Troubles and Triumphs: The Robert Young Story Paperback – March 28, 2023

I have waited for a book about Robert Young for many years, always wondering why no one took an interest in writing about his life and career. Finally, I ran across "Troubles and Triumphs: The Robert Young Story" and made immediate arrangements to add it to my collection.the lives areDan McGuire has done an outstanding job telling the story of Robert Young's life and career. Having been an avid fan of Mr. Young from the age of eleven, I knew a great deal about him; however, Mr. McGuire has added considerably to my knowledge of his life, as well as the lives of his "Father Knows Best" costars.I certainly recommend this book to anyone who was a fan of Robert Young during his long career in films, radio and television.Thank you, Dan McGuire, for a comprehensive story of Robert Young's long career and family life.

Robert Young certainly deserves a serious biography - however this is not it. It does give a look at Young's early life and the abandonment of the family by his father. However, it is full of misspelled names and inaccuracies. Examples of misspellings include Katherine Hepburn instead of the correct Katharine Hepburn on page 34, Annabelle instead of the correct Annabella on page 64, Lena Horn instead of the correct Lena Horne on page 70, Connie Russel instead of the correct Connie Russell on page 82, and numerous instances of Donald O'Conner instead of the correct Donald O'Connor on page 188. The photo of the cast of 1940's The Mortal Storm is mislabeled as it is Margaret Sullavan on the left, not Irene Rich. Page 46 discusses the 1936 film Stowaway and mentions Alice Faye as the wife of Phil Harris. At the time the film was made, Faye was not married to anyone but married singer Tony Martin in 1937. She did not marry Harris until 1941, long after Stowaway was made. Page 64 states that Carole Lombard was considered for the film Maisie (in which Young co-starred) but died in a plane crash before the script was completed. Ann Sothern and Young starred in Maisie released in 1939. Lombard did not die in the plane crash until 1942 by which time three other Maisie films had been released. While the book answers some questions about Young - specifically the apparent cause of his lifelong battle with depression/insecurity and alcohol due to the abandonment of his father, it left many unanswered. The author did not mention any service done by Young during WWII but there is a photo of Young in a California State Guard uniform. Was there any reason he did not try to enlist in the military as stars such as James Stewart, Clark Gable, and Tyrone Power among others did? The book provides brief summaries of Young's films but does not include all of them. It fails to mention the significant impact of Faye Bainter's role in 1938's The Shining Hour. There is no mention at all of what I think is one of Young's finest performances and that is 1941's H.M. Pulham, Esq. The book has no interviews with co-stars of his films that could have been taken from articles of the time or later articles. There also are no excerpts from interviews in articles Young may have provided during his film career. The television era is covered more thoroughly with reminiscences from co-stars including Billy Gray, Elinor Donahue, and Lauren Chapin. I'm not sure why Jane Wyatt had any influence as to who was a pallbearer at Young's funeral. There is no filmography or list of radio and television appearances which is a major disappointment as this is usually included in any serious biography. There is no index or bibliography. Overall the book was lacking in most of the things I look for in a good biography.