logo
HomeNews
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

Alan Young's Life Before, during and after 'Mister Ed'

Rebelander Basilan
Mar 31, 2020
01:30 A.M.

Four years after he died, Alan Young's legacy on films and television remains. The actor is best remembered for his role as Wilbur Post in "Mister Ed," a popular 5-year television series in 1958.

Advertisement

The actor was not only known for television shows, but he has also established a career in movies, as stated in his IMDB biography. His notable films include "Margie" (1946), "Chicken Every Sunday" (1949), "Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick" (1952) and "Androcles and the Lion" (1952).

His career flourished even more through the years. Young starred in the "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" (1955), "Tom Thumb" (1958), and "The Time Machine" (1960).

Alan Young at the premiere of "The Girl In The Freudian Slip" on May 18, 1967 at the Booth Theater in New York City. | Photo: Getty Images

Alan Young at the premiere of "The Girl In The Freudian Slip" on May 18, 1967 at the Booth Theater in New York City. | Photo: Getty Images

LOVE FOR RADIO

Born in Northern England in 1919, Young started his career doing radio shows. The English - Canadian actor with Scottish roots began his love for radio at six years old.

Advertisement

He would listen to the radio almost every day. It was his only source of entertainment while being bedridden due to asthma.

At 13, he became a radio performer in Canada. When he turned 17, he wrote and performed his own radio show for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Alan Young at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center on July 20, 2007 in Burbank, California. | Photo: Getty Images

Alan Young at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center on July 20, 2007 in Burbank, California. | Photo: Getty Images

MOVING TO AMERICA

An American agent later discovered and brought him to New York in 1944. It led him to start his own self-titled radio and television show, "The Alan Young Show" in CBS, as reported by Closer Weekly.

The CBS also ran a show "Mister Ed" where Young became gained popularity. The show went on hiatus in 1952, due to an internal conflict.

Advertisement

Young's comedic skills will be forever etched in the entertainment industry.

Alan Young at Book Soup on September 10, 2006 in West Hollywood, California. | Photo: Getty Images

Alan Young at Book Soup on September 10, 2006 in West Hollywood, California. | Photo: Getty Images

MOVING TO ENGLAND

"I sat home for a while and tried to figure out what happened," Young said in an interview. "The second year I had fewer offers and I could see they were going to get fewer all the time. So we packed up and went to England."

Young became the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Walt Disney's "Mickey's Christmas Carol" in 1983. He voiced the character with a Scottish accent.

Alan Young on July 28, 1988 at the Registry Hotel in Los Angeles, California. | Photo: Getty Images

Alan Young on July 28, 1988 at the Registry Hotel in Los Angeles, California. | Photo: Getty Images

Advertisement

He then went back to acting in the US. He appeared in the 1994 film, "Beverley Hills Cop," and a cameo in the 2002 remake of "Time Machine," as reported by The Guardian.

His remaining years were spent in a community retirement in Woodland Hills, California. At the age of 96, he died of natural causes on May 9, 2016.

Photo of Alan Young as Wilbur Post and Mister Ed from the television program "Mister Ed," circa 1950s. | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Photo of Alan Young as Wilbur Post and Mister Ed from the television program "Mister Ed," circa 1950s. | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Young's comedic skills will be forever etched in the entertainment industry. Speaking of his hilarious show "Misted Ed," here's a side-splitting joke about a man who borrowed a horse from a missionary.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Related posts