Robert Young

Robert Young Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: February 22, 1907

Death Date: July 21, 1998

Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois

An affable, forthright lead with prototypical "average guy" good looks, Robert Young entered films in 1931 and for 25 years embodied the easygoing but eminently sensible US male. Headlining many programmers and medium-sized "A" productions, he made films in every genre, and was often cast as an agreeable consort to more dominant star actresses. Like the star whose career and image most parallels his, Fred MacMurray, Young moved smoothly in middle age to TV, producing and starring in the landmark family sitcom, "Father Knows Best" (CBS and NBC, 1954-1960). It was only one step from paternal ideal to the avuncular, and Young later enjoyed another popular series with the similarly soothing medical drama, "Marcus Welby, M.D." (ABC, 1969-1976). Not as big in films as MacMurray, Young was never as edgy or whimsical as James Stewart, or as earnest and striving as Henry Fonda. His TV success was greater than that of any other Golden Era Hollywood Everyman, though, because, regardless of his real talent as an actor, he was relaxed and unthreatening.

Born in Chicago but raised in California, Young began acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and made his film debut in Fox's "The Black Camel" (1931). That same year, he was signed by MGM, where his first major role came as Helen Hayes' son in the mother-love weeper, "The Sin of Madelon Claudet" (1931). Young soon played similarly boyish roles in support of Norma Shearer in "Strange Interlude" (1932) and Marie Dressler in "Tugboat Annie" (1933). He also began playing leads in programmers and "B" pictures, which, over the course of his 14-year stint at Metro included "Lazy River" (1934), "Calm Yourself" (1935), "Miracles for Sale" (1939) and "Joe Smith, American" (1942). Young also vied for the hand of such estimable female stars as Joan Crawford (in several films including Dorothy Arzner's striking "The Bride Wore Red," 1937), Margaret Sullavan (the moving "Three Comrades," 1938) and Jeanette MacDonald ("Cairo," 1942).

A reliable property who brought likability and an offhand intelligence to his lightweight playboy roles, he was also frequently loaned out to other studios. Young tried to win the favor of Ann Harding ("The Right to Romance," 1933) and Barbara Stanwyck ("The Bride Walks Out," 1936) at RKO and Claudette Colbert at Paramount ("The Bride Comes Home," 1936). A sure rule of thumb determined whether or not Young would prevail: if a bigger male co-star was also in the running, Young was the inevitable good-hearted loser; if not, he was generally deemed a decent catch.

Like MacMurray, Young enjoyed some of his best roles when his "nice guy" demeanor slipped from the casual to the careless, or proved a mere front for villainy. He enjoyed just such a change-of-pace role as a spy in Alfred Hitchcock's "Secret Agent" (1936), was compelling as a Nazi in "The Mortal Storm" (1940), and enjoyed a hit as a ne'er-do-well in "Those Endearing Young Charms" (1945). Best of all was his opportunist in the striking noir "They Won't Believe Me" (1947), toying around with Jane Greer, Susan Hayward and Rita Johnson before the richly ironic plot caught up with him. On more sympathetic fronts, his glib, recklessly drunken partygoer parried deliciously with Constance Cummings in James Whale's cult classic "Remember Last Night?" (1935) and Young was very touching in both "H.M. Pulham, Esq." (1941), as a stuffy Bostonian, and "The Enchanted Cottage" (1945), as an embittered war veteran.

Although Young acted on multiple occasions with such gifted actresses as Dorothy McGuire, Ruth Hussey and Maureen O'Sullivan, he never became part of a romantic team until TV beckoned. In the late 40s and early 50s, he still appeared in popular films, but his pipe-smoking detective was less riveting than Robert Ryan's anti-Semitic psycho in "Crossfire" (1947) and he also played second fiddle to Clifton Webb's prissy babysitter in "Sitting Pretty" (1948). The latter film, with Young as an ordinary breadwinner, pointed toward his popular success on radio with "Father Knows Best" beginning in 1949. By 1954, Young gave up on features altogether when he successfully transplanted insurance manager Jim Anderson and his all-American family to the small screen. An unabashed ode to a patriarchal nuclear family that not only never was but also never could be, "Father Knows Best" won Young two Emmys and compensated for its idealized and conservative coziness with doses of warmth, wit and the chemistry Young evoked with ideal co-star Jane Wyatt and their clean-scrubbed kids.

