Robert Young with Shirley Temple in Stowaway, 1936
Robert Young was born 114 years ago today.
Young was a television, film and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father character in Father Knows Best (NBC and then CBS), and the physician, Marcus Welby, in Marcus Welby, M.D. (ABC).
Born in Chicago, Young was discovered by a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer talent scout. He made his sound film debut for MGM in the 1931 Charlie Chan film, Black Camel. Young appeared in over 100 films between 1931 and 1952.
After appearing on stage, he 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, including 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).
Despite his trademark portrayal of happy, well-adjusted characters, Young's bitterness towards Hollywood casting practices never diminished, and he suffered from depression and alcoholism — culminating in a suicide attempt in January, 1991.
Later, he spoke candidly about his personal problems in an effort to encourage others to seek help. The Robert Young Center for Community Mental Health, in Rock Island, Illinois, is named after Young in honor of his work toward passage of the 708 Illinois Tax Referendum, which established a property tax to support mental health programs in his home state.
Young died of respiratory failure at his Westlake Village, California home on July 21, 1998.
Here’s the opening of the first episode of Robert Young in “Father Knows Best”