Robert Howard Young (September 15, 1917 – September 10, 1951) professionally known as Clifton Young, was an American film actor.

Early years

Young was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward A. Young. His father started him in vaudeville when he was 5 years old. When he was 7, he began acting in ''Our Gang'' comedies. Young was drafted into the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, serving in the South Pacific.Clifton Young at

Find a Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

. Retrieved November 27, 2021.Clifton Young Bio at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

. Retrieved November 27, 2021.

Career

Young played "Bonedust" in nineteen ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'' films from 1925 to 1931, his most notable film being '' School's Out''. As an adult, to avoid confusion with established star Robert Young, he took his mother's maiden name, Clifton (Eva Clifton) as his screen name. Young became a contract player at

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, landing small parts in a number of 1940s

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

and

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

films. Notable credits include ''

Nora Prentiss ''Nora Prentiss'' is a 1947 American film noir drama film directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Ann Sheridan, Kent Smith, Bruce Bennett, and Robert Alda. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The cinematography is by James Wong Howe ...

'', ''

Pursued ''Pursued'' is a 1947 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Raoul Walsh with cinematography by James Wong Howe, written by Niven Busch, and starring Theresa Wright and Robert Mitchum. The supporting cast features Judith Anderson, D ...

'', ''

Possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

'', ''

Dark Passage ''Dark Passage'' (1946) is a crime novel by David Goodis. It was the basis for the 1947 film noir of the same name. The film implements extensive use of the first-person camera technique. Plot Vincent Parry, wrongly convicted of murdering hi ...

'', and ''

Blood on the Moon ''Blood on the Moon'' is a 1948 RKO black-and-white "psychological" Western film noir starring Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Preston and Walter Brennan. Directed by Robert Wise, the cinematography is by Nicholas Musuraca. The ...

''. Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard W. (1977, rev. 1992). ''The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang'', p. 281. New York: Crown Publishing/Three Rivers Press. While at Warners, Young was featured prominently in the

Joe McDoakes ''Joe McDoakes'' is an American short film comedy series produced and directed by Richard L. Bare for Warner Bros. A total of 63 black and white live action one-reel short subjects films were made and released between 1942 and 1956. The ''Joe ...

comedy shorts. He played a variety of roles: a craven mobster in ''So You Want to Be a Detective'', a department-store clerk in ''So You're Going on Vacation'', and memorably as "Homer," Joe's brash, know-it-all office colleague in several McDoakes reels. One of Young's last films was the

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

western ''

Trail of Robin Hood '' Trail of Robin Hood '' is a 1950 American Trucolor Western film directed by William Witney and starring Roy Rogers. Filmed in the San Bernardino Mountains and Big Bear Lake California, it is notable for featuring a large cast of Western stars ...

'', in which he played a sneering villain.

Death

Young died on September 10, 1951, in a hotel fire that started when he fell asleep while smoking.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Clifton 1917 births 1951 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male child actors American male comedy actors American male film actors Deaths from fire in the United States Hal Roach Studios actors Military personnel from New York (state) Our Gang United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers