Mister Ed
Encyclopedia
Originally produced in late 1960, Mister Ed is an American television situation comedy produced by Filmways
that first aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS
from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966.
The stars of the show are Mister Ed, a palomino
horse
who could talk ("played" by gelding
Bamboo Harvester
and voiced by former western star Allan Lane
[who went uncredited for the entire length of the series] ), and his owner, an eccentric and enormously klutzy yet friendly architect named Wilbur Post (portrayed by Alan Young
). Much of the program's humor stemmed from the fact Mister Ed would speak only to Wilbur, as well as Ed's notoriety as a troublemaker. According to the show's producer, Arthur Lubin
, Young was chosen as the lead character because he "just seemed like the sort of guy a horse would talk to". Lubin, a friend of Mae West
, scored a coup by persuading the screen icon to guest star in one episode.
In the United States, reruns aired on Nick at Nite
from March 3, 1986, to February 1, 1993. Sister station TV Land
also reran the show from 1996-98 and again from 2003-06. The series is currently broadcast every morning on This TV
, along with sister series The Patty Duke Show
. As of January 1, 2011, the first two seasons of the show are available on Hulu.
, which began with The Talking Horse in the 18-Sep-1937 issue of Liberty. Brooks is otherwise known for the Freddy the Pig
series of children's novels, which likewise feature talking animals who interact with humans. Lubin's secretary Sonia Chernus, is credited as developing the format for television, by introducing the Brooks stories to Lubin himself.
The concept of the show was similar to Francis the Talking Mule
, with the equine normally talking only to one person (Wilbur), and thus both helping and frustrating its owner. The Francis movies, not coincidentally, were Directed by Arthur Lubin who performed the same duty on the tv show of Mister Ed. The show had some regular writers such as William Davenport, Lou Derman, Larry Rhine and Ben Starr. The series was restricted in setting, but often quite amusing.
gelding. However, the permanent equine star of the show was Bamboo Harvester
(1949–70), a crossbred gelding of American Saddlebred
, Arabian
and grade
ancestry.
Mister Ed the horse was voiced by ex-B-movie
cowboy star Allan "Rocky" Lane (speaking) and Sheldon Allman
(singing, except his line in the theme song, which was sung by its composer, Jay Livingston
).
Ed was voice-trained for the show by Les Hilton. Lane remained anonymous as the voice of Mister Ed, and the show's producers referred to him only as "an actor who prefers to remain nameless," though once the show became a hit, Lane campaigned the producers for credit, which he never received. The credits listed Mister Ed as playing "himself"; however, his family tree name was Bamboo Harvester
. Ed's stablemate, a quarterhorse named Pumpkin, who was later to appear in the television series Green Acres
, was also Ed's stunt double in the show.
Others argued that examination of Mister Ed footage shows Ed's handler pulling strings to make him talk, and that this method was at work at least some of the time. Young later said during an interview for the Archive of American Television that a nylon string was tied to the halter
and the loose end inserted under his lip to make Ed talk, saying that he had used the peanut butter fable for years in radio interviews instead of telling the truth. The loose thread can be seen tied to the halter, and it is clearly not taut as it would be if it were being pulled. Young also states in the AAT interview that after the first season, Ed didn't need the nylon – Alan and trainer Les were out riding one day and Les started laughing, telling Alan to look at Ed, who was moving his lips every time they stopped talking, as if attempting to join in the conversation. This difference is visible when comparing first season episodes to later ones, as it is clear that early on he's working the irritating string out, sometimes working his tongue in the attempt too, and later on he tends to only move his upper lip, and appears to watch Alan Young closely, waiting for him to finish his lines before twitching his lip.
Young added in the Archive interview that Ed saw the trainer as the disciplinarian, or father figure, and when scolded for missing a cue, would go to Alan for comfort, like a mother figure, which Les said was a good thing.
with no publicity, and buried at Snodgrass Farm in Oklahoma
. However, a different version was given by Alan Young
. Young wrote that he'd frequently visit his former "co-star" in retirement. He states that Mr. Ed died from an inadvertent tranquilizer administered while he was "in retirement" in a stable in Burbank, California where he lived with his trainer Lester Hilton. Young says Hilton was out of town visiting relatives and a temporary care giver might have seen Ed rolling on the ground, struggling to get up. Young said Ed was a heavy horse and he wasn't always strong enough to get back on his feet without struggling. The theory is the care giver thought the horse was in distress and administered a tranquilizer and for unknown reason, the horse died within hours. The remains were cremated and scattered by Hilton in the Los Angeles area at a spot known only to him.
