Robert Youngson

Robert Youngson
Robert Youngson
Born	November 27, 1917; Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	April 8, 1974 (aged 56); New York, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Film producer; director; screenwriter;
Years active	1948-1970

Robert Youngson (November 27, 1917 – April 8, 1974) was a film producer, director, and screenwriter.[1][2]

Biography

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was responsible for reacquainting movie audiences with the work of the great silent comedians. His feature-film compilations The Golden Age of Comedy (1958) and When Comedy Was King (1960) were popular successes. Youngson produced six more vintage-comedy anthologies, the last being released in 1970.

Youngson also wrote and produced a long series of historical short subjects for Warner Brothers, two of which won him Academy Awards. Most of these films took an affectionate look back at the fads and lifestyles of the 1920s. Youngson's narration was nostalgic in tone, unlike the facetious commentaries that usually accompanied silent-film revivals like Gaslight Follies (1945) and Warners' compilations of Mack Sennett comedies. Youngson also produced a feature-length documentary for Warners, Fifty Years Before Your Eyes (1950).

Academy Awards and nominations

He was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film (one reel).

Year	Film	Academy Award	Notes
1949	Spills and Chills	nominated	daredevil stunts of the teens and twenties
1950	Blaze Busters	nominated	newsreels of epic fire scenes
1951	The World of Kids	winner	children at play in the '20s
1954	This Mechanical Age	winner	oddly designed airplanes
1955	Gadgets Galore	nominated	history of the automobile
1956	I Never Forget a Face	nominated	celebrities of the '20s

Full list of Short Films

All produced by Warner Bros. and narrators included Dan Donaldson, Jackson Beck, Clem McCarthy, Dwight Weist, Ward Wilson and Jay Jackson. Walton C. Ament produced the earliest shorts. Those not part of a series were marketed as “varieties” and “novelties”.

Football Magic (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - September 4, 1948
Roaring Wheels (Sports News Review) - October 2, 1948
Ski Devils (Sports News Review) - December 4, 1948
Swim Parade (Sports News Review) - February 5, 1949
Batter Up (Sports News Review) - April 9, 1949
They're Off (Sports News Review) - June 18, 1949
Spills and Chills (Sports News Review) - August 13, 1949 (DVD release: It's a Great Feeling: TCM Doris Day Collection)
Pigskin Passes (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - September 23, 1949
A-Speed on the Deep - December 24, 1949
Shoot the Basket (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - April 29, 1950
A Cavalcade of Girls - August 12, 1950
Blaze Busters - December 30, 1950
Horsehide Heroes - March 10, 1951
World of Kids - June 23, 1951
Disaster Fighters - August 11, 1951
Lighter than Air - October 20, 1951
Animals Have All the Fun - April 19, 1952
Daredevil Days - August 9, 1952
Too Much Speed - January 3, 1953
No Adults Allowed - April 11, 1953
Head Over Heels - June 20, 1953
Looking At Life (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - July 18, 1953
Say It with Spills- October 24, 1953
Magic Movie Moments - December 26, 1953
They Were Champions (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - January 23, 1954
I Remember When - March 19, 1954
This Wonderful World (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - March 27, 1954
Thrills from the Past - May 8, 1954
When Sports Were King - June 19, 1954
This Was Yesterday (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - July 31, 1954
This Mechanical Age - August 28, 1954
Camera Hunting (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - November 20, 1954
A Bit of the Best - December 25, 1954
Those Exciting Days - March 12, 1955
When the Talkies Were Young (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - March 26, 1955 (DVD release The Jazz Singer & Lucky Me (film))
Fire, Wind and Flood - April 30, 1955
Some of the Greatest - June 18, 1955
The Glory Around Us (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - July 2, 1955
Gadgets Galore - July 30, 1955 (DVD release: Pete Kelly's Blues (film))
An Adventure to Remember - October 1, 1955
It Happened to You (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - December 31, 1955
Faster and Faster - January 21, 1956
The Picture Parade (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - March 31, 1956
I Never Forget a Face - April 28, 1956
Through the Camera's Eyes (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) - August 11, 1956
Animals and Kids - August 18, 1956

Feature-film compilations

Youngson also produced the following feature-length compilations:

Fifty Years Before Your Eyes (1950)
The Golden Age of Comedy (1957)
When Comedy Was King (1960)
Days of Thrills and Laughter (1961)
30 Years of Fun (1963)
M-G-M's Big Parade of Comedy (1964)
Laurel and Hardy's Laughing 20's (1965)
The Further Perils of Laurel and Hardy (1967)
4 Clowns (1970)

Private life and death

He died at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City at age 56, survived by his wife Jeanne Keyes.[2]

References

Obituary Variety, April 17, 1974, page 95.
Obituary New York Times, April 10, 1974.

External links

Robert Youngson on IMDb

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[WVobit-1] Obituary Variety, April 17, 1974, page 95.

[NYTobit-2] Obituary New York Times, April 10, 1974.