The full cast list is immense for the wonderful TV show "Mister Ed" that aired from 1961 to 1966. Of course, Alan Young and Connie Hines as Wilber and Carol Post, plus Allan Lane who voiced Mister Ed, plus a few others were the mainstays of the series. Let's look deeper.
Mister Ed was played by Bamboo Harvester, a palomino foaled in 1949. He was trained by Lester Hilton who also worked on the Francis the Talking Mule series, and was an apprentice of Will Rogers.
If you glance quickly down the list you will see many names that you may recognize:
Jack Albertson
Richard Deacon
Donna Douglas
Bill Baldwin (No, not THAT Bill Baldwin, the other one who was in Rocky. Remember?)
Bobby Diamond (If you are my age, you will remember Diamond as Joey on the Saturday morning TV hit "Fury," pre "Mister Ed.")
Sharon Tate
Jack LaLanne
Butch Patrick (If you are younger than I, you will remember Patrick as Eddie on "The Munsters," post "Mister Ed.")
Henry Brandon, who we already discussed here.
And, of course, George Burns.
It looks like everyone recognized the quality of "Mister Ed" and wanted to be part of it. And the list above just scratches the surface.
Let's quickly pick a name at random and see what that person has done in addition to "Mister Ed." How about Chick Chandler. Probably no relation to George Chandler from "Lassie." Chick lived from 1905 to 1988, and appeared in 170 roles from 1925 to 1971. His name is unknown to me, but he must fit perfectly into the Bit Actor category.
I don't recognize many of the early titles he was in. Included in the movies I know; one Mr. Moto movie in 1938; The Bride Came COD in 1941 with James Cagney and Bette Davis; two movies with Humphrey Bogart, The Big Shot (1942) and Action in the North Atlantic (1943); three Blondie films with Penny Singleton; and some other very good films, Showboat (1951), Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick in 1952 with Alan Young, A Star is Born with Judy Garland in 1954, etc., right up to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Starting in the 1950's he spent most of his time on TV, including three episodes on "Mister Ed" and right up to "Bonanza" in the 1970's. Most of these appearances were one or two episodes, but he did star in one season of a 1961 TV show called "One Happy Family" that included Dick Sargent. Sorry, but I never saw it!
Showing posts with label Mister Ed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mister Ed. Show all posts
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Alan Young
I met Alan Young at a Sons of the Desert banquet in Philadelphia, quite a few years ago. As I have mentioned before, the Sons of the Desert is a club dedicated to the study of Laurel and Hardy.
Alan Young is a delightful man. What I like about being a member of a group like the SoD is the accessibility you have to meet and chat with people whom you have enjoyed in movies and on TV. It is one thing to go to a huge convention that is open to the public and stand in line to get an autograph and exchange pleasantries with a star, but at a SoD banquet or convention, you get to communicate with them...to sit in the bar and share a drink and a real conversation about the old days. And they seem to enjoy it as much as we do.
Alan Young was born in 1919 in England. He is most famous for his work on TV with a talking horse! He plays the bagpipes well, and he did for us at the banquet.
His first film was Margie in 1946 with Jeanne Crain. My earliest memory of him came on a recording of the soundtrack of his 1952 film, Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick, which I believe were red, 78 rpm records, in a box set complete with a cartoon cover depicting Young and co-star Dinah Shore. I was only 2 years old when that movie came out, but by the time I was 4 or 5, a memory of that record set that my parents bought, and the old console radio/record player from RCA was implanted in me.
He had another good part in 1952 in Androcles and the Lion, and his career was off to a great start. He found TV, or maybe it found him, in 1954, and he was also quite good at voicing animation. He became the voice of Scrooge McDuck!
His most famous film role was in 1960 with Rod Taylor in The Time Machine, where he played the two Filbys, David and James. He even reprised that role in a documentary in 1993, again with Rod Taylor, and in later years appeared in a 2002 remake of The Time Machine, with Mark Addy playing David Filby.
His part as Wilbur Post in "Mister Ed" lasted from 1961 to 1966, and must have given him many wonderful memories. It was one of my favorites, of course, of course. The guest stars he got to work with on those 144 episodes in five years is amazing, and worthy of recognition in another post.
Pardon me if I have waxed rhapsodic in this post, but the memories are what keep us young. I guess Alan is still young because at 91 years old, he is still working. Alan also has a great web site and you can purchase autographed items from him. Just go to http://www.mister-ed.tv/welcome.html.
No, Alan Young was not a Bit Actor, but I had to include him in my blog, which is really dedicated to everyone in entertainment. Alan Young is a star! All my best, Alan, and thanks for the memories.
Alan Young is a delightful man. What I like about being a member of a group like the SoD is the accessibility you have to meet and chat with people whom you have enjoyed in movies and on TV. It is one thing to go to a huge convention that is open to the public and stand in line to get an autograph and exchange pleasantries with a star, but at a SoD banquet or convention, you get to communicate with them...to sit in the bar and share a drink and a real conversation about the old days. And they seem to enjoy it as much as we do.
Alan Young was born in 1919 in England. He is most famous for his work on TV with a talking horse! He plays the bagpipes well, and he did for us at the banquet.
His first film was Margie in 1946 with Jeanne Crain. My earliest memory of him came on a recording of the soundtrack of his 1952 film, Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick, which I believe were red, 78 rpm records, in a box set complete with a cartoon cover depicting Young and co-star Dinah Shore. I was only 2 years old when that movie came out, but by the time I was 4 or 5, a memory of that record set that my parents bought, and the old console radio/record player from RCA was implanted in me.
He had another good part in 1952 in Androcles and the Lion, and his career was off to a great start. He found TV, or maybe it found him, in 1954, and he was also quite good at voicing animation. He became the voice of Scrooge McDuck!
His part as Wilbur Post in "Mister Ed" lasted from 1961 to 1966, and must have given him many wonderful memories. It was one of my favorites, of course, of course. The guest stars he got to work with on those 144 episodes in five years is amazing, and worthy of recognition in another post.
Pardon me if I have waxed rhapsodic in this post, but the memories are what keep us young. I guess Alan is still young because at 91 years old, he is still working. Alan also has a great web site and you can purchase autographed items from him. Just go to http://www.mister-ed.tv/welcome.html.
No, Alan Young was not a Bit Actor, but I had to include him in my blog, which is really dedicated to everyone in entertainment. Alan Young is a star! All my best, Alan, and thanks for the memories.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)