A different horse that died in Oklahoma in February 1979 was widely thought to be Bamboo Harvester, but this horse was in fact a horse that posed for the still pictures of "Mister Ed" used by the production company for the show's press kits. After Bamboo Harvester's death in 1970 from Kidney disease, this horse was unofficially known as Mister Ed, which led to him being reported as such (including sardonic comments on Saturday Night Live
's Weekend Update
) following his own death.
Young said that when the Oklahoma horse death story came out in 1979, he knew it wasn't the real Mister Ed, but didn't have the heart to "shatter their illusions" that the horse being memorialized wasn't the real Mister Ed. He believes it was the horse used for early publicity photos.
). The Posts also had two sets of neighbors, who Ed delighted in making Wilbur appear as eccentric as possible. They included the Addisons, Roger (Larry Keating
) and his wife Kay (Edna Skinner
), who both appeared from the pilot episode until Keating's untimely death from leukemia in 1963; thereafter, Skinner continued appearing as Kay alone, without mention of Roger's absence, until the neighbors were recast. In the "official" pilot episode — two were filmed because the horse in the first pilot was unruly and difficult to work with — Roger caught Wilbur and Ed "conversing" and realized that Mister Ed could talk, but since Ed would not speak to anyone else, Wilbur defused the potential calamity by sufficiently convincing Addison that he was a ventriloquist and could "throw" Mister Ed's voice. Following the Addisons, the Posts' new neighbors were Col. Gordon Kirkwood, USAF (Ret.), portrayed by Leon Ames
, Wilbur's former commanding officer, and his wife Winnie (Florence MacMichael). Winnie actually called her husband "Colonel" and referred to him as "The Colonel" in the presence of others; she never called him by his given name. Ames and MacMichael appeared on the series from 1963-65. In 1963, child actor
Darby Hinton
, cast thereafter as Israel Boone on NBC
's Daniel Boone
, guest-starred as 'Rocky' in the episode "Getting Ed's Goat." Jack Albertson
appeared occasionally from 1961-63 as Kay Addison's older brother Paul Fenton. Mae West
and Clint Eastwood
also appeared in different episodes as themselves.
For the final season, the Kirkwood's were phased out and the show focused strictly on the home life of the Posts, which was made more interesting when Carol's grumpy and uptight father, Mr. Higgins (Barry Kelley
), who appeared occasionally throughout the entire series, apparently moved in with Wilbur and Carol during the final episodes. Mr. Higgins loathed Wilbur since Wilbur's quirky eccentricity always clashed with his own emotionless and uptight personality. Carol's father never stopped trying to persuade her to divorce Wilbur, who he often referred to as a "kook" because of Wilbur's clumsiness. Alan Young performed double-duty during the final season of the series, also directing nearly all of those episodes.
Although Connie Hines retired from acting a few years after the show's cancellation in 1966, she and Alan Young made public appearances together.
and Ray Evans
and sung by Livingston. After using only the music to open the first eight episodes, a decision was made to replace the instrumental-only version with one containing the lyrics. Livingston agreed to sing it himself, at least until a professional singer could be found; however, the producers liked the songwriter's vocals and kept them on the broadcast.
A joke/controversy concerning the theme song has existed since at least the 1980s: that the tune contains "satanic messages"
if played in reverse. This YouTube
video suggests that some portions reverse to "sing this song for Satan
" and "Satan is the singer". Over the years, many radio stations have kept this rumor alive, mostly as a parody of the whole "backmasking" controversy.
, an American car manufacturer which stopped manufacturing cars in the United States in 1964 and its Canadian unit stopped producing cars in 1966, but that company survives today in a different field as Studebaker-Worthington Leasing Company. Studebaker
s were featured prominently in the show during this period. The Posts are shown owning a 1962 Lark
convertible, and the company used publicity shots featuring the Posts and Mister Ed with their product (various cast members also appeared in "integrated commercials" for Lark
at the end of the program). The Addisons are shown owning a 1963 Avanti
. Ford Motor Company provided the vehicles starting at the beginning of 1965.
It is also interesting to note that, in the first episode ever aired, the Posts were driving a 1961 Studebaker Lark.
network, with Sherman Hemsley
as the voice of Mister Ed, David Alan Basche
as Wilbur, Sherilyn Fenn
as Carol, and Sara Paxton
. The pilot
was filmed, but was not picked up by Fox. The show's writer and producer, Drake Sather
, committed suicide shortly before the pilot's completion.