After Young ended the show's run, he tried another series with the reflective small-town saga, "Window on Main Street" (CBS, 1961-62), but it didn't last. The 60s were a lean period for the actor, but when he rebounded as Marcus Welby, the handsomely white-haired Young won a third Emmy with another winning formula, complete with younger sidekick, wisecracking support staff and nostalgic guest stars. Dr. Welby was as reassuring to the 70s as Jim Anderson had been 20 years earlier and Young continued into the 80s with several "Father Knows Best" and "Marcus Welby" TV-movie reunions, another series attempt ("Little Women," NBC, 1979), and the occasional departure role (as mercy killer Roswell Gilbert in "Mercy or Murder?" NBC, 1987). Young also dominated the small screen in a wide range of TV commercials; having sold his genuine talent and likably ordinary persona for 50 years, the move was inevitable.

Credits

Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair

Actor
Dr. Marcus Welby
Movie
1988

Conspiracy of Love

Actor
Joe Woldarski
Movie
1987

Mercy or Murder?

Actor
Roswell Gilbert
Movie
1987

The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.

Actor
Dr. Marcus Welby
Movie
1984

Little Women

Actor
Grandpa James Lawrence
Movie
1978

The Father Knows Best Reunion

Actor
James Anderson
Movie
1977

Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas

Actor
Jim Anderson
Movie
1977

All My Darling Daughters' Anniversary

Actor
Judge Charles Raleigh
Movie
1973

All My Darling Daughters

Actor
Judge Charles Raleigh
Movie
1972

Vanished

Actor
Show
1971

Marcus Welby, M.D.Stream

Actor
Dr. Marcus Welby
Series
1969

The Protector

Actor
Herman Allison
Movie
1969

The Name of the Game

Guest Star
Series
1968

The Dick Cavett ShowStream

Actor
Talk
1968

Matter of Humanities

Actor
Dr. Marcus Welby
Movie
1968

Marcus Welby, M.D.

Actor
Dr. Marcus Welby
Movie
1968

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

Actor
Nick Holloway
Show
1963

The Admiral

Actor
Adm. Matt Callahan
Movie
1963

Window on Main Street

Actor
Cameron Brooks
Show
1961

Dr. Kildare

Guest Star
Series
1961

The AvengersStream

Guest Star
Series
1961

Climax!Stream

Actor
Series
1954

Father Knows BestStream

Actor
Jim Anderson
Series
1954

Secret of the Incas

Actor
Stanley Moorehead
Movie
1954

I've Got a SecretStream

Guest
Game Show
1952

The Half-Breed

Actor
Dan Craig
Movie
1952

Goodbye, My Fancy

Actor
Doctor James Merrill
Movie
1951

The Second Woman

Actor
Jeff Cohalan
Movie
1951

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
Game Show
1950

That Forsyte Woman

Actor
Philip Bosinney
Movie
1950

And Baby Makes Three

Actor
Vernon "Vern" Walsh
Movie
1949

Adventure in Baltimore

Actor
Pastor Andrew Sheldon
Movie
1949

Bride for Sale

Actor
Steve Adams
Movie
1949

Sitting Pretty

Actor
Harry King
Movie
1948

Relentless

Actor
Nick Buckley
Movie
1948

CrossfireStream

Actor
Finlay
Movie
1947
88%

They Won't Believe Me

Actor
Larry Ballentine
Movie
1947

The Searching Wind

Actor
Alex Hazen
Movie
1946

Lady Luck

Actor
Larry Scott
Movie
1946

Claudia and David

Actor
David Naughton
Movie
1946

The Enchanted Cottage

Actor
Oliver Bradford
Movie
1945
100%

Those Endearing Young Charms

Actor
Lt. Hurley "Hank" Travers
Movie
1945

The Canterville GhostStream

Actor
Cuffy Williams
Movie
1944
86%

Claudia

Actor
David Naughton
Movie
1943

Sweet Rosie O'Grady

Actor
Samuel A. Magee
Movie
1943

Slightly Dangerous

Actor
Bob Stuart
Movie
1943

Journey for Margaret

Actor
John Davis
Movie
1942

Joe Smith, American

Actor
Joe Smith
Movie
1942

Cairo

Actor
Homer Smith, aka Juniper Jones
Movie
1942

Western Union

Actor
Richard Blake
Movie
1941

Lady Be GoodStream

Actor
Edward "Eddie" Crane
Movie
1941

H.M. Pulham, Esq.

