rcj5365
Being one of the silliest if not most beloved comedy/fantasy sitcoms that were so prevalent in the early-1960's was a television series about talking horse named Mister Ed. The talking palomino had a huge popularity with children of all ages and it was a series based on the skills of Alan Young making you believe that a horse could talk with the voice of Allan "Rocky" Lane(who was a "B" movie star in Westerns during the 1940's and 1950's) whose voice was well integrated into the personality of a palomino that spoke to a generation gap that continues to this day some 50 years after he went off the air,and some 55 years when the series began.Mister Ed may have been silly or over the top but designed as basically a children's show with adults in mind with some of the episodes seeing Mister Ed's owner Wilbur Post(Alan Young)being frustrated to no end as Mister Ed always ends up along with Wilbur getting into one hilarious mischief adventure after another and that also was the plot to some of the crazy over the top episodes this series had during it's run of six seasons. Based on the children's short stories by Walter Brooks along with Sonia Chernus who were the creative team behind this series along with Al Simon serving as executive producer,the series "Mister Ed" first ran in national syndication for 26 black and white episodes from January 4,1961 until July 2,1961. It was one of the few television series to debut in national syndication to be pick up by a major television network. On October 1,1961 the series was picked up by CBS-TV and remained with the network for six seasons for 130 episodes in black and white until June 16,1965. In the show's final season a total of 13 episodes were produced from September 12,1965 until February 6,1966. In all a total of 143 black and white episodes were produced. The series was produced through George Burns' production company McCadden Productions and Filmways Television airing from 1961 to 1966. The show's sponsor throughout it's entire run was The Studebaker Corporation where you got the see the actors driving around top notch Studebaker cars during the closing credits.Out of all the cast members that were associated with this series only actors Alan Young, Connie Hines and the horse Bamboo Harvester(Mister Ed) along with the voice of Allan Lane were with the series throughout it's entire run of 143 episodes. The supporting cast were Larry Keating(appearing in 81 episodes from Seasons 1 thru 3); Edna Skinner(appearing in 86 episodes from Seasons 1 thru 4); Leon Ames(appearing in 40 episodes from Seasons 4 thru 5); Florence MacMichael(appearing in 40 episodes from Seasons 4 thru 5); Jack Albertson(appearing occasionally in 6 episodes from Seasons 2 thru 4);and Barry Kelley(also appearing occasionally in 11 episodes from Seasons 3 thru 5 and in the show's sixth and final season). Interesting note about some of the writers who were behind this series...Lou Derman wrote 129 episodes of Mister Ed while Larry Rhine wrote 52 episodes. Other writers were Ben Starr(40 episodes), Robert O'Brien(33 episodes),Bill Davenport(12 episodes),and Walter Brooks(3 episodes). Arthur Lubin directed 131 episodes of this series. Other big time directors were Ira Stewart(6 episodes), Jus Addiss, Rod Amateau, John Rich, and Alan Young. Arthur Lubin also served as director-producer of some episodes. "Mister Ed" won the Golden Globe in 1963 for Best Comedy Series. The show throughout its entire run never received an Prime Time Emmy.Several celebrity guest stars appeared as themselves during the course of the series ranging from Clint Eastwood, Jonathan Harris, Mae West, George Burns, Leo Durocher, Jon Provost, Sebastian Cabot, Irene Ryan, Max Baer,Jr.(Jethro from "The Beverly Hillbillies"), to Neil Hamilton, Jack LaLanne, Richard Deacon, Raymond Bailey, Sharon Tate, Les Tremayne, Butch Patrick, Darby Hinton, William Bendix, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Johnny Crawford, Hayden Rorke, Donna Douglas, Alan Hale,Jr., Hans Conried, and Harold Gould, Iron Eyes Cody, Nancy Kulp,and Bobby Buntrock just to name a few of the guest stars that were with the series. Donna Douglas appeared in three episodes of Mister Ed of "Busy Wife", "Ed The Jumper",and as Clint Eastwood's girlfriend in "Clint Eastwood Meets Mister Ed".Even after its debut more than 55 years ago it was one of the few television shows that good ratings as a kids show that adults could watch too with some of the episodes either side-splitting funny or just totally off the wall antics with Ed getting Wilbur into all sorts of trouble in just about every episode. Alan Young is no longer with us and neither is Connie Hines or Bamboo Harvester who made the show a bonafide classic of 1960's television that was surely unforgettable. Happy 55th Golden Anniversary Mister Ed!!!!
bkoganbing
One of the sillier, but yet most beloved of comedy/fantasy shows that were so prevalent in the Sixties was that show about a talking horse, the famous Mister Ed. The talking palomino had a popularity with real children and those elusive children of all ages because of the skill of Alan Young making you really believe that a horse could talk with the voice of Allan 'Rocky' Lane.I'm sure for retired B picture cowboys who weren't getting too much work in the Sixties, Mister Ed must have provided a few nice paychecks for someone not in demand to be a cowboy hero any more. Lane's voice was well integrated into the personality of the palomino of whom evolution seems to have taken a quantum leap.The premise of the show was that Mister Ed would only talk directly to Alan Young as Wilbur Post, architect who set up his studio in the barn on his property so he could spend as much time as he could with his talking equine. I well remember in the pilot episode when Young acquired Mister Ed, the horse told him that he never felt like talking to anyone until he met Young whom he felt had a real love of animals. It was the love that came through every week.Young was married to Connie Hines who for five years couldn't figure out what this thing between Mister Ed and her husband was. Neither could anyone else and that led to the plot of most of the episodes.I have very fond memories of the show in my younger days. It was one of those shows that was in a totally make believe world. No politics or issues of social significance ever intruded on the world of Wilbur Post and Mister Ed. It was and is completely timeless, you could remake all the episodes today without too much trouble.In fact Mister Ed's primary source of mischief was the telephone extension in the studio/barn where he could call out anonymously to the world. When that receiver was picked up you knew Alan Young was in for 30 minutes of trouble. Can you imagine today what Mister Ed could do with a personal computer? The mind boggles.Though I can never see anyone ever with the gentle humorous style of Alan Young doing Wilbur Post today, I could be surprised. I'm willing to be.
cloudcover315
You have to look beyond the obvious words always used to describe shows like this -- i.e., "inane" and "silly" to see that Mister Ed was (1) pure, good-natured escapism from a time that was terribly tense the world over and (2) simply part of the rural trend that shaped situation comedies of the period -- e.g., Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and the others that let us "get away from it all" for 30 minutes every week.The real value of Mister Ed, then as now, was to remove us from the world at hand and let us imagine a life of clean living folks, simple tragedies and happy endings. Mister Ed is still a pleasant sight for eyes made sore by all that's so coarse and unsightly around us today. That's why I hope this inoffensive program stays in reruns another 40 years. And so should you. ~~
Jason Platt
Mr. Ed has the reputation of being a silly sitcom that is mainly for children which is probably due to the story centering on a horse that speaks English. However, I consider myself a person with sophisticated tastes and I adore this sitcom and consider it one of the greatest sitcoms ever. The writing is sophisticated and witty. The interplay between all the characters is hilarious and the performances are uniformly marvelous. I think that Allan (Rocky) Lane (Mr. Ed's voice), and Larry Keating, are particularly underrated in this sitcom. Alan Young is also outstanding and his comic mannerisms are a sight to behold--he is very similar to John Ritter with his wonderful combination of slapstick comedic flair and appealing personality. The fights between Wilbur and his wife are especially well-written and performed. A truly special sitcom that has never received its due credit--especially for the writing.