Allan Lane
(voice only) ... Mister Ed
Alan Young
... Wilbur Post
Connie Hines
... Carol Post
Supporting Cast:
Larry Keating
... Roger Addison (1961–63); Seasons 1–3
Edna Skinner
... Kay Addison (1961–63); Seasons 1–4
Leon Ames
... Gordon Kirkwood (1963–65); Seasons 4–5
Florence MacMichael ... Winnie Kirkwood (1963–65); Seasons 4–5
Jack Albertson
... Paul Fenton (occasionally 1961–63); Seasons 2–4
Barry Kelley
... Carol's Father, Mr. Higgins (occasionally 1962–65, recurring 1965-66)
built around the supposed final resting place (although that fact is disputable) of Mister Ed. It is intended to be themed to the style of the show and its period.
released two Best-of collections of Mister Ed on DVD in Region 1. Volume 1 (released January 13, 2004) contains 21 episodes and Volume 2 (released March 8, 2005) contains 20 episodes. Due to poor sales, further volumes were not released.
MGM also released a single-disc release entitled Mister Ed's Barnyard Favorites on July 26, 2005 which contains the first eight episodes featured on Volume One.
Judging by the pattern of other CBS and Filmways programs of the era, it is possible that some episodes from the early seasons may have had their copyrights lapsed, and thus have fallen in the public domain
. The Internet Archive (archive.org)
has the episode entitled "Ed the Beneficiary".
On June 18, 2009, Shout! Factory
announced that they had acquired the rights to release Mister Ed on DVD. They have subsequently released the first four seasons on DVD in Region 1. Season 5 will be released on June 21, 2011 as a Shout! Select title.
An early review of the 1st season DVD by Paul Mavis states that most of the episodes are the full-length versions; however eight of them are the edited versions.
♦ - Shout! Factory select title, sold exclusively through Shout's online store
featured a recurring character in the form of a talking horse who spoke very much like Mister Ed and in one episode, "20th Century Presidents," also featured a theme song parodying that of Mister Ed. The Beastie Boys use a sample of Mister Ed's voice in their song "Time To Get Ill" from the album Licensed to Ill
. The song "Mr. Klaw" by They Might Be Giants
features lyrics based on those of the show's theme. "Now That I Am Dead" by French Frith Kaiser Thompson
features a "Mister Ed" impersonation on the line "I Am Mister Dead." British sketch comedy
show Harry Enfield's Television Programme
featured a Grotesque
character called Mister Dead, a talking human corpse who travels around with his living friend and often helps him get out of troublesome situations, such as in one sketch where he avoids a speeding ticket by pretending to rush Mister Dead to the mortuary. In the episode of the same name of Mr. Show
, David
finds a "talking junkie
named Mister Junkie," in a sketch that parodies Mister Ed, including a parody of the theme song. A tribute music CD called Mister Ed Unplugged was released, featuring new recordings of the "Theme From Mister Ed" and longer versions of "The Pretty Little Filly" and "Empty Feedbag Blues," which were both written by the late Sheldon Allman
, who was also the original singing voice of Mister Ed. Dell Comics published Mister Ed in Four Color #1295 In the show Dinosaurs (TV series)
, one of Earl Sinclair's favorite show is "Mister Ugh", a parody of Mister Ed featuring a caveman instead of a horse.
steeplechase at Aintree
, England
, but did not complete the course.
(1988) and Ready to Run
(2002). The names of the talking horses were Don and Thunder Jam (TJ) respectively.
Filmways
Filmways, Inc. was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff in 1958...
that first aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966.
The stars of the show are Mister Ed, a palomino
Palomino
Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat...
horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
who could talk ("played" by gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
Bamboo Harvester
Bamboo Harvester
Bamboo Harvester was the name of the Palomino horse that portrayed Mister Ed on the 1961–1966 comedy series of the same name. Foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California, the gelding was trained by Will Rogers' protege, Les Hilton...
and voiced by former western star Allan Lane
Allan Lane
Allan "Rocky" Lane was a studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in a career lasting from 1929 to 1966...
[who went uncredited for the entire length of the series] ), and his owner, an eccentric and enormously klutzy yet friendly architect named Wilbur Post (portrayed by Alan Young
Alan Young
Alan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...
). Much of the program's humor stemmed from the fact Mister Ed would speak only to Wilbur, as well as Ed's notoriety as a troublemaker. According to the show's producer, Arthur Lubin
Arthur Lubin
Arthur Lubin was an American film director and producer who directed several Abbott & Costello films and created the TV series Mr. Ed.Arthur Lubin was born Arthur William Lubovsky in Los Angeles, California in 1898...
, Young was chosen as the lead character because he "just seemed like the sort of guy a horse would talk to". Lubin, a friend of Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, scored a coup by persuading the screen icon to guest star in one episode.
