Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British-born actor. Young is best known for portraying Wilbur Post in the television comedy ''
Mister Ed'' (1961–1966) and voicing
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck (occasionally stylized as $crooge McDuck) is a cartoon character created in 1947 for The Walt Disney Company by Carl Barks. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-born American anthropomorphic duck. Like his nephew, Do ...
for over 40 years, beginning in the 1974 Disneyland Records album ''An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players''. He again voiced Scrooge in the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-nominated short film ''
Mickey's Christmas Carol'' (1983) and continued in the role in various other films, television series and video games up until his death. He was considered by ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' to be "the
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
of television".
During the 1940s and 1950s, Young starred in his own variety-comedy sketch shows ''
The Alan Young Show'' on radio and television, the latter gaining him two
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
in 1951. He also appeared in a number of feature films, starting from 1946, including the 1960 film ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...
'' and from the 1980s gaining a new generation of viewers appearing in numerous
Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
films as an actor.
Early life and education

Young was born as Angus Young on November 19, 1919, in
North Shields
North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...
,
Northumberland
Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, England, to Scottish parents. In his later years, he claimed he had been born in 1924. His father was a mine worker and a tap dancer, and his mother was a singer. The family moved to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland, when Young was a toddler and to
West Vancouver
West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is situated on the north shore of Burrard Inlet to the northwest of the city ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada, when he was six years old. Young came to love radio when bedridden as a child because of severe
asthma
Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...
.
In a 1967 interview he credited
Christian Science
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...
for his healing of asthma.
By the time he entered high school, Young had his own comedy radio series on the
CBC CBC may refer to:
Media
* Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster
** CBC Television
** CBC Radio One
** CBC Music
** ...
network, but he left it during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
to serve in the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
.
Young later resigned his Navy commission after learning he would be spending his time writing for a Navy show, and he attempted to join the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...
. According to some sources, the Army rejected him owing to his childhood asthma.
Career
After leaving the service, Young moved to
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and resumed his Canadian radio career, where he was discovered by an American agent who brought him to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1944 to appear on American radio.
Young's first American radio appearances were on the ''Philco Radio Hall of Fame''. This led to his own show, ''
The Alan Young Show'',
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's summer replacement for the series ''
The Eddie Cantor Show''.
He switched to
ABC two years later, then returned to NBC.
Young's film debut was in ''
Margie
Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of the related names Margaret, Marjorie, or Margarita, all of which mean "pearl".
Margie may refer to:
People
* Margie Abbott (born 1958), Australian businesswoman
* Margie Ac ...
'' (1946), and he was featured in ''
Chicken Every Sunday'' (1949). In 1950, the television version of ''The Alan Young Show'' began. By 1951, the series received not only praise, but also several
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
s, including Best Actor and Most Outstanding Personality for Young.
After its cancellation, Young continued to act in films, among which ''
Androcles and the Lion'' (1952) and ''
Gentlemen Marry Brunettes'' (1955), and two
George Pal
George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...
films, ''
Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first known fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, ...
'' (1958) and ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...
'' (1960). He appeared in the NBC espionage drama ''
Five Fingers'' ("Thin Ice", 1959), starring
David Hedison.
Young was best known for ''
Mister Ed'' (1961–66), a
CBS television show, in which he starred as Wilbur Post, the owner of Mr. Ed, a talking horse who would not talk to anyone but him, thus causing comic situations for Wilbur Post, with his wife, neighbors, and acquaintances. In 1962 while not filming ''
Mister Ed'' Young appeared as John Stetson (inventor of the famous western Stetson hat) on ''
Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...
'' in the episode "The Hat that Won the West." He also starred as Stanley Beamish in the unaired 1966 pilot episode of ''
Mr. Terrific'', but apparently declined to appear in the broadcast series in 1967 that followed. In the late 1960s, he retired from acting for several years. During that time, he gave lectures on
Christian Science
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...
and help to start the broadcast division for the
Christian Science
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...
Church.
During the 1970s, Young became active in voice acting. After 1974, he voiced
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck (occasionally stylized as $crooge McDuck) is a cartoon character created in 1947 for The Walt Disney Company by Carl Barks. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-born American anthropomorphic duck. Like his nephew, Do ...
in numerous
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
films and in the popular series ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to:
Film and television
* ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series
** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp''
* ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series
Video games
* ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'' (1987–1990). In ''
Mickey's Christmas Carol'', he portrayed the character's miserly
namesake. He also played Scrooge in video games such as the ''
Kingdom Hearts'' series, ''
DuckTales: Remastered'' in 2013, and the ''
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
'' cartoon "Goofy's First Love" released in 2015. Apart from Scrooge McDuck, his other prominent roles were
Farmer Smurf on ''
The Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (; ) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...
'', Haggis McHaggis on ''
The Ren & Stimpy Show
''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...
