Editing Robert Young (actor) (section)

==Film career==
Young appeared in over 100 films between 1928 and 1952. In spite of having a "tier B" status, he co-starred with some of the studio's most illustrious actresses, such as [[Katharine Hepburn]], [[Margaret Sullavan]], [[Norma Shearer]], [[Joan Crawford]], [[Susan Hayward]], [[Dorothy McGuire]], [[Helen Hayes]], [[Luise Rainer]], [[Hedy Lamarr]], [[Helen Twelvetrees]] and (unrelated) [[Loretta Young]]. Most of his assignments consisted of short [[B movie]]s, also known as "programmers," which required brief two- to three-week shooting schedules. Actors who were relegated to such hectic routines appeared, as Young did, in some six to eight movies per year.

As an MGM contract player, Young was obligated to accept any film assigned to him or risk being placed on suspension—and many actors who were placed on suspension were prohibited from earning a salary from any endeavor at all, even those unrelated to the film industry. In 1936, MGM summarily loaned Young to [[Gaumont British]] in the U.K. for two films; the first, ''[[Secret Agent (1936 film)|Secret Agent]]'', was directed by [[Alfred Hitchcock]], while the other, ''[[It's Love Again]]'', co-starred [[Jessie Matthews]]. While in England, he was convinced that MGM intended to terminate his contract, but he was mistaken.

He unexpectedly received one of his most rewarding roles late in his MGM career, in ''[[H.M. Pulham, Esq.]]'' (1941), which also benefited from one of [[Hedy Lamarr]]'s most effective performances. He once remarked that he was assigned only those roles which [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]] and other A-list actors had rejected.

After his contract with MGM expired, Young starred in light comedies and dramas for studios such as [[20th Century Fox]], [[United Artists]], and [[RKO Radio Pictures]]. From 1943, Young had more challenging roles in films like ''[[Claudia (1943 film)|Claudia]]'', ''[[The Enchanted Cottage (1945 film)|The Enchanted Cottage]]'', ''[[They Won't Believe Me]]'', ''[[The Second Woman (1950 film)|The Second Woman]]'', and ''[[Crossfire (film)|Crossfire]]''. His portrayals of unsympathetic characters in several of these later films—which had seldom been the case in his MGM pictures—were applauded by numerous critics. In 1949, he returned to MGM briefly to appear in ''[[That Forsyte Woman]]'' with [[Errol Flynn]] and [[Greer Garson]]. He played the second lead in ''[[Secret of the Incas]]'' (1954) starring [[Charlton Heston]], the film upon which ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' was subsequently loosely based. Despite the picture's superior quality while being shot on location at [[Machu Picchu]], it was the last feature film in which he appeared. Young's career had begun an incremental and almost imperceptible decline, despite a propitious beginning as a freelance actor without the nurturing of a major studio. He had continued starring as a leading man in the late 1940s and early 1950s, but only in mediocre films, and occasionally playing supporting roles in important films. Then, he subsequently disappeared from the silver screen—only to reappear, successfully, several years later on a much smaller one.

===Television career===
Today, Young is most remembered as the affable insurance salesman in the long-running popular sitcom ''[[Father Knows Best]]'' (1949–1954 on radio, 1954–1960 on television), for which he and his co-star [[Jane Wyatt]] won several [[Emmy Award]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Newcomb|first=Horace |title=Encyclopedia of Television|publisher=CRC Press|year=2004|edition=2|pages=856|isbn=1-57958-411-X}}</ref> [[Elinor Donahue]] ("Betty"), [[Billy Gray (actor)|Billy Gray]] ("Bud"), and [[Lauren Chapin]] ("Kathy") played the Anderson children in the television version.

Young then created, produced, and starred with [[Ford Rainey]] and [[Constance Moore]] in the [[nostalgia|nostalgic]] CBS comedy series ''[[Window on Main Street]]'' (1961–1962).

Young's final television series was ''[[Marcus Welby, M.D.]]'' (1969–1976), co-starring a young [[James Brolin]]. This show earned an Emmy for Young, for best leading actor in a drama series.

He shared the stage on ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]'' with [[Jimi Hendrix]] in September 1969.

Until 1982, he made numerous television commercials for [[Sanka]] coffee.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pace |first1=Eric |title=Advertising; Last Cup of Sanka for Dr. Welby |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/26/business/advertising-last-cup-of-sanka-for-dr-welby.html |access-date=August 7, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=August 26, 1982}}</ref>

The popular phrase "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV" from a commercial for [[Vicks]] 44 cough medicine has been erroneously attributed to Young due to his ''Marcus Welby, MD'' fame. It was actually spoken by actor [[Chris Robinson (American actor)|Chris Robinson]] and then by [[Peter Bergman]] during the 1980s.{{Citation needed |date=September 2022}}