Robert Young
From Alfred Hitchcock Wiki
- born: 22/Feb/1907 (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
- died: 21/Jul/1998 (Westlake Village, California, USA) - respiratory failure
Biography
Robert Young was a popular American actor, who was the son of an Irish immigrant father and an American-born mother.
After having appeared on stage, Young was signed to an MGM contract -- "the studio that had more stars than heaven" -- and in spite of having a "tier B" leading man status, he co-starred with some of the studio's most illustrious actresses: Margaret Sullavan, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Helen Hayes, Luise Rainer, and Helen Twelvetrees. Yet, most of his assignments comprised "B-movies," also known as programmers, which required a mere two to three weeks of shooting. And those actors who were relegated to such a hectic schedule appeared, as Young did, in some six to eight movies per year.
Young appeared in 100 movies and his film career spanned the period from 1931 to 1952 after which he started his TV career. This extended to 1988 and he is best known for his roles in "Father Knows Best" (1954 to 1963) for which he and his co-star, Jane Wyatt, won several Emmy Awards, and "Marcus Welby, M.D." (1969 to 1976) for which he won the Emmy for best leading actor in a drama series.
He was married to Betty Henderson from 1933 until her death in 1994, and they had 4 daughters.
Young is a notable graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School of Los Angeles, California.
Despite the fact that he portrayed happy well-adjusted characters, Young suffered from depression and alcoholism.
After his death from respiratory failure at his home in Westlake, Los Angeles, California, aged 91, he was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California.
Filmography
With Hitchcock...
- Secret Agent (1936) - cast: Robert Marvin
Other works of note...
- The Black Camel (1931) - cast: Jimmy Bradshaw
- The Mortal Storm (1940) - cast: Fritz Marberg
- The Enchanted Cottage (1945) - cast: Oliver Bradford
- Crossfire (1947) - cast: Capt. Finlay
- Sitting Pretty (1948) - cast: Harry King
Links
- Internet Movie Database
- CNN - obituary