Robert George Young (February 22, 1907 – July 21, 1998) was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best (NBC and then CBS) and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. (ABC).
Young appeared in over 100 films between 1931 and 1952. After appearing on stage, Young was signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and, 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, Helen Hayes, Luise Rainer, Hedy Lamarr, and Helen Twelvetrees. Yet, most of his assignments consisted of B movies, also known as "programmers," which required two to three weeks of shooting (considered very brief shooting periods at the time). Actors who were relegated to such a hectic schedule appeared, as Young did, in some six to eight movies per year.
As an MGM contract player, Young was resigned to the fate of most of his colleagues—to accept any film assigned to him or risk being placed on suspension—and many actors 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 for two films; the first was directed by Alfred Hitchcock with the other co-starring Jessie Matthews. While there he surmised that his employers 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., featuring one of Hedy Lamarr's most effective performances. He once remarked that he was assigned only those roles which Robert Montgomery and other A-list actors had rejected.
After his contract ended at MGM, Young starred in light comedies as well as in trenchant dramas for studios such as 20th Century Fox, United Artists, and RKO Radio Pictures. From 1943, Young assayed more challenging roles in films like Claudia, The Enchanted Cottage, They Won't Believe Me, The Second Woman, and Crossfire. His portrayal of unsympathetic characters in several of these later films—which was seldom the case in his MGM pictures—was applauded by numerous reviewers.
Young's career began an incremental and imperceptible decline, despite a propitious beginning as a freelance actor without the nurturing of a major studio. He continued starring as a leading man in the late 1940s and early 1950s, but only in mediocre films, then he subsequently disappeared from the silver screen - only to reappear several years later on a much smaller one.
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Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens; April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. Born just north of San Francisco in Mill Valley and was interested in show business from an early age. At 16, she made her stage debut after quitting school to joined a stock company. After appearing in minor roles in two films under her real name, Eunice Quedens, she found that the stage offered her the same minor roles. By the mid 30s, one of these minor roles would attract notice as a comedy sketch in the stage play "Ziegfeld Folies". By that time, she had changed her name to Eve Arden. In 1937, she attracted some attention with a small role in Oh, Doctor (1937) which led to her being cast in a minor role in the film Stage Door (1937). By the time the film was finished, her part had expanded into the wise-cracking, fast-talking friend to the lead. She would play virtually the character for most of her career. While her sophisticated wise-cracking would never make her the lead, she would be a busy actress in dozens of movies over the next dozen years. In At the Circus (1939), she was the acrobatic Peerless Pauline opposite Groucho Marx and the Russian sharp shooter in the comedy The Doughgirls (1944). For her role as Ida in Mildred Pierce (1945), she received an Academy Award nomination. Famous for her quick ripostes, this led to work in Radio during the 40s. In 1948, CBS Radio premiered "Our Miss Brooks", which would be the perfect show for her character. As her film career began to slow, CBS would take the popular radio show to television in 1952. The television series Our Miss Brooks (1952) would run through 1956 and led to he movie Our Miss Brooks (1956). When the show ended, she tried another television series, The Eve Arden Show (1957), but it was soon canceled. In the 60s, Eve raised a family and did a few guest roles, until her come-back television series The Mothers-In-Law (1967). This show, co-starring Kaye Ballard ran for two seasons. After that, she would make more unsold pilots, a couple of television movies and a few guest shots. She returned in occasional cameo appearances including the Principal McGee in Grease (1978), and Warden June in Pandemonium (1982), showing that she still had the wise-cracks and screen presence to bring back the fond memories of Miss Connie Brooks.
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Darleen Carr (born Darlene Farnon) is an American actress, singer, and voice-over artist. She is also known as Darlene Carr or Darleen Drake. She has two sisters, both actresses (Shannon Farnon and Charmian Carr).
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Judy Ann Strangis (born December 23, 1949) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in two ABC television series Room 222 (1969–1974) and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (1976–1977).
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Bruno Kirby (April 28, 1949 – August 14, 2006) was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, and The Godfather Part II.
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John Rollin Lupton (August 23, 1928 - November 3, 1993) was an American film and television actor.
Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood. Lupton was lanky and handsome like James Stewart or Henry Fonda, but never achieved similar fame.
In the 1954-1955 television season, Lupton appeared in several episodes as a college student in the CBS sitcom, The Halls of Ivy. In 1957, he was cast in the ABC western series, Broken Arrow, which ran for two seasons. In feature films he is primarily remembered for his role as "Sister Mary" in Battle Cry and Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter.
Lupton also co-starred in 1956 with Fess Parker in Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase. He guest starred on several television series, including ABC's 1961-1962 crime drama Target: The Corruptors! with Stephen McNally and NBC's Daniel Boone.
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