Alan Young obit

Alan Young, Wilbur on 'Mister Ed,' dead at 96

He was not on the list.

Alan Young, who played the hapless yet protective owner of a talking horse on the popular television comedy "Mister Ed," has died at age 96, according to officials at the Motion Picture & Television Home in Woodland Hills, California.

He died Thursday of natural causes with his children at his side, the organization said.

Young also was a well-received voice actor, with appearances as Scrooge McDuck in many Disney productions and as Farmer Smurf and other characters in the 1980s-era cartoon.

Young appeared on several shows before being cast as Wilbur Post on "Mister Ed," which became one of the most popular shows of the early 1960s. One of his previous shows, "The Alan Young Show," won a prime-time Emmy.

According to a 1990 story in the Los Angeles Times, famed comedian George Burns financed "Mister Ed" and told his co-owner they should cast Young because "he looks like the kind of guy a horse would talk to."

Young told the newspaper that Wilbur Post was bumbling while Mister Ed was wily.

"I think it's the same chemistry that made Laurel and Hardy, and Jackie Gleason and Art Carney," he said. "It's the one guy making a fool of the other guy."

The show, which ran weekly from 1961 until 1966, featured a horse who talked (with help from a never-seen human voice actor) but Mister Ed spoke only to his owner, much to Wilbur Post's frustration.

Young had 101 acting credits, according to the Internet Movie Database, including the 1960 science fiction film "The Time Machine." He made many guest appearances on television after taking a long break after the end of "Mister Ed." He also voiced Jack Allen in the Radio series Adventures in Odyssey.

Young was born in England in 1919 as Angus Young and grew up in Scotland and Canada. He began his entertainment career on the radio at age 13. He had his own show when he was 17.

He was married three times -- to Mary Anne Grimes, Virginia McCurdy and Mary Chipman -- and had four children.



Filmography

Radio

Year Title Role Notes

1939 Stag Party Himself

1940–1944 The Alan Young Show Alan Canadian version

1944–1949 The Alan Young Show Alan U.S. version

1945 The Old Gold Comedy Theater

Known also as The Harold Lloyd Theatre Bob Bennett "Nothing but the Truth"[22]

1947 Hedda Hopper's This Is Hollywood Roy Hornsdale "Margie"

1947–1948 Texaco Star Theatre Himself

1948–1949 The Jimmy Durante Show Co-host

1949–1950 Family Theater Johnny the Leprechaun, Donald "The Leprechaun Who Didn't Listen"

"The Lion Tamer"

"My Terminal Moraine"

1950 The Jack Benny Program Himself

1952 Hollywood Star Playhouse Ernie "Nor Gloom of Night"

1979 Sears Radio Theater Harry Silverman, Otto Glitch, Steve "The Care and Feeding of a Sex Symbol"

"The Terrible Dream of Mr. Glitch"

"A Very Nice Couple"

1994–2009, 2012 Adventures in Odyssey Jack Allen


Film

Year Title Role Notes

1946 Margie Roy Hornsdale

1949 Chicken Every Sunday Geoffrey Lawson

1949 Mr. Belvedere Goes to College Avery Brubaker

1952 Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick Aaron Slick

1952 Androcles and the Lion Androcles

1955 Gentlemen Marry Brunettes Charlie Biddle / Mrs. Biddle / Mr. Henry Biddle

1958 Tom Thumb Woody

1960 The Time Machine David Filby / James Filby

1976 Baker's Hawk Paul Carson

1978 The Cat from Outer Space Doctor Winger

1983 Mickey's Christmas Carol Scrooge McDuck Voice, Animated short, also credited for "Story"

1985 The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal Himself Documentary

1986 The Great Mouse Detective Hiram Flaversham (voice)

1987 Alice Through the Looking Glass White Knight (voice)

1990 DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp Scrooge McDuck (voice)

1993 Time Machine: The Journey Back Filby "Time Machine: The Journey Back"

1993 Disney Sing-Along Songs Scrooge McDuck (voice) "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

1994 Beverly Hills Cop III Dave Thornton

1996 The Flintstones Christmas in Bedrock Additional voices

1999 Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Scrooge McDuck (voice) Direct-to-video

2002 The Time Machine Flower Store Worker

2004 Em & Me Grandfather San Diego Film Festival Award for Best Actor

Monaco International Festival Best Actor Award

2004 Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas Scrooge McDuck (voice) Direct-to-video


Television

Year Title Role Notes

1950–1953 The Alan Young Show Alan Television version

Lead Role

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1951)

Nominated - Primetime Emmy for Most Outstanding Personality (1951)

1954 General Electric Theater Alan Parker "Wild Luke's Boy"

1955 Screen Director's Playhouse Ernest Stockhoeffer/Vernon Hathaway "The Life of Vernon Hathaway"

1955–1956 Studio One George Abernathy, Timothy "The Man Who Caught the Ball at Coogan's Bluff"

