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

Robert Youngson
Born(1917-11-27)November 27, 1917
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 8, 1974(1974-04-08) (aged 56)
New York, New York, U.S.
Occupation
  • Film producer
  • director
  • screenwriter
Years active1948–1970

Biography


Robert George Youngson, born in Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Harvard University with a master's degree in business administration. He entered the film business in 1941, writing newsreel scripts.[3] In 1948 Warner Bros. hired him to produce a series of short subjects about sports. Most of these were straight roundups of current sporting events, but in some of them Youngson indulged his fascination with antique newsreels of the 1920s, and included vintage sports footage in the new productions. This led to Youngson writing and producing a long series of historical short subjects for Warners, 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).

Warners discontinued live-action short subjects in 1956 and released Youngson, forcing him to work as an independent producer. He assembled a full-length feature of silent-comedy highlights, The Golden Age of Comedy (1958). This was a triumphant success, earning rave reviews from national columnists and receiving network exposure on TV talk shows. He followed this with When Comedy Was King (1960) and six more vintage-comedy anthologies, the last being released in 1970.



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
1949Spills and Chillsnominateddaredevil stunts of the teens and twenties
1950Blaze Bustersnominatednewsreels of epic fire scenes
1951The World of Kidswinnerchildren at play in the 1920s
1954This Mechanical Agewinneroddly designed airplanes
1955Gadgets Galorenominatedhistory of the automobile
1956I Never Forget a Facenominatedcelebrities of the 1920s

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”.


Feature-film compilations


Youngson also produced the following feature-length compilations:


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]


Further reading



See also



References


  1. Obituary Variety, April 17, 1974, page 95.
  2. Obituary New York Times, April 10, 1974.
  3. Scott MacGillivray. Laurel & Hardy: From the Forties Forward, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded. New York: iUniverse, 2009; First edition Lanham, Maryland: Vestal Press, 1998. ISBN 1-440172-39-0





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