'', 7-Zark-7 & Keyop in ''
Battle of the Planets'', and Hiram Flaversham in ''
The Great Mouse Detective
''The Great Mouse Detective'' (released as ''Basil the Great Mouse Detective'' in some countries and ''The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective'' during its 1992 re-release) is a 1986 American animated mystery adventure film produced by W ...
''. He also guest starred on ''
The Love Boat
''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'', ''
The Incredible Hulk'', ''
The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'', and ''
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends''.
Young later starred in the sitcom ''
Coming of Age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
'' for two seasons from 1988 to 1989. In 1991, Alan Young returned to the stage, starring as Cap'n Andy Hawkes in the
California Musical Theatre's adaptation of ''
Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...
''. He had been called for the role after
Van Johnson, who was initially cast in the part, was hospitalised. He had also appeared in the plays ''
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' and ''The Girl with the Freudian Slip''. In 1993, he recreated his role as Filby for the mini-sequel to
George Pal
George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...
's ''The Time Machine'', reuniting him with
Rod Taylor, who had played George, the Time Traveller. It was called ''
Time Machine: The Journey Back'', directed by Clyde Lucas.
In 1994, Young co-starred in the
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...
film ''
Beverly Hills Cop III''. He played the role of Uncle Dave Thornton, the
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
-esque founder of the fictional California theme park Wonderworld, and in that same year, Young played the role of Charley in the
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
, ''Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is''.
After 1994, he played at least eight characters, including antique dealer Jack Allen on the radio drama ''
Adventures in Odyssey
''Adventures in Odyssey'' (AIO), or simply ''Odyssey'', is an Evangelical Christian radio drama and Radio comedy, comedy series created and produced by Focus on the Family. Aimed at families with children age 12 and younger, the series first air ...
''. In 1997, he did the voice of
Haggis McMutton in the PC game ''
The Curse of Monkey Island''. His later guest roles in animated series included ''
Megas XLR'', ''
Static Shock'', ''
House of Mouse
''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001 ...
'', ''
The Ren & Stimpy Show
''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...
'', ''
Duckman
''Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man'', commonly known simply as ''Duckman'', is an American adult animated sitcom created and developed by Everett Peck, based on the characters he created in his 1990 one-shot comic book published by Dark Horse Com ...
'', ''
Batman: The Animated Series'' and ''
TaleSpin
''TaleSpin'' is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It first aired in 1990 as a preview-run on The Disney Channel before beginning its main run in syndication later that year as part of the pro ...
''.
[ A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.] In 2002, he had a cameo as the flower store worker in
Simon Wells's remake of ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...
'', and in 2010, he read
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
's
original novel for 7th Voyage Productions, Inc. Young's television guest roles include ''
Gibbsville'', ''
The Love Boat
''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'', ''
Murder, She Wrote
''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'', ''
St. Elsewhere
''St. Elsewhere'' is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...
'', ''
Coach'', ''
Party of Five
''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...
'', ''
The Wayans Bros.
''The Wayans Bros.'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on The WB from January 11, 1995, to May 20, 1999. The series starred real life brothers Shawn Wayans, Shawn and Marlon Wayans, comedian John Witherspoon (actor), John Withe ...
'', ''
USA High'', ''
Hang Time'', ''
ER'', ''
Maybe It's Me'', and ''
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appea ...
'' ("Sweet Charity", 1997) in which he played Zelda's love interest.
Personal life
Young was married three times.
He and Mary Anne Grimes were married from 1941 to 1947 and had two children.
In interviews with Greg Bell, host of
SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...
's satellite radio "Old Time Radio" program, Young described having dated
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
several times.
Young married his second wife Virginia McCurdy in 1948 and they had two children. They divorced in 1995.
Young married Mary Chipman the following year, in 1996, and they divorced the following year, in 1997.
He dedicated his book ''Mr. Ed and Me'' to Chipman.
Young supported
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
, although he stated in a later interview that he was
apolitical
Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased p ...
.
Death
Young spent his final years at
Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, a retirement community in
Woodland Hills, California
Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States.
History
The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...
. He died there on May 19, 2016, at the age of 96, and was buried at sea.
Where the Stars Are Buried – Index (T-Z)
/ref>
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Radio
References
External links
*
*
*
*
The Alan Young Show at Old Time Radio Outlaws
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Alan
1919 births
2016 deaths
Actors from North Shields
American people of Scottish descent
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male radio actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
Audiobook narrators
British emigrants to Canada
Burials at sea
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian male comedians
Canadian male film actors
Canadian male radio actors
Canadian male video game actors
Canadian male voice actors
Comedians from California
Comedians from Northumberland
English Christian Scientists
English male comedians
English male film actors
English male radio actors
English male television actors
English male video game actors
English male voice actors
Male actors from Northumberland
Military personnel from Tyne and Wear
Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
Royal Canadian Navy officers
Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II
Walt Disney Animation Studios people