Robert Young
Acting
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
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
as (archive footage)
Age 83 (now 91)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic
as Self
Age 82 (now 91)
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair
as Dr. Marcus Welby
Age 81 (now 91)
The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.
as Dr. Marcus Welby
Age 77 (now 91)
Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas
as Jim Anderson
Age 70 (now 91)
The Father Knows Best Reunion
as James Anderson
Age 70 (now 91)
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
Age 69 (now 91)
That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Age 67 (now 91)
My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
as Judge Charles Raleigh
Age 66 (now 91)
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
as Marcus Welby
Age 62 (now 91)
Those Endearing Young Charms
as Lt. Hurley 'Hank' Travers
Age 38 (now 91)
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
as Self
Age 33 (now 91)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
as Self
Age 33 (now 91)
The Romance of Celluloid
as Self (archive footage)
Age 30 (now 91)
Hell Divers
as Graham - Pilot Reporting Missing Airplanes (uncredited)
Age 24 (now 91)
The Guilty Generation
as Marco Ricca, also known as Marco Smith
Age 24 (now 91)
The Campus Vamp
as Student at Dance / at Beach (uncredited)
Age 21 (now 91)
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
as Dr. Marcus Welby
Age 64 (now 91)
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
as Self
Age 61 (now 91)
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
as Nick Holloway
Age 56 (now 91)
Gathering insights...
Also Known As
Robert George Young
IMDB
nm0001870