ROBERT YOUNG: Fame, Heartbreak & REDEMPTION

HE TRIED TO LIVE UP TO THE RIGHTEOUS CHARACTERS HE PLAYED ON TELEVISION

- Amanda Champagne-Meadows

For six years, Robert Young appeared on TV extolling Sanka as "good coffee that makes good sense." "He did those commercials so he could put his six grandchildren through college," his daughter Carol Proffitt explained to Closer. "They all graduated from great schools - Yale, USC - all the best."

The family-oriented, affable characters Robert created wise Jim Anderson of Father Knows Best and the benevolent physician Marcus Welby - were very real parts of the actor, but not the whole story. Though Robert tried to do the right thing for the people he loved, he privately battled severe depression and alcoholism. "He was a very thoughtful, caring person, but he wasn't easy to understand," explained Carol, one of four daughters he had with his wife, Betty.

The couple met in high school and wed in 1933, shortly after Robert signed with MGM Studios. As a young actor, he co-starred in more than 100 films, often with Golden Age greats like Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Katharine Hepburn. Though Robert worked consistently, he often played secondary roles.