American screenwriter, of Mormon parentage. Young's first job was on the editorial staff of the Salt Lake Herald. He subsequently studied at Stanford University, but did not manage to attain a degree. Before entering the motion picture industry, he was engaged as a story writer and drama editor, respectively by the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner. After a stint as a publicist for various theatrical personalities, he began his film career under contract to Universal, from 1917 to 1919. He subsequently moved on to Famous Players/Lasky, commuting between Hollywood and Paramount's Astoria studios in Long Island. Young wrote some of his most highly regarded screenplays for MGM (1924-29) and Paramount (1930 and 1932-36). The latter included notable collaborations on Cecil B. DeMille epics (Le signe de la croix (1932), Cléopâtre (1934)), as well as several of Gary Cooper's biggest box-office hits of the period (Les trois lanciers du Bengale (1935), Une aventure de Buffalo Bill (1936)).