Actor
Harry Moulton Pulham
Movie
1941

Married Bachelor

Actor
Randolph `'Randy'` Haven
Movie
1941

The Trial of Mary Dugan

Actor
Jimmy Blake
Movie
1941

Dr. Kildare's Crisis

Actor
Douglas "Doug" Lamont
Movie
1940

Florian

Actor
Anton Erban
Movie
1940

The Mortal Storm

Actor
Fritz Marberg
Movie
1940
100%

Sporting Blood

Actor
Myles Vanders
Movie
1940

Northwest PassageStream

Actor
Langdon Towne
Movie
1940
100%

Le Grand passage

Actor
Movie
1940

Miracles for Sale

Actor
Michael Morgan
Movie
1939

Bridal Suite

Actor
Neil McGill
Movie
1939

Honolulu

Actor
Brooks Mason/George Smith/David
Movie
1939

Maisie

Actor
Charles "Slim" Martin
Movie
1939

Rich Man, Poor Girl

Actor
Bill Harrison
Movie
1938

The Shining Hour

Actor
David Linden
Movie
1938

Three Comrades

Actor
Gottfried Lenz
Movie
1938

Josette

Actor
Pierre Brassard
Movie
1938

The Toy Wife

Actor
Andre Vallaire
Movie
1938

Paradise for Three

Actor
Fritz Hagedorn
Movie
1938

The Bride Wore Red

Actor
Rudi Pal
Movie
1937

Navy Blue and Gold

Actor
Roger "Rog" Ash
Movie
1937

I Met Him in Paris

Actor
Gene Anders
Movie
1937

The Emperor's Candlesticks

Actor
Grand Duke Peter
Movie
1937

Married Before Breakfast

Actor
Tom Wakefield
Movie
1937

Dangerous Number

Actor
Henry `'Hank'` Medhill
Movie
1937

The Longest Night

Actor
Charley Phelps
Movie
1936

Stowaway

Actor
Tommy Randall
Movie
1936

Secret Agent

Actor
Robert Marvin
Movie
1936

Sworn Enemy

Actor
Henry "Hank" Sherman
Movie
1936

Three Wise Guys

Actor
Joe Hatcher
Movie
1936

The Bride Walks Out

Actor
Hugh McKenzie
Movie
1936

It's Love Again

Actor
Peter Carlton
Movie
1936

Red Salute

Actor
Jeff
Movie
1935

Remember Last Night

Actor
Tony Milburn
Movie
1935

Calm Yourself

Actor
Preston "Pat" Patton
Movie
1935

The Bride Comes Home

Actor
Jack Bristow
Movie
1935

Vagabond Lady

Actor
Tony Spear
Movie
1935

West Point of the Air

Actor
Little Mike Stone
Movie
1935

Spitfire

Actor
John Stafford
Movie
1934

Lazy River

Actor
William "Bill" Drexel
Movie
1934

The House of Rothschild

Actor
Capt. Fitzroy
Movie
1934

Paris Interlude

Actor
Patrick `'Pat'` Wells
Movie
1934

Death on the Diamond

Actor
Larry Kelly
Movie
1934

The Band Plays On

Actor
Tony Ferrera
Movie
1934

Hell Below

Actor
Lieut. (JG) 'Brick' Walters
Movie
1933

Men Must Fight

Actor
Geoffrey Aiken
Movie
1933

Tugboat AnnieStream

Actor
Alexander "Alec" Brennan
Movie
1933

The Right to Romance

Actor
Bobby Preble
Movie
1933

Today We Live

Actor
Claude
Movie
1933

Strange Interlude

Actor
Gordon Evans as a Young Man
Movie
1932

The Kid From Spain

Actor
Ricardo
Movie
1932

New Morals for Old

Actor
Ralph Thomas
Movie
1932

Unashamed

Actor
Richard 'Dick' Ogden
Movie
1932

The Wet Parade

Actor
Kip Tarleton
Movie
1932

The Sin of Madelon Claudet

Actor
Dr. Lawrence Claudet
Movie
1931

The Guilty Generation

Actor
Marco Ricca a.k.a. John Smith
Movie
1931