In the United States, reruns aired on Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
from March 3, 1986, to February 1, 1993. Sister station TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
also reran the show from 1996-98 and again from 2003-06. The series is currently broadcast every morning on This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
, along with sister series The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke...
. As of January 1, 2011, the first two seasons of the show are available on Hulu.
Beginnings
The show was derived from a series of short stories by Walter R. BrooksWalter R. Brooks
Walter Rollin Brooks was an American writer best remembered for his short stories and children's books, particularly those about Freddy the Pig and other anthropomorphic animal inhabitants of the "Bean farm" in upstate New York.Born in Rome, New York, Brooks attended college at the University of...
, which began with The Talking Horse in the 18-Sep-1937 issue of Liberty. Brooks is otherwise known for the Freddy the Pig
Freddy the Pig
Freddy the Pig is the central figure in a series of 26 books written between 1927 and 1958 by American author Walter R. Brooks, and illustrated by Kurt Wiese. Consisting of 25 novels and one poetry collection, they focus on the adventures of a group of animals living on a farm in rural upstate New...
series of children's novels, which likewise feature talking animals who interact with humans. Lubin's secretary Sonia Chernus, is credited as developing the format for television, by introducing the Brooks stories to Lubin himself.
The concept of the show was similar to Francis the Talking Mule
Francis the Talking Mule
Francis the Talking Mule was a mule celebrity, featured in seven movie comedies in the 1950s. The character originated in a novel by writer David Stern, and Universal Studios bought the rights for a film series, with Stern adapting his own script for the first entry, simply titled...
, with the equine normally talking only to one person (Wilbur), and thus both helping and frustrating its owner. The Francis movies, not coincidentally, were Directed by Arthur Lubin who performed the same duty on the tv show of Mister Ed. The show had some regular writers such as William Davenport, Lou Derman, Larry Rhine and Ben Starr. The series was restricted in setting, but often quite amusing.
Mister Ed
The first horse that played Mister Ed for the pilot episode was a chestnutChestnut (coat)
Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
gelding. However, the permanent equine star of the show was Bamboo Harvester
Bamboo Harvester
Bamboo Harvester was the name of the Palomino horse that portrayed Mister Ed on the 1961–1966 comedy series of the same name. Foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California, the gelding was trained by Will Rogers' protege, Les Hilton...
(1949–70), a crossbred gelding of American Saddlebred
American Saddlebred
The American Saddlebred, formerly known as the American Saddle Horse, is a breed of horse that was developed in Kentucky by plantation owners. Today, in the horse show world, they are most commonly seen under saddle in Saddle seat style riding, and in various types of driving, including pleasure...
, Arabian
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
and grade
Grade horse
A Grade horse is a horse whose parentage is unknown, unidentifiable, or of significantly mixed breeding. This differs from purebred animals of known bloodlines and also differs from deliberately crossbred animals that are produced with an intent of either creating a new breed of horse or an animal...
ancestry.
Mister Ed the horse was voiced by ex-B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
cowboy star Allan "Rocky" Lane (speaking) and Sheldon Allman
Sheldon Allman
Sheldon Allman was a Jewish American-born Canadian raised actor, singer, and songwriter.He began his singing career with the Royal National Guard during his World War II service with the RCAF...
(singing, except his line in the theme song, which was sung by its composer, Jay Livingston
Jay Livingston
Jay Livingston was an American composer and singer best known as half of a songwriting duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote the music and Evans the lyrics....
).
Ed was voice-trained for the show by Les Hilton. Lane remained anonymous as the voice of Mister Ed, and the show's producers referred to him only as "an actor who prefers to remain nameless," though once the show became a hit, Lane campaigned the producers for credit, which he never received. The credits listed Mister Ed as playing "himself"; however, his family tree name was Bamboo Harvester
Bamboo Harvester
Bamboo Harvester was the name of the Palomino horse that portrayed Mister Ed on the 1961–1966 comedy series of the same name. Foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California, the gelding was trained by Will Rogers' protege, Les Hilton...
. Ed's stablemate, a quarterhorse named Pumpkin, who was later to appear in the television series Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, was also Ed's stunt double in the show.
