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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Young (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Known For	Acting
Most Rating	1.8902
Birthday	1907-02-22
Place of Birth	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Also Known As	Robert George Young,

The Mortal Storm

Secret Agent

They Won't Believe Me

Stowaway

Crossfire

Secret of the Incas

Cairo

That Forsyte Woman

The Enchanted Cottage

Journey for Margaret

Lady Be Good

Western Union

Northwest Passage

The Second Woman

Honolulu

The Black Camel

Spitfire

The Canterville Ghost

Maisie

The Emperor's Candlesticks

Remember Last Night?

Tugboat Annie

Sitting Pretty

H.M. Pulham, Esq.

Dr. Kildare's Crisis

It's Love Again

Death on the Diamond

Today We Live

West Point of the Air

Three Comrades

The Shining Hour

The Bride Walks Out

The Bride Wore Red

The Kid from Spain

Strange Interlude

Goodbye, My Fancy

I Met Him in Paris

The Wet Parade

Navy Blue and Gold

Married Before Breakfast

The Toy Wife

Men Must Fight

Red Salute

And Baby Makes Three

The Half-Breed

Relentless

The Longest Night

Slightly Dangerous

The Right To Romance

Lazy River

Rich Man, Poor Girl

Hell Below

The Guilty Generation

Sworn Enemy

Florian

My Darling Daughters' Anniversary

Claudia and David

Adventure in Baltimore

Miracles for Sale

Lady Luck

The Searching Wind

New Morals for Old

Paradise for Three

Unashamed

The House of Rothschild

The Bride Comes Home

Carolina

Married Bachelor

Hollywood Hobbies

The Band Plays On

Calm Yourself

The Big Moment

Bridal Suite

Bride for Sale

Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities

Paris Interlude

Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair

Josette

Vagabond Lady

Dangerous Number