948-06-15 |
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They Won't Believe Me | Larry Ballentine | 1947-07-16 |
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Crossfire | Finlay | 1947-08-15 |
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Claudia and David | David Naughton | 1946-02-25 |
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The Searching Wind | Alex Hazen | 1946-08-09 |
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Lady Luck | Larry Scott | 1946-10-30 |
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The Enchanted Cottage | Oliver Bradford | 1945-04-28 |
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Those Endearing Young Charms | Lt. Hurley 'Hank' Travers | 1945-06-19 |
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Twenty Years After | (archive footage) | 1944-01-01 |
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The Canterville Ghost | Cuffy Williams | 1944-07-20 |
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Claudia | David Naughton | 1943-11-04 |
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Slightly Dangerous | Bob Stuart | 1943-04-01 |
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Sweet Rosie O'Grady | Samuel Magee | 1943-10-01 |
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Journey for Margaret | John Davis | 1942-12-17 |
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Cairo | Homer Smith, aka Juniper Jones | 1942-08-17 |
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Joe Smith, American | Joe Smith | 1942-02-01 |
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Married Bachelor | Randolph Haven | 1941-10-16 |
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Lady Be Good | Edward 'Eddie' Crane | 1941-09-18 |
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The Trial of Mary Dugan | Jimmy Blake | 1941-02-14 |
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H.M. Pulham, Esq. | Harry Moulton Pulham | 1941-12-04 |
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Western Union | Richard Blake | 1941-02-21 |
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The Mortal Storm | Fritz Marberg | 1940-06-20 |
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Florian | Anton Erban | 1940-06-05 |
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Northward, Ho! | Himself | 1940-02-10 |
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Northwest Passage | Langdon Towne | 1940-02-23 |
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Hollywood: Style Center of the World | Self | 1940-05-29 |
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Dr. Kildare's Crisis | Douglas Lamont | 1940-11-29 |
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Sporting Blood | Myles Vanders | 1940-07-11 |
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A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound | Self | 1940-10-24 |
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Maisie | Charles 'Slim' Martin | 1939-06-22 |
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Honolulu | Brooks Mason / George Smith | 1939-02-03 |
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Bridal Suite | Neil McGill | 1939-05-26 |
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Miracles for Sale | Michael Morgan | 1939-08-10 |
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Hollywood Hobbies | Self (uncredited) | 1939-05-03 |
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Josette | Pierre Brassard | 1938-06-03 |
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Hollywood Goes to Town | Self | 1938-07-07 |
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Paradise for Three | Fritz Hagedorn | 1938-06-04 |
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The Toy Wife | Andre Vallaire | 1938-06-10 |
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Rich Man, Poor Girl | Bill Harrison | 1938-08-12 |
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Three Comrades | Gottfried Lenz | 1938-06-02 |
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The Shining Hour | David Linden | 1938-11-18 |
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I Met Him in Paris | Gene Anders | 1937-05-28 |
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The Bride Wore Red | Rudolph 'Rudi' Pal | 1937-10-08 |
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Dangerous Number | Hank | 1937-01-22 |
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Married Before Breakfast | Tom Wakefield | 1937-06-18 |
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The Emperor's Candlesticks | Grand Duke Peter | 1937-07-02 |
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Navy Blue and Gold | Roger 'Rog' Ash | 1937-11-19 |
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The Romance of Celluloid | Self (archive footage) | 1937-08-27 |
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The Longest Night | Charley Phelps | 1936-10-02 |
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The Bride Walks Out | Hugh McKenzie | 1936-07-10 |
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Secret Agent | Robert Marvin | 1936-05-31 |
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It's Love Again | Peter Carlton | 1936-05-06 |
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Stowaway | Tommy Randall | 1936-12-25 |
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Sworn Enemy | Henry 'Hank' Sherman | 1936-09-11 |
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The Three Wise Guys | Joe Hatcher | 1936-05-15 |
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West Point of the Air | Little Mike Stone | 1935-03-23 |
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Remember Last Night? | Tony Milburn | 1935-10-28 |
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Red Salute | Jeff | 1935-09-12 |
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Calm Yourself | Preston Patton | 1935-06-28 |
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The Bride Comes Home | Jack Bristow | 1935-12-25 |
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Vagabond Lady | Tony Spear | 1935-05-03 |
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Hollywood Party | Radio Announcer (uncredited) | 1934-05-24 |
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The Band Plays On | Tony Ferrera | 1934-12-21 |
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Carolina | Will Connelly | 1934-02-02 |
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The House of Rothschild | Capt. Fitzroy | 1934-04-07 |
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Lazy River | William 'Bill' Drexel | 1934-03-16 |
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Death on the Diamond | Larry Kelly | 1934-09-14 |
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Paris Interlude | Pat | 1934-07-27 |
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Whom the Gods Destroy | Jack Forrester | 1934-07-12 |
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Spitfire | John Stafford | 1934-03-08 |
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Today We Live | Claude William Hope | 1933-03-03 |
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Saturday's Millions | Jim Fowler | 1933-09-30 |
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Tugboat Annie | Alec (Son) | 1933-08-04 |
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Hell Below | Lieut. (JG) 'Brick' Walters | 1933-06-08 |
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Men Must Fight | Geoffrey Aiken | 1933-02-17 |
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The Right To Romance | Bobby Preble | 1933-11-17 |
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The Wet Parade | Kip Tarleton | 1932-03-26 |
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Hell Divers | Graham - Pilot Reporting Missing Airplanes (uncredited) | 1932-01-16 |
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New Morals for Old | Ralph Thomas | 1932-06-04 |
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Unashamed | Dick Ogden | 1932-07-02 |
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Strange Interlude | Gordon Evans as a young man | 1932-12-30 |
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The Kid from Spain | Ricardo | 1932-11-17 |
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The Black Camel | Jimmy Bradshaw | 1931-06-21 |
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The Sin of Madelon Claudet | Dr.Claudet | 1931-10-23 |
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The Guilty Generation | Marco Ricca, also known as Marco Smith | 1931-11-19 |
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The Campus Vamp | Student at Dance / at Beach (uncredited) | 1928-11-25 |
