Schauspieler * Schauspielausbildung und erste Bühnenrollen am Pasadena Playhouse (vier Jahre lang) - nebenbei übernimmt verschiedene Jobs (u.a. Verkäufer, Reporter) * erster Filmauftritt in The Black Camel (1931) * 1931-44 unter Vertrag bei M-G-M * 1932 bekommt erste Hauptrollen - in folgenden Jahren spielt in vielen Routineproduktionen (programmers bzw. B-Pictures) meist den Part des average/good guy (netter Junge, charmanter Ehemann oder liebenswerter Vater) * 1935/36 dreht zwei Filme in England * ab 1938 auch Radioarbeit (Good News of 1938; Maxwell House Coffee Time, 1944) * ab 1944 arbeitet für verschiedene Studios (free-lance actor) * 1947 (zusammen mit Eugene Rodney) Gründung der Produktionsfirma Cavalier Productions * 1949-54 Star der Radioreihe Father Knows Best * 1954 Abschied von der Leinwand und Beginn seiner Fernsehkarriere * 1954-60 Titelheld der Familienserie Father Knows Best (Vater ist der Beste - TV-Version seiner Radioreihe) * 1969 übernimmt die Titelrolle in seiner zweiten, sehr beliebten und erfolgreichen TV-Serie Marcus Welby, M.D. (Dr. med. Marcus Welby, bis 1976)
"I played a guy in bad hat - it didn't work. The audience didn't believe it." (1984)
The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931-USA * Edgar Selwyn / Dr. Claudet)
The Guilty Generation (1931-USA * Rowland V. Lee / Marco)
The Wet Parade (1932-USA * Victor Fleming / Kip Tarleton)
New Morals for Old (1932-USA * Charles Brabin / Ralph Thomas)
Unashamed (1932-USA * Harry Beaumont / Dick Ogden)
Strange Interlude (1932-USA * Robert Z. Leonard / Gordon)
The Kid from Spain (Der falsche Torero, 1932-USA * Leo McCarey / Ricardo)
Men Must Fight (1932/33-USA * Edgar Selwyn / Geoffrey)
Hell Below (1932/33-USA * Jack Conway / Lieutenant Brick Walters)*/°
Today We Live (1933-USA * Howard Hawks / Claude)
Tugboat Annie (1933-USA * Mervyn LeRoy / Alec Brennan)
Saturday's Millions (1933-USA * Edward Sedgwick / Jim Fowler)
The Right to Romance (1933-USA * Alfred Santell / Bob Preble)
Carolina (1933-USA * Henry King / Will Connelly)
Spitfire (1933-USA * John Cromwell / John Stafford)
(The) House of Rothschild (1933/34-USA * Alfred L. Werker / Captain Fitzroy)
Lazy River (1934-USA * George B. Seitz / Bill Drexel)
Whom the Gods Destroy (1934-USA * Walter Lang / Jack Forrester)
Paris Interlude (1934-USA * Edwin L. Marin / Pat Wells)
Death on the Diamond (1934-USA * Edward Sedgwick / Larry Kelly)
The Band Plays On (1934-USA * Russell Mack / Tony Ferrera)
West Point of the Air (1934/35-USA * Richard Rosson / Little Mike)
Vagabond Lady (1935-USA * Sam Taylor / Tony Spear)
Calm Yourself (1935-USA * George B. Seitz / Pat)
Red Salute (1935-USA * Sidney Lanfield / Jeff)
Remember Last Night? (Was geschah gestern?, 1935-USA * James Whale / Tony Milburn)
The Bride Comes Home (1935-USA * Wesley Ruggles / Jack Bristow)
Secret Agent (Geheimagent, 1935-GB * Alfred Hitchcock / Robert Marvin)
It's Love Again (1936-GB * Victor Saville / Peter Carlton)
The Three Wise Guys (1936-USA * George B. Seitz / Joe Hatcher)
Sworn Enemy (1936-USA * Edwin L. Marin / "Hank" Sherman)
The Bride Walks Out (1936-USA * Leigh Jason / Hugh McKenzie)
The Longest Night (1936-USA * Errol Taggart / Charley Phelps) 51m
Stowaway (1936-USA * William A. Seiter / Tommy Randall)
Dangerous Number (1936-USA * Richard Thorpe / Hank Medhill)
I Met Him in Paris (Ich traf ihn in Paris, 1937-USA * Wesley Ruggles / Gene Anders)
The Emperor's Candlesticks (Finale in St. Petersburg, 1937-USA * George Fitzmaurice / Großherzog Peter)
Married before Breakfast (1937-USA * Edwin L. Marin / Tom Wakefield)
The Bride Wore Red (Die Braut trug rot, 1937-USA * Dorothy Arzner / Rudi Pal)
Navy Blue and Gold (1937-USA * Sam Wood / Roger Ash)
