Origins & Early Life

Robert George Young (February 22, 1907 – July 21, 1998) was an American film, television, and radio actor. His biggest success came with his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father character, in the sitcom Father Knows Best (1954-1960; CBS, then NBC, then CBS again) and the physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969; 1976 ABC). Young also appeared in over 100 films, primarily as leading man or second lead during the 1930s and 1940s, including Secret Agent (1931), Northwest Passage (1940), H.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), The Canterville Ghost (1944), The Enchanted Cottage (1945), and Crossfire (1947). Young was born in Chicago, the son of an Irish immigrant father, Thomas E. Young, and an American mother, Margaret Fyfe.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

While Young was a child, the family moved to various locations within the U.S., including Seattle, and Los Angeles, where Young was a student at Abraham Lincoln High School. After graduation, he studied and performed at the Pasadena Playhouse while working odd jobs and appearing in bit parts in silent films. While touring with a stock company producing "The Ship", Young was discovered by a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer talent scout who signed the fledgling...

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