Making Ed "talk"
It is often said the crew was able to get Mister Ed to move his mouth by applying peanut butter to his gums in order for him to try to remove it by moving his lips. However, Alan Young said in 2004 that he had started the story himself. In another interview, Young said, "Al Simon and Arthur Lubin, the producers, suggested we keep the method a secret because they thought kids would be disappointed if they found out the technical details of how it was done, so I made up the peanut butter story, and everyone bought it. It was initially done by putting a piece of nylon thread in his mouth. But Ed actually learned to move his lips on cue when the trainer touched his hoof. In fact, he soon learned to do it when I stopped talking during a scene! Ed was very smart."Others argued that examination of Mister Ed footage shows Ed's handler pulling strings to make him talk, and that this method was at work at least some of the time. Young later said during an interview for the Archive of American Television that a nylon string was tied to the halter
Halter
A halter, headcollar, or, less often, headstall, is headgear that is used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears , and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope or lead shank is attached...
and the loose end inserted under his lip to make Ed talk, saying that he had used the peanut butter fable for years in radio interviews instead of telling the truth. The loose thread can be seen tied to the halter, and it is clearly not taut as it would be if it were being pulled. Young also states in the AAT interview that after the first season, Ed didn't need the nylon – Alan and trainer Les were out riding one day and Les started laughing, telling Alan to look at Ed, who was moving his lips every time they stopped talking, as if attempting to join in the conversation. This difference is visible when comparing first season episodes to later ones, as it is clear that early on he's working the irritating string out, sometimes working his tongue in the attempt too, and later on he tends to only move his upper lip, and appears to watch Alan Young closely, waiting for him to finish his lines before twitching his lip.
Young added in the Archive interview that Ed saw the trainer as the disciplinarian, or father figure, and when scolded for missing a cue, would go to Alan for comfort, like a mother figure, which Les said was a good thing.
Death
There are conflicting stories involving of the death of Bamboo Harvester, the horse that played Mister Ed. By 1968, Bamboo Harvester was suffering from a variety of health problems. In 1970 he was euthanizedAnimal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...
with no publicity, and buried at Snodgrass Farm in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. However, a different version was given by Alan Young
Alan Young
Alan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...
. Young wrote that he'd frequently visit his former "co-star" in retirement. He states that Mr. Ed died from an inadvertent tranquilizer administered while he was "in retirement" in a stable in Burbank, California where he lived with his trainer Lester Hilton. Young says Hilton was out of town visiting relatives and a temporary care giver might have seen Ed rolling on the ground, struggling to get up. Young said Ed was a heavy horse and he wasn't always strong enough to get back on his feet without struggling. The theory is the care giver thought the horse was in distress and administered a tranquilizer and for unknown reason, the horse died within hours. The remains were cremated and scattered by Hilton in the Los Angeles area at a spot known only to him.
A different horse that died in Oklahoma in February 1979 was widely thought to be Bamboo Harvester, but this horse was in fact a horse that posed for the still pictures of "Mister Ed" used by the production company for the show's press kits. After Bamboo Harvester's death in 1970 from Kidney disease, this horse was unofficially known as Mister Ed, which led to him being reported as such (including sardonic comments on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
's Weekend Update
Weekend Update
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
) following his own death.
Young said that when the Oklahoma horse death story came out in 1979, he knew it wasn't the real Mister Ed, but didn't have the heart to "shatter their illusions" that the horse being memorialized wasn't the real Mister Ed. He believes it was the horse used for early publicity photos.
Other characters
The other main character throughout the series was Wilbur's tolerant (to a point) young wife, Carol (Connie HinesConnie Hines
Connie Hines was an American actress, best known for playing Alan Young's wife, Carol Post, on the 1960s syndicated and then CBS sitcom Mister Ed.- Biography :...
). The Posts also had two sets of neighbors, who Ed delighted in making Wilbur appear as eccentric as possible. They included the Addisons, Roger (Larry Keating
Larry Keating
Larry Keating was an American actor born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is known for his role of next-door neighbor Roger Addison on the television series Mister Ed, which he played from 1961 until his death in 1963...
) and his wife Kay (Edna Skinner
Edna Skinner
Edna Skinner was an American film and television actress notable for playing "Kay Addison," neighbor of Wilbur Post, in the iconic TV series Mister Ed...
), who both appeared from the pilot episode until Keating's untimely death from leukemia in 1963; thereafter, Skinner continued appearing as Kay alone, without mention of Roger's absence, until the neighbors were recast. In the "official" pilot episode — two were filmed because the horse in the first pilot was unruly and difficult to work with — Roger caught Wilbur and Ed "conversing" and realized that Mister Ed could talk, but since Ed would not speak to anyone else, Wilbur defused the potential calamity by sufficiently convincing Addison that he was a ventriloquist and could "throw" Mister Ed's voice. Following the Addisons, the Posts' new neighbors were Col. Gordon Kirkwood, USAF (Ret.), portrayed by Leon Ames
Leon Ames (actor)
Leon Ames was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis , as Judy Garland's father, and in Little Women ....
