Robert Young's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Father Knows Best James 'Jim'… Marcus Welby, M.D. Dr. Marcus … Little Women Mr. Laurence

Main Movie Roles 1954 - Secret of the Incas 1949 - That Forsyte Woman 1947 - Crossfire 1947 - They Won't Believe Me 1945 - The Enchanted Cottage 1944 - The Canterville Ghost 1942 - Cairo 1942 - Journey for Margaret 1941 - Lady Be Good 1941 - Western Union 1940 - The Mortal Storm 1936 - Stowaway 1936 - Secret Agent 1931 - The Black Camel

BIOGRAPHY:

Quiet, soft-spoken Robert grew up in California and had some stage experience with the Pasadena Playhouse before entering films in 1931. His movie career consisted of playing characters who were charming, good-looking--and bland. In fact, his screen image was such that he usually never got the girl. Louis B. Mayer would say, "He has no sex appeal," but he had a work ethic that prepared him for every role that he played. And he did play in as many as eleven films per year for a decade starting with The Black Camel (1931). He was notable as the spy in Alfred Hitchcock (I)'s Secret Agent (1936), but the '40s was the decade in which he was to have most of his best roles. These included 'Northwest Passage' (Book I -- Rogers' Rangers) (1940); Western Union (1941); and H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941). Good roles followed, from the husband of Dorothy McGuire (I)in Claudia (1943) to the detective in Crossfire (1947), but they were becoming scarce. In 1949, Robert started a radio show called "Father Knows Best" wherein he played Jim Anderson, an average father with average situations--a role which was tailor-made for him. Basically retiring from films, he starred in this program for five years on radio before it went to television in 1954. After a slight falter in the ratings and a switch from CBS to NBC, it became a mainstay of television until it was canceled in 1960. He continued making guest appearances on various television shows and working in television movies. In 1969, he starred as Dr. Marcus Welby in the TV movie Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969) (TV). The Marcus Welby series that followed ran from 1969 through 1976 and featured James Brolin as his assistant, Dr. Steven Kiley--the doc with the bike. After the series ended, Robert, now in his seventies, finally licked his 30-year battle with alcohol and occasionally appeared in television movies through the 1980s.


TRIVIA:

• He has four daughters: Betty Lou Gleason, Carol Proffitt, Barbara Beebe, and Kathy Young. He has six grandchildren.
• Was the fourth of five children born to Thomas and Margaret (Fyfe) Young. His family moved from his native Chicago to Seattle, Washington, when he was less than a year old.
• Was a favorite co-star among Tinseltown's biggest female stars, including 'Margaret Sullavan' (qv), 'Joan Crawford (I)' (qv), 'Janet Gaynor (I)' (qv), 'Loretta Young' (qv), 'Norma Shearer' (qv) 'Katharine Hepburn' (qv) and 'Claudette Colbert' (qv), primarily because his acting was always reliable, complimentary and professional...plus the fact that he never tried to steal the spotlight.
• Did not renew his MGM contact after filming _The Canterville Ghost (1944)_ (qv) and chose to free-lance instead. After a great start in post-war pictures, his film career declined rapidly and he wisely moved to radio in 1949 and eventually TV.
• Following his sobriety, he was once chosen Honorary Chairman of National Health Week.
• Took a seven year sabbatical from TV in 1962 following the failure of his second TV series _"Window on Main Street" (1961)_ (qv). Triumphantly returned in 1969 as _"Marcus Welby, M.D." (1969)_ (qv).
• (1991) Suicide attempt due to alcoholism and depression.
• His Irish Protestant carpenter father abandoned the family when Robert was 10 years old. He was a newspaper boy during this time in order to help the family income.