Robert George Young

Robert George Young (February 22, 1907 – July 21, 1998) died at the age of 91. Best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father character in Father Knows Best (NBC and then CBS), and the physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. (ABC).

Today, Young is most remembered as the affable insurance salesman in Father Knows Best (1949–54 on radio, 1954–60 on television), for which he and his co-star Jane Wyatt won several Emmy Awards. Elinor Donahue ("Betty"), 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 nostalgic CBS comedy series Window on Main Street (1961–62), which lasted barely six months.

Young's final television series was Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969–76), co-starring a young James Brolin. This show earned Young an Emmy for best leading actor in a drama series.

Until the late 1980s, he also made numerous television commercials in which he persuaded edgy people to drink Sanka coffee.

Young was married to Betty Henderson from 1933 until her death in 1994. They had four daughters, Carol Proffitt, Barbara Beebe, Kathy Young, and Betty Lou Gleason. They also had six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Despite his trademark portrayal of happy, well-adjusted characters, Young's bitterness toward Hollywood casting practices never diminished, and he suffered from depression and alcoholism, culminating in a suicide attempt in January 1991. Later, he spoke candidly about his personal problems in an effort to encourage others to seek help. The Robert Young Center for Community Mental Health, in Rock Island, Illinois, is named after Young in honor of his work toward passage of the 708 Illinois Tax Referendum, which established a property tax to support mental health programs in his home state.

Young died of respiratory failure at his Westlake Village, California, home on July 21, 1998, and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.

He has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; the stars are in the categories of film (located at 6933 Hollywood Blvd.), television (6358 Hollywood Blvd.), and radio (1660 Vine Street)