, Wilbur's former commanding officer, and his wife Winnie (Florence MacMichael). Winnie actually called her husband "Colonel" and referred to him as "The Colonel" in the presence of others; she never called him by his given name. Ames and MacMichael appeared on the series from 1963-65. In 1963, child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
Darby Hinton
Darby Hinton
Darby Hinton is an American actor and filmmaker initially cast in commercials when he was six months old. From 1964–1970 he portrayed Israel Boone, a son of American pioneer Daniel Boone, on the NBC adventure series Daniel Boone, with Fess Parker in the title role...
, cast thereafter as Israel Boone on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (TV series)
Daniel Boone is an American action/adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Native American friend, for the...
, guest-starred as 'Rocky' in the episode "Getting Ed's Goat." Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure , Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox...
appeared occasionally from 1961-63 as Kay Addison's older brother Paul Fenton. Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
and Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
also appeared in different episodes as themselves.
For the final season, the Kirkwood's were phased out and the show focused strictly on the home life of the Posts, which was made more interesting when Carol's grumpy and uptight father, Mr. Higgins (Barry Kelley
Barry Kelley
Barry Kelley was an actor on Broadway in the 1930s and '40s and in movies during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in Oklahoma! on Broadway....
), who appeared occasionally throughout the entire series, apparently moved in with Wilbur and Carol during the final episodes. Mr. Higgins loathed Wilbur since Wilbur's quirky eccentricity always clashed with his own emotionless and uptight personality. Carol's father never stopped trying to persuade her to divorce Wilbur, who he often referred to as a "kook" because of Wilbur's clumsiness. Alan Young performed double-duty during the final season of the series, also directing nearly all of those episodes.
Although Connie Hines retired from acting a few years after the show's cancellation in 1966, she and Alan Young made public appearances together.
Theme song
The theme song was written by the songwriting team of Jay LivingstonJay Livingston
Jay Livingston was an American composer and singer best known as half of a songwriting duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote the music and Evans the lyrics....
and Ray Evans
Ray Evans
Raymond Bernard Evans was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films...
and sung by Livingston. After using only the music to open the first eight episodes, a decision was made to replace the instrumental-only version with one containing the lyrics. Livingston agreed to sing it himself, at least until a professional singer could be found; however, the producers liked the songwriter's vocals and kept them on the broadcast.
A joke/controversy concerning the theme song has existed since at least the 1980s: that the tune contains "satanic messages"
Backmasking
Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward...
if played in reverse. This YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video suggests that some portions reverse to "sing this song for Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
" and "Satan is the singer". Over the years, many radio stations have kept this rumor alive, mostly as a parody of the whole "backmasking" controversy.
Sponsorship
The series was sponsored from 1961-63 by Studebaker CorporationStudebaker
Studebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...
, an American car manufacturer which stopped manufacturing cars in the United States in 1964 and its Canadian unit stopped producing cars in 1966, but that company survives today in a different field as Studebaker-Worthington Leasing Company. Studebaker
Studebaker
Studebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...
s were featured prominently in the show during this period. The Posts are shown owning a 1962 Lark
Studebaker Lark
The Studebaker Lark is a "compact car" which was produced by Studebaker from 1959 to 1966.From its introduction in early 1959 until 1962, the Lark was a product of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In mid-1962, the company dropped "Packard" from its name and reverted to its pre-1954 name, the...
convertible, and the company used publicity shots featuring the Posts and Mister Ed with their product (various cast members also appeared in "integrated commercials" for Lark
Studebaker Lark
The Studebaker Lark is a "compact car" which was produced by Studebaker from 1959 to 1966.From its introduction in early 1959 until 1962, the Lark was a product of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In mid-1962, the company dropped "Packard" from its name and reverted to its pre-1954 name, the...
at the end of the program). The Addisons are shown owning a 1963 Avanti
Studebaker Avanti
See also Avanti cars The Studebaker Avanti was a sports coupé built by the Studebaker Corporation at the direction of its president Sherwood Egbert between June 1962 and December 1963...
. Ford Motor Company provided the vehicles starting at the beginning of 1965.
It is also interesting to note that, in the first episode ever aired, the Posts were driving a 1961 Studebaker Lark.
