Robert Young (actor)

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Robert George Young (born February 22, 1907 in Chicago , Illinois , † July 21, 1998 in Westlake Village , California ) was an American actor .

Career

Young studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse from 1927 to 1931 , where he gained his first acting experience. His first proven film role was in the 1931 crime film Charlie Chan - Death is a Black Camel . Young was under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1930s and was able to establish himself in major roles after just a few films. He usually played friendly, positive and charming characters, which sometimes seemed a bit boring, which is why Young didn't always get the leading actress at the end of the film. He got the chance for a slightly different type of role in 1936 when he was loaned to England by MGM and played a cold-blooded spy in the thriller Secret Agent , directed by Alfred Hitchcock . He had great success in 1940 at the side of James Stewart in Deadly Storm and next to Spencer Tracy in Northwest Passage . A year later he had one of his best film roles in the title role of the drama HM Pulham, Esq. by King Vidor , in which he played a stiff, middle-aged businessman who sums up lost opportunities in life.

Although Young was never one of the great and, in retrospect, iconic stars of classic Hollywood cinema, his film partners included famous colleagues such as Katharine Hepburn , Margaret Sullavan , Norma Shearer , Joan Crawford , Helen Hayes , Luise Rainer and Hedy Lamarr . After his contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ended, he worked as a freelance actor for various studios such as 20th Century Fox , United Artists and RKO Radio Pictures . This also gave him the chance to get away from his middle-class screen image and also to play characters with dark sides. His best-known films of the 1940s include the Oscar Wilde- based ghost comedy Das Gespenst von Canterville , the film noir Im Kreuzfeuer and the star-studded literary adaptation The Fate of Irene Forsyte , for which he briefly returned to MGM in 1949.

In the 1950s, the cinema offers declined noticeably, but Young should lay down a second career in television that surpassed his box office success. From 1954 to 1960, he enjoyed great success as an insurance salesman and family man Jim Anderson in the family series Father Knows Best (Father Knows Best) , which was in the 1950s one of the most successful US series. Young had already spoken this character in a radio series also called Father Knows Best since 1949 . With his portrayal of Jim Anderson, Young shaped the ideal of the wise and kind American family father. Young ended the series in 1960 at the height of its popularity, also as he was increasingly bored with the role. He starred in the short-lived sitcom Window on Main Street in 1961 and 1962, and subsequently made guest appearances on a number of other series. From 1969 the doctor series Dr. med. Marcus Welby is another long-running favorite, in which he embodied the title role of a personable and experienced family doctor. The series ran until 1976. In 1984 and 1987 he made two TV films in the role of Dr. Marcus Welby , then he ended his career for good.

Robert Young won three Emmy Awards , twice for his role in Father Is The Best and once for Dr. med. Marcus Welby . He also received a Golden Globe Award for Marcus Welby . He has been awarded three stars in the categories of film, television and radio on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 1960 .

Private

Robert Young was married to Elizabeth Louise Henderson from 1933 until her death in 1994. He was the father of four daughters and the grandfather of six grandchildren.

In contrast to his screen image, Young struggled with depression and alcoholism for a long time in his private life. In 1991 he hit the headlines for a suicide attempt . The actor, who last suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died of heart failure in 1998 at the age of 91 .

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • 1957: Emmy , Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series for Father is the Best
  • 1958: Emmy, Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series for Vater ist der Beste
  • 1970: Emmy, Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series for Dr. med Marcus Welby
  • 1972: Golden Globe Award , Best TV Actor - Drama for Dr. med Marcus Welby

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robert Young | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved April 28, 2020 (American English).
  2. ↑ Robert Young. Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Bernard Weinraub: Robert Young of 'Father Knows Best' This at 91 . In: The New York Times . July 23, 1998, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed April 28, 2020]).
  4. ^ Robert Young | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved April 28, 2020 (American English).
  5. ↑ Bernard Weinraub: Robert Young of 'Father Knows Best' This at 91 . In: The New York Times . July 23, 1998, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed April 28, 2020]).
  6. ↑ Bernard Weinraub: Robert Young of 'Father Knows Best' This at 91 . In: The New York Times . July 23, 1998, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed April 28, 2020]).
  7. ^ Robert Young, 83, Attempted Suicide, Authorities Reveal. January 20, 1991. Retrieved April 28, 2020 (American English).
personal data
SURNAME Young, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Young, Robert George (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago
DATE OF DEATH July 21, 1998
Place of death Westlake Village , California