1907-02-22 ( 118 years old ) in 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.
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Movies
That's Entertainment! III
1994-07-01
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
1990-06-04
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair
1988-12-19
A Conspiracy of Love
1987-10-18
Mercy or Murder?
1987-01-11
The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.
1984-05-16
Hollywood’s Children
1982-02-24
Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas
1977-12-18
The Father Knows Best Reunion
1977-05-15
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976-05-16
That's Entertainment!
1974-06-21
My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
1973-11-08
All My Darling Daughters
1972-11-22
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
1969-03-26
Highball Highway
1963-08-04
Secret of the Incas
1954-06-06
The Big Moment
1954-03-07
The Half-Breed
1952-05-03
Goodbye, My Fancy
1951-05-19
The Second Woman
1950-07-07
And Baby Makes Three
1949-12-02
Bride for Sale
1949-11-12
That Forsyte Woman
1949-11-03
Adventure in Baltimore
1949-04-19
Relentless
1948-06-15
Sitting Pretty
1948-03-10
Crossfire
1947-08-15
They Won't Believe Me
1947-07-16
Lady Luck
1946-10-30
The Searching Wind
1946-08-09
Claudia and David
1946-02-25
Those Endearing Young Charms
1945-06-19
The Enchanted Cottage
1945-04-28
The Canterville Ghost
1944-07-20
Twenty Years After
1944-01-01
Claudia
1943-11-04
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
1943-10-01
Slightly Dangerous
1943-04-01
Journey for Margaret
1942-12-17
Cairo
1942-08-17
Joe Smith, American
1942-02-01
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941-12-04
Married Bachelor
1941-10-16
Lady Be Good
1941-09-18
Western Union
1941-02-21
The Trial of Mary Dugan
1941-02-14
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
1940-11-29
Sporting Blood
1940-07-11
The Mortal Storm
1940-06-20
Florian
1940-06-05
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940-05-29
Northwest Passage
1940-02-23
Northward, Ho!
1940-02-10
Miracles for Sale
1939-08-10
Maisie
1939-06-22
Bridal Suite
1939-05-26
Hollywood Hobbies
1939-05-03
Honolulu
1939-02-03
The Shining Hour
1938-11-18
Rich Man, Poor Girl
1938-08-12
Hollywood Goes to Town
1938-07-07
The Toy Wife
1938-06-10
Paradise for Three
1938-06-04
Josette
1938-06-03
Three Comrades
1938-06-02
Navy Blue and Gold
1937-11-19
The Bride Wore Red
1937-10-08
The Romance of Celluloid
1937-08-27
The Emperor's Candlesticks
1937-07-02
Married Before Breakfast
1937-06-18
I Met Him in Paris
1937-05-28
Dangerous Number
1937-01-22
Stowaway
1936-12-25
The Longest Night
1936-10-02
Sworn Enemy
1936-09-11
The Bride Walks Out
1936-07-10
Secret Agent
1936-05-31
The Three Wise Guys
1936-05-15
It's Love Again
1936-05-06
The Bride Comes Home
1935-12-25
Remember Last Night?
1935-10-28
Red Salute
1935-09-12
Calm Yourself
1935-06-28
Vagabond Lady
1935-05-03
West Point of the Air
1935-03-23
The Bands Plays On
1934-12-21
Death on the Diamond
1934-09-14
Paris Interlude
1934-07-27
Whom the Gods Destroy
1934-07-12
Hollywood Party
1934-05-24
The House of Rothschild
1934-04-07
Lazy River
1934-03-16
Spitfire
1934-03-08
Carolina
1934-02-02
The Right To Romance
1933-11-17
Saturday's Millions
1933-09-30
Tugboat Annie
1933-08-04
Hell Below
1933-06-08
Today We Live
1933-03-03
Men Must Fight
1933-02-17
Strange Interlude
1932-12-30
The Kid from Spain
1932-11-17
Unashamed
1932-07-02
New Morals for Old
1932-06-04
The Wet Parade
1932-03-26
Hell Divers
1932-01-16
The Guilty Generation
1931-11-19
The Sin of Madelon Claudet
1931-10-23
The Black Camel
1931-06-21
The Campus Vamp
1928-11-25
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