Remake
In 2004, a remake was planned for the FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network, with Sherman Hemsley
Sherman Hemsley
Sherman Alexander Hemsley is an American actor, most famous for his role as George Jefferson on the CBS television series All in the Family and The Jeffersons, and as Deacon Ernest Frye on the NBC series Amen. He also played Earl Sinclair's horrifying boss, a Triceratops named B.P...
as the voice of Mister Ed, David Alan Basche
David Alan Basche
-Life and career:Basche was born in Hartford, Connecticut. His first acting role was in a school production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer when he was in the sixth grade at West Hartford's Norfeldt Elementary School...
as Wilbur, Sherilyn Fenn
Sherilyn Fenn
Sherilyn Fenn is an American actress and filmmaker. She came to international attention for her performance as Audrey Horne on the 1990 cult TV series Twin Peaks...
as Carol, and Sara Paxton
Sara Paxton
Sara Paxton is an American actress, model and singer. She grew up in California and began acting at an early age, appearing in many minor roles in both films and television shows, before coming to wider renown in 2004, after playing the title role in the series Darcy's Wild Life and Sarah Borden...
. The pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
was filmed, but was not picked up by Fox. The show's writer and producer, Drake Sather
Drake Sather
Drake Sather was an American stand-up comedian and Emmy nominated television writer. His credits include Zoolander, Saturday Night Live, Dennis Miller Show, Ed and NewsRadio....
, committed suicide shortly before the pilot's completion.
Cast
Main cast:Allan Lane
Allan Lane
Allan "Rocky" Lane was a studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in a career lasting from 1929 to 1966...
(voice only) ... Mister Ed
Alan Young
Alan Young
Alan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...
... Wilbur Post
Connie Hines
Connie Hines
Connie Hines was an American actress, best known for playing Alan Young's wife, Carol Post, on the 1960s syndicated and then CBS sitcom Mister Ed.- Biography :...
... Carol Post
Supporting Cast:
Larry Keating
Larry Keating
Larry Keating was an American actor born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is known for his role of next-door neighbor Roger Addison on the television series Mister Ed, which he played from 1961 until his death in 1963...
... Roger Addison (1961–63); Seasons 1–3
Edna Skinner
Edna Skinner
Edna Skinner was an American film and television actress notable for playing "Kay Addison," neighbor of Wilbur Post, in the iconic TV series Mister Ed...
... Kay Addison (1961–63); Seasons 1–4
Leon Ames
Leon Ames (actor)
Leon Ames was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis , as Judy Garland's father, and in Little Women ....
... Gordon Kirkwood (1963–65); Seasons 4–5
Florence MacMichael ... Winnie Kirkwood (1963–65); Seasons 4–5
Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure , Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox...
... Paul Fenton (occasionally 1961–63); Seasons 2–4
Barry Kelley
Barry Kelley
Barry Kelley was an actor on Broadway in the 1930s and '40s and in movies during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in Oklahoma! on Broadway....
... Carol's Father, Mr. Higgins (occasionally 1962–65, recurring 1965-66)
Housing development
In 2007, it was reported that a builder intended to create a community near Tahlequah, OklahomaTahlequah, Oklahoma
Tahlequah is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It was founded as a capital of the original Cherokee Nation in 1838 to welcome those Cherokee forced west on the Trail of Tears. The city's population was 15,753 at the 2010 census. It...
built around the supposed final resting place (although that fact is disputable) of Mister Ed. It is intended to be themed to the style of the show and its period.
DVD releases
MGM Home EntertainmentMGM Home Entertainment
MGM Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD arm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-History:The home video division of MGM started in 1979 as MGM Home Video, releasing all the movies and TV shows by MGM. In 1980, MGM joined forces with CBS Video Enterprises, the home video division of the CBS television...
released two Best-of collections of Mister Ed on DVD in Region 1. Volume 1 (released January 13, 2004) contains 21 episodes and Volume 2 (released March 8, 2005) contains 20 episodes. Due to poor sales, further volumes were not released.
MGM also released a single-disc release entitled Mister Ed's Barnyard Favorites on July 26, 2005 which contains the first eight episodes featured on Volume One.
Judging by the pattern of other CBS and Filmways programs of the era, it is possible that some episodes from the early seasons may have had their copyrights lapsed, and thus have fallen in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. The Internet Archive (archive.org)
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
has the episode entitled "Ed the Beneficiary".
On June 18, 2009, Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
announced that they had acquired the rights to release Mister Ed on DVD. They have subsequently released the first four seasons on DVD in Region 1. Season 5 will be released on June 21, 2011 as a Shout! Select title.
An early review of the 1st season DVD by Paul Mavis states that most of the episodes are the full-length versions; however eight of them are the edited versions.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Season One/The Complete First Season | 26 | October 6, 2009 |
| The Complete Second Season | 26 | February 2, 2010 |
| The Complete Third Season | 26 | June 1, 2010 |
| The Complete Fourth Season♦ | 26 | November 16, 2010 |
| The Complete Fifth Season♦ | 26 | June 21, 2011 |
| The Complete Sixth Season | 13 | TBA |
♦ - Shout! Factory select title, sold exclusively through Shout's online store
Appearances in other media
Histeria!Histeria!
