Dead at 96.


Sure, he starred opposite a talking horse on the 1960s CBS sitcom, but he also hosted an Emmy-winning variety show and voiced a popular character on 'DuckTales.'

Alan Young, who answered to the name “Willburrrrrrrrrrrrr” on Mister Ed, the wacky 1960s sitcom that revolved around a talking horse, has died. He was 96.

Young, who for six seasons played straight man to a golden palomino, a gelding who was named Bamboo Harvester, died Thursday of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Home in Woodland Hills. He was there for more than four years.

Young himself was the voice of a talking bird, playing Scottish miser Scrooge McDuck (the uncle of Donald Duck and great uncle of Huey, Dewey, and Louie) on the 1987-90 syndicated series DuckTales.

And a decade before Mister Ed, the good-natured actor hosted CBS’ The Alan Young Show, which won an Emmy Award for best variety series and earned Young a trophy for best actor as well.

On the big screen, Young played David Filby (and his son James) in MGM’s sci-fi classic The Time Machine (1960), starring Rod Taylor.

In his most famous role, Young portrayed Wilbur Post, an unassuming, accident-prone architect who is married to Carol (Connie Hines). They live in a nice home in the San Fernando Valley with a barn, where the chatty Mister Ed resides — but only Wilbur can hear him speak.

In a 1990 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Young said Wilbur was “naive and bumbling” while “Ed was a wily one. I think it’s the same chemistry that made Laurel and Hardy and Jackie Gleason and Art Carney: It’s the one guy making a fool of the other guy.”

Based on a series of children’s short stories by Walter Brooks and produced by Filmways, Mister Ed started out in syndication in January 1960 on about 100 stations; after 26 episodes, CBS picked up the show, and it aired until February 1966.

To make Ed appear as if he were talking, a piece of nylon thread was placed in his mouth and manipulated to make his lips move. Producers didn’t want anyone to know the secret, so Young made up a story about putting peanut butter in the horse’s mouth, which he would then try to lick off.

“But Ed actually learned to move his lips on cue when the trainer touched his hoof,” he once said. “In fact, he soon learned to do it when I stopped talking during a scene! Ed was very smart.”

Allan “Rocky” Lane, a star of several Western ‘B’ movies and the actor who provided the voice of the horse, never went recognized in the credits, which noted that Mister Ed was played by “himself.”

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Definitely more relevant than Prince.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Most assuredly. 96 is a helluva run.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Wasn't it that Mr. Ed would only talk when he was alone with Wilbur? I thought anyone could hear him speak cause he would make phone calls and stuff too.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

Will Elmhurst Steve attend the funeral?

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

spent way too much time with the fuckin horse

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Thanks for wheying in!

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."