Alan Young

An amiable comedy player of radio, film and television, Alan Young won an Emmy starring in his own CBS show in the early 1950s, but will forever be remembered as Wilbur Post, the quiet, married fellow whose confidant and best buddy was a talking horse named "Mr. Ed" (1961-65). Young was born in the North Country of England, but moved to Canada with his family when he was seven years old. By age 13, he was performing comedy monologues on stage and spent most of the 30s and early 40s on radio, both in Canada and the US. After serving in the Canadian Navy during World War II, Young migrated to Hollywood, where he made his feature film debut in "Margie" (1946), in which he was a teenager in the Roaring 20s. Supporting roles in "Chicken Every Sunday" and "Mr. Belvedere Goes to College" (both 1949) did not raise his screen profile, so, in 1950, he turned to TV with "The Alan Young Show" (CBS), in which he performed a monologue, sang a song or two, and became involved in a lightly handled predicament or problem--not dissimilar from the formats of other comedians like Jack Benny and Burns and Allen. When Young won his Emmy, there was a slight controversy. At the time, there was only one performance category for actors, with variety performers, comic actors and tragedians all mixed together. Young was so heralded that year, he even topped Jose Ferrer, much to the consternation of those who felt (and feel) that drama was more prestigious. His small screen success meant another shot at feature films. Young was cast as a country bumpkin courting Dinah Shore in "Aaron Slick From Punkin Crick" (1952), a box office and critical disaster--even Dinah Shore would later credit it with ruining any chances of a screen career for herself. Yet, Young bounced back with the title role in "Androcles and the Lion" (1953), which also failed to attract audiences. In the summer of 1954, Young hosted "Saturday Night Revue," a replacement series for the vacationing "Your Show of Shows" on NBC. For