Histeria! is a 1998 American animated series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Unlike other animated series produced by Warner Bros. in the 1990s, Histeria! stood out as the most explicit edutainment program in order to meet FCC requirements for...
featured a recurring character in the form of a talking horse who spoke very much like Mister Ed and in one episode, "20th Century Presidents," also featured a theme song parodying that of Mister Ed. The Beastie Boys use a sample of Mister Ed's voice in their song "Time To Get Ill" from the album Licensed to Ill
Licensed to Ill
In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Sources 100 Best Rap Albums.It is still the only album by a white hip-hop act to receive the coveted 5 mics from The Source....
. The song "Mr. Klaw" by They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
features lyrics based on those of the show's theme. "Now That I Am Dead" by French Frith Kaiser Thompson
French Frith Kaiser Thompson
French Frith Kaiser Thompson was a United States experimental rock quartet comprising John French, Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser and Richard Thompson. The band was formed in 1987 to create an album, Live, Love, Larf & Loaf...
features a "Mister Ed" impersonation on the line "I Am Mister Dead." British sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
show Harry Enfield's Television Programme
Harry Enfield's Television Programme
Harry Enfield's Television Programme was a British sketch show starring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse...
featured a Grotesque
Grotesque
The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "Grotto", meaning a small cave or hollow. The original meaning was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century...
character called Mister Dead, a talking human corpse who travels around with his living friend and often helps him get out of troublesome situations, such as in one sketch where he avoids a speeding ticket by pretending to rush Mister Dead to the mortuary. In the episode of the same name of Mr. Show
Mr. Show
Mr. Show with Bob and David is an American sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer/actor Bob Odenkirk and stand up comedian/actor David Cross...
, David
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
finds a "talking junkie
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
named Mister Junkie," in a sketch that parodies Mister Ed, including a parody of the theme song. A tribute music CD called Mister Ed Unplugged was released, featuring new recordings of the "Theme From Mister Ed" and longer versions of "The Pretty Little Filly" and "Empty Feedbag Blues," which were both written by the late Sheldon Allman
Sheldon Allman
Sheldon Allman was a Jewish American-born Canadian raised actor, singer, and songwriter.He began his singing career with the Royal National Guard during his World War II service with the RCAF...
, who was also the original singing voice of Mister Ed. Dell Comics published Mister Ed in Four Color #1295 In the show Dinosaurs (TV series)
Dinosaurs (TV series)
Dinosaurs is an American family sitcom that was originally broadcast on ABC from April 26, 1991 to July 20, 1994. The show, about a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs, was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions and Jim Henson Television in association with Walt Disney Television and Buena Vista...
, one of Earl Sinclair's favorite show is "Mister Ugh", a parody of Mister Ed featuring a caveman instead of a horse.
Racehorse
A racehorse named after the character in the television show took part in the 1994 Grand National1994 Grand National
The 1994 Grand National was the 147th official renewal the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 9 April 1994....
steeplechase at Aintree
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside. It lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, about north of Liverpool city centre, in North West England....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, but did not complete the course.
See also
Other films with talking horses include Hot to TrotHot to Trot
Hot to Trot is a 1988 comedy film released by Warner Bros. It stars Bobcat Goldthwait as an investment broker, Dabney Coleman as the head of the company Bobcat works for and John Candy as the voice of a horse that helps Bobcat's character make smart decisions in investing. The original music score...
(1988) and Ready to Run
Ready to Run
Ready to Run is a 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie.-Plot summary:Ready to Run is the story of 14-year-old Corrie Ortiz, an energetic girl who dreams of becoming a jockey in the predominantly male sport of Thoroughbred horse racing...
(2002). The names of the talking horses were Don and Thunder Jam (TJ) respectively.
External links
- How did they get Mr. Ed to talk? from the Straight DopeStraight DopeThe Straight Dope is a popular question-and-answer newspaper column published in the Chicago Reader, syndicated in thirty newspapers in the United States and Canada, as well as being available and archived at the .-Newspapers:...
- Mister Ed at TV AcresTV AcresTV Acres is a website collecting information about characters, places, and things that have appeared on American television programs broadcast from the 1940s through today. TV Acres Books is the publishing Imprint of TV Acres....
- Interview with Alan Young, October 17, 2007
- Archive of American Television interview with Alan Young
- DVD review of Complete Season 1 and production history