Robert Young Collection

Robert Young
(1907 – 1998)

The clueless Dad is one of the most reliable tropes in media. We have seen the character in countless programs, including The Life of Riley, The Great Gildersleeve, The Phil Harris/Alice Faye Show, A Date With Judy, My Son Jeep, Ozzie and Harriet, and several other shows. His primary purpose was to make his precocious kids look even smarter. Although we all love to laugh at the clueless Dad, no man wants to become one, and no kid actually wants to grow up with one. The Dad everyone really wants or wants to be is Jim Anderson as played by Robert Young in Father Knows Best.

Surprisingly, although he portrayed one of the most respected fathers in radio and TV, Young's own father was hardly a sterling example. Robert Young was born the fourth of five children to an immigrant Irish carpenter in Chicago, 1907. Before Robert was a year old, Thomas Young moved his family to Seattle, and then to Los Angeles when his son was ten. There he abandoned the family, and Robert delivered newspapers to help support his mother. He also became a bookworm, losing himself for hours in the stacks of the local library. While attending Abraham Lincoln High School, his sweetheart Betty Henderson encouraged him to transition from reading books to reading scripts. He acted in several school productions and went on to study at the Pasadena Playhouse.

An MGM scout spotted Young in a production of The Ship and he was given a standard contract. His first sound role was the Charlie Chan picture Black Camel (1931). Although firmly ensconced as a B-List talent, Young was popular with directors and other actors because he was hard working, always prepared, and rarely stole a scene. Louis B. Mayer said that Young "has no sex appeal" and was the type who never got the girl. He worked with Katharine Hepburn, Margaret Sullavan, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Helen Hayes, Luise Rainer, Hedy Lamarr, and Helen Twelvetrees. His status as a working actor meant that he appeared six to eight movies a year in romantic leads, costume dramas, screwball comedies, and three-hankie weepers. In addition to his busy shooting schedule, MGM tasked Young with hosting duties for the Good News radio program.

With a lucrative film career in the offing, Young married his high school sweetheart, Betty, in 1933, and they remained together until her death in 1994. Recognizing that he was doomed to B-list parts, Young let his MGM contract expire and tried his luck as a freelancer with limited success. He turned to radio to keep working, landing work on Hallmark Playhouse, Lux Radio Theatre, Sealtest Variety, hosting duties on Family Theater, as well as several appearances on various AFRS programs. A writer friend, Ed James, began discussing his idea for a family comedy to star Young, who said: "I'd like to be a father, but not a boob."

The result of the discussions was Father Knows Best which first aired in late summer 1949. The series centered on insurance salesman Jim Anderson and his incredibly typical suburban family. There was never any doubt that Jim was the head of his household, although wife Margaret (played by Jean Vander Pyl, later the voice of Wilma Flintstone) was often the source of solid reason. The situations for the show were often developed from the hijinks of the Anderson children, boy-crazy Betty, All-American-Boy Bud, and Kathy, the youngest and usual patsie. Jim Anderson on the radio was generally less patient and more sarcastic than the character would be on TV. Young later told an interviewer about the radio years, "I never quite liked it because it had to have laughs. And I wanted a warm relationship show. ... When we moved to TV I suggested an entirely new cast and different perspective."

After five years on radio, TV was hungry for Father Knows Best. "I feel myself being drawn to television," he related, "like a man in a canoe heading for Niagara Falls." The show premiered on CBS on October 3, 1954, but low ratings caused sponsor Kent cigarettes to drop the show. The program was saved by a letter writing campaign from fans, given an earlier timeslot, and became a classic. Young play Jim Anderson as a man who had an incredible affection for his family could recognize his own failings and weaknesses and had an uncanny ability to see a conflict from the same point of view as his wife and children.

Ironically, although he was portraying the ideal father, Robert was facing his own demons at the time, dealing with alcoholism and depression. Young attended AA meetings regularly while the show was in production. When Father Knows Best finally went off the air in 1960, Young produced and starred in a nostalgic comedy for CBS, Window on Main Street, but sharing its Monday timeslot with The Rifleman and The Price is Right, it failed to capture an audience as was canceled after six months. Young went on a sabbatical, working occasionally in TV movies or as a guest star and as the spokesman for Sanka Coffee.

Although he appeared to be in retirement when word got out that NBC was planning a medical drama with a generational gap for the 1969 fall season to star Ralph Bellamy, Young showed up in the producer's office stating that he wanted to play Marcus Welby, M.D., and Bellamy was out of a job. The show ran for seven seasons and breaking from the simplicity of Father Knows Best dealt with issues including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, autism, rape, impotence, depression, and STDs.

Robert and Betty had four daughters, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. They supported each other in their battles with depression and alcoholism, and Robert became an outspoken advocate for community mental health issues. On July 21, 1998, Robert Young succumbed to respiratory failure at his home in Westlake Village, California. He was 91. Three Stars on the Hollywood Walk of fame are dedicated honoring Robert Young, one for Motion Pictures at 6933 Hollywood Blvd, another for Television at 6358 Hollywood Blvd, and for Radio at 1660 Vine Street.