"This Will Do Nicely"

1956 Chevron Hall of Stars Robinson "I Killed John Harrington"

1956 Matinee Theatre "Ask Me No Questions"

1956 Studio 57 Hector Tutwilder "Swing Your Partner, Hector"

1956–1958 The Steve Allen Show Himself 5 episodes

1958 Alan Young (TV series) Alan 3 episodes

1959 Five Fingers Carl "Thin Ice"

1959 Encounter Wilbur Bowser "The Last of the Hot Pilots"

1960 Startime Clarence "Tennessee Ernie Ford Meets King Arthur"

1961–1966 Mister Ed Wilbur Post Lead Role

143 episodes

1962 Death Valley Days John Batterson Stetson "The Hat That Won the West"

1966 Mr. Terrific Stanley Beamish TV pilot

1976 Gibbsville Kanzler "Saturday Night"

1978–1980 Battle of the Planets 7-Zark-7, Keyop English dub

1978, 1983 The Love Boat Ross, Phil Sharp 2 episodes

1980 Humpty Humpty Dumpty (voice)

1981 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Mr. Frump (voice) "The Fantastic Mr. Frump"

1982 The Incredible Hulk Cyclops (voice) "The Cyclops Project"

1982–1989 The Smurfs Farmer Smurf (voice)

Miner Smurf (voice)

Scaredy Smurf (voice) 49 episodes

1983 Alvin and the Chipmunks Grandpa Seville (voice) "Grandpa and Grandma Seville"

1983 The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show Gaggy Rogers (voice) "Wedding Bell Boos!"

1983 Saturday Supercade additional voices 13 episodes[23]

1983 Mister T Doctor Kirby (voice) "Mystery on the Rocky Mountain Express"

1984 Robo Force S.O.T.A. TV film

1984 Down to Earth Alistar Coogan "Everything Old Is New Again"

1986 Murder, She Wrote Floyd Nelson "Keep the Home Fries Burning"

1987 St. Elsewhere Knox "A Coupla White Dummies Sitting Around Talking"

1987–1990 DuckTales Scrooge McDuck (voice) Lead Role

100 episodes

1988–1989 Coming of Age Ed Pepper 15 episodes

1990 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Scrooge McDuck (voice) "A DuckTales Valentine"

1990 TaleSpin Doctor Cooper (voice) "The Old Man and the Sea Duck"

1990 City Donald "Just a Passing Dad"

1991 Earth Angel Norman TV film

1992 Raw Toonage Scrooge McDuck (voice) "The Treasure of the Sierra Marsdre"

1993 Doogie Howser, M.D. Doctor Emmitt Randall "Eleven Angry People...and Vinnie"

1993 Coach Ranger Farley "One for the Road"

1993 A Flintstone Family Christmas Mr. Gravelberry (voice) TV film

1994 Batman: The Animated Series Tod Baker (voice) "Baby-Doll"

1994 Party of Five Jack Gordon "Homework"

1994 Hart to Hart Charlie Loomis "Home Is Where the Hart Is"

1994–1995 The Ren & Stimpy Show Haggis McHaggis (voice) 4 episodes

1995 Duckman Wilbur Nelson (voice) "America the Beautiful"

1995 Maybe This Time Arthur "Gracie Under Fire"

1995 The Wayans Bros. Reverend Benton "Loot"

1997 Sabrina the Teenage Witch Mr. Berry "Sweet Charity"

1997 USA High Mr. Phipps "Goodbye, Mr. Phipps"

1998 Kelly Kelly Great Uncle Billy "The Kilt Show"

1998 The Tony Danza Show Doctor Harris "Mini-pause"

1999 Mickey Mouse Works Scrooge McDuck (voice) 2 episodes

2000 Rude Awakening Priest "Truth Don't Fail Me Now"

2000 Hang Time Mr. McHenry "That '60s Show"

2000 ER Archie Mellonston "Benton Backwards"

2001 God, the Devil and Bob Wilbur Post (voice) "God's Girlfriend"

2001 FreakyLinks Henry "Subject: Sunrise at Sunset Streams"

2001 Maybe It's Me Abe Lasky "The Hair Episode"

2002 Disney's House of Mouse Scrooge McDuck (voice) 3 episodes

2004 Static Shock Dr. McDonald "Now You See Him"

2004 Megas XLR Jax (voice) 2 episodes

2015–2016 Mickey Mouse Scrooge McDuck (voice) "Goofy's First Love"

"No"


Video games

Year Title Role

1997 The Curse of Monkey Island Haggis McMutton

2008 Disney Think Fast Scrooge McDuck

2010 Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

2013 DuckTales: Scrooge's Loot

2013 DuckTales: Remastered