Mister Ed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mister Ed | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Sitcom |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | 1961 – 1966 |
Mister Ed was a U.S. television situation comedy that first aired as a syndicated program on January 5th, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961 to February 6, 1966, the first series ever to debut as a midseason replacement, the second before Batman, five years later. The stars of the show were Mister Ed, an intelligent talking palomino American Saddlebred ("played" by gelding Bamboo Harvester), and his owner, architect Wilbur Post (played by Alan Young). Much of the program's humor stemmed from the fact Mister Ed would speak only to Wilbur. According to the show's producer, Arthur Lubin, Young was chosen because "he seemed like a guy a horse would talk to." Lubin, a personal friend of Mae West, scored a coup and persuaded the legendary screen icon to guest star in one episode.
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[edit] Beginnings
The show was derived from the short story "Ed Takes the Pledge" by Walter R. Brooks, who is otherwise known for the Freddy the Pig series of children's novels, which likewise feature talking animals who interact with humans.
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.
[edit] Ed
Mister Ed was voiced by character actor 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 trained for the show by Les Hilton. Lane remained anonymous as the voice of Mister Ed, and the show's producers would refer to him only as "an actor who prefers to remain nameless". The credits listed Mister Ed as playing "Himself."
[edit] Death
By the time Mister Ed reached the age of 19 he was suffering from a broken leg and a variety of health problems, and in 1970 he was quietly put to sleep with no publicity. A horse that died in Oklahoma in 1979 (widely reported to have been Mister Ed, including sardonic comments on Saturday Night Live's faux news segment) was in fact an animal that once posed as Ed for publicity photos used by the production company.
[edit] Other characters
The other main characters in the show were Wilbur's tolerant wife Carol (Connie Hines) and their neighbors the Addisons (Larry Keating and Edna Skinner) until 1963 (upon Larry Keating's death that year) and then the Kirkwoods (Leon Ames and Florence MacMichael).
For the final season, the Kirkwoods disappeared. Instead, the show focused strictly on the home life of the Posts, which was made a little more interesting with Carol's father moving in at the beginning of the season.
[edit] Theme song
The theme song was written by the songwriting team of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and sung, for the show, by Livingston.
A horse is a horse
Of course, of course
And no one can talk to a horse of course —
That is of course unless the horse
Is the famous Mister Ed.
Go right to the source and ask the horse —
He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse
He's always on a steady course
Talk to Mister Ed!
People yakity-yak a streak
And waste your time of day,
But Mister Ed will never speak
Unless he has something to say!
A horse is a horse
Of course, of course
And this one will talk 'till his voice is hoarse
You never heard of a talking horse?
Well listen to this:
"I am Mister ED!"
[edit] "Someone sung this song for Satan"
In 1986, an Ohio evangelist proclaimed the theme song, when played backward, contained the secret message "Someone sung this song for Satan." [1] Supposedly, 75 teen-agers staged a burning of Mister Ed records. Songwriter Livingston reported an uptick in royalties as radio stations around the country began playing the tune, pointing out he received the same amount of money whether the song was played backward or forward.
[edit] Sponsorship
The series was sponsored from 1961 to 1963 by Studebaker-Packard Corporation/Studebaker Corporation, a now-defunct American car manufacturer. Studebakers 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. The Addisons are shown owning a 1963 Avanti.
[edit] Remake
In 2004, remake was planned for the FOX network, with Sherman Hemsley as the voice of Mister Ed, David Alan Basche as Wilbur, and Sherilyn Fenn as Carol. The pilot was filmed, but was not picked up by FOX. Sadly, the show's writer and producer, Drake Sather, had committed suicide shortly before the pilot's completion.
[edit] The peanut butter legend
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 recently admitted he had started that story himself, although he would not state what method had really been used.[citation needed]
Careful examination of Mister Ed footage shows indisputable evidence that the "marionette theory" (i.e., Ed's handler pulled strings to make him talk) was at work at least some of the time. Excerpts exist from a few episodes where the lighting and camera angle reveal a visible nylon "bit" being pulled for each word Ed spoke. Some may claim a nylon bit was needed in order to have Ed turn his head or perform some other movement without his trainer having to be in the camera shot, but the evidence is clear that the bit was also used when Ed was standing still and merely had to talk.
Another version was offered by the comedian George Burns, who was involved in Mister Ed on a production basis. He stated in an interview that the horse's lips were made to move by electric current; according to him, Mr. Ed's mouth muscles were wired in such a way that a series of small shocks at the appropriate moments would cause him to appear to mimic speech movements.
[edit] "Mister Ed was a zebra" hoax
In the 1990s, a parody of typical urban legends, created on purpose by the specialized site Snopes.com, said Mr. Ed was actually a zebra, not a horse, and was either painted a solid color for the series or else looked like a horse because of shortcomings of early black-and-white television.[1] The story frequently pops up as a "little-known fact," but is not true. Snopes had created the story as part of an exercise meant to encourage skepticism of "respected" sources.[2]
[edit] Housing Developement Planned
Recent work has been done by a master builder in Oklahoma to create a community built around the supposed final resting place (although that fact is disputable) of Mr. Ed. It is intended to be themed to the style of the show and its period.
[edit] References
- ^ Horse of a Different Color — Snopes.com — "Claim: Mister Ed, the talking equine of television fame, was a horse."
- ^ False Authority - Snopes.com
[edit] External links
- Mister Ed (original) at the Internet Movie Database
- Mister Ed (2004 remake) at the Internet Movie Database
- Urban legends page explaining "zebra" hoax
- How did they get Mr. Ed to talk?
- Mister Ed Online
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1960s American television series | 1961 television program debuts | 1966 television program series endings | CBS network shows | Horses in film and television | Fictional horses | First-run syndicated television programs | Television series named after fictional characters | Television series by MGM Television