# Paradise for Three (Drei Männer im Paradies, 1937-USA * Edward Buzzell ... Fritz Hagedorn) (Buch von Erich Kästner) (11-12; 3806)
Three Comrades (1938-USA * Frank Borzage / Gottfried Lenz)
Josette (1938-USA * Allan Dwan / Pierre Brossard)
The Toy Wife (1938-USA * Richard Thorpe / André Vallaire)
Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938-USA * Reinhold Schünzel / Bill Harrison)
# The Shining Hour (Brennendes Feuer der Leidenschaft, 1938-USA * Frank Borzage ... David Linden) (Bühnenstück von Keith Winter) (08-10; 3811)
Honolulu (Die Liebe auf Hawaii, 1938-USA * R: Edward Buzzell, B: Herbert Fields, Frank Partos, K: Ray June, ML: George Stoll, D: Eleanor Powell, RY-Brooks Mason/George Smith) 83m-Musikkomödie
Bridal Suite (1939-USA * William/Wilhelm Thiele / Neil McGill)
Maisie (1939-USA * Edwin L. Marin / Slim Martin)
Miracles for Sale (1939-USA * Tod Browning / Michael Morgan)
Northwest Passage (Nordwest-Passage, 1939/40-USA * King Vidor / Langdon Towne)
Florian (1940-USA * Edwin L. Marin / Anton)
The Mortal Storm (Tödlicher Sturm, 1940-USA * R: Frank Borzage, B: Claudine West, Andersen Ellis, George Froeschel, K: William H. Daniels, M: Edward Kane [=Bronislau Kaper, Eugene Zador], D: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, RY-Fritz Marberg)* 100m-Drama /Roman von Phyllis Bottome/
Sporting Blood (1940-USA * S. Sylvan Simon / Myles Vanders)
Dr Kildare's Crisis (Dr. Kildare: Verhängnisvolle Diagnose, 1940-USA * Harold S. Bucquet / Douglas Lamont)
# Western Union (1940-USA * Fritz Lang ... Richard Blake) (Roman von Zane Grey) (09-11/+12; 4102)
The Trial of Mary Dugan (1940-USA * Norman Z. McLeod / Jimmy Blake)
Lady Be Good (1941-USA * Norman Z. McLeod / Eddie Crane)
Married Bachelor (1941-USA * Edward Buzzell / Randolph Haven)
H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941-USA * King Vidor / Harry Pulham)
Joe Smith, American (1941/42-USA * Richard Thorpe / Joe Smith)
Cairo (1942-USA * W.S. Van Dyke / Homer Smith)
Journey for Margaret (1942-USA * W.S. Van Dyke / John Davis)
Slightly Dangerous (1943-USA * Wesley Ruggles / Bob Stuart)
Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943-USA * Irving Cummings / Sam MacKeever)
Claudia (1943-USA * Edmund Goulding / David Naughton)
The Canterville Ghost (Das Gespenst von Canterville, 1943/44-USA * R: Jules Dassin, B: Edwin Blum, K: Robert Planck, M: George Bassman, D: Charles Laughton, Robert Young, Margaret O'Brien) 96m-Fantasykomödie
The Enchanted Cottage (Mit den Augen der Liebe, 1944-USA * John Cromwell / Oliver Bradford)
Those Endearing Young Charms (1945-USA * Lewis Allen / Hank Travers)
The Searching Wind (Liebe zwischen Krieg und Frieden, 1945/46-USA * William Dieterle / Alex Hazen)
Claudia and David (1946-USA * Walter Lang / David Naughton)
Lady Luck (1946-USA * Edwin L. Marin / Larry Scott)
Crossfire (Im Kreuzfeuer, 1946-USA * Edward Dmytryk / Captain Finlay)°
They Won't Believe Me (1947-USA * Irving Pichel / Larry Ballentine)
Relentless (Blut und Gold, 1948-USA * George Sherman / Nick Buckley)
Sitting Pretty (Belvedere räumt auf, 1948-USA * Walter Lang / Harry)
Adventure in Baltimore (1949-USA * Richard Wallace / Sheldon)
# That Forsyte Woman (Das Schicksal der Irene Forsyte, 1948/49-USA * Compton Bennett ... Philip Bosinney) (Roman von John Galsworthy) (12-03; 4911)
Bride for Sale (1949-USA * William D. Russell / Steve Adams)
And Baby Makes Three (Zwei Männer und drei Babys, 1949-USA * Henry Levin / Vernon Walsh)
The Second Woman (1950-USA * James V. Kern / Jeff Cohalan)
Goodbye, My Fancy (1951-USA * Vincent Sherman / Dr. James Merrill)
The Half-Breed (An der Spitze der Apachen, 1952-USA * Stuart Gilmore / Dan Craig)
Secret of the Incas (Das Geheimnis der Inkas, 1954-USA * Jerry Hopper / Stanley Moorehead)