Biography for
Alan Young (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

19 November 1919, North Shields, Tyne-and-Wear, England, UK

Birth Name

Angus Young

Nickname

Al Young

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

Alan Young was born in Northern England in 1919, but his Scots father moved the family to Edinburgh, Scotland, when Young was a toddler and then to Canada when Young was about 6 years old. As a boy, he suffered from severe asthma, which kept him bedridden for long periods of time but encouraged his love of radio. By age 13, Young had become a radio performer, and by age 17, he was writing and performing in his own radio show for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The show was broadcast in the U.S. and led to an invitation to New York, initiating Young's career as an "All-American boy," despite his non-American origins and a vestigial Scots accent. He became popular on American radio from 1944 to 1949 with his "Alan Young Radio Show," but when radio began to lose its popularity and his show was canceled, Young decided to put together a comedy act and tour the U.S. theater circuit. After this experience, he wrote a television pilot for CBS in 1950, which resulted in "The Alan Young Show" (1950). The show was a well-received live revue that ran for 3 years, earned a couple of Emmy Awards, and garnered Young a star on the "Walk of Fame." However, the strain of writing and performing a weekly show got to Young, and the quality of the show declined, leading to his departure from the show and its cancellation. In the meantime, based on his popularity on radio and television, Young had established a film career, starting with his debut in Margie (1946) followed by Chicken Every Sunday (1949), Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949), Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (1952), Androcles and the Lion (1952), Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955), tom thumb (1958), and The Time Machine (1960).

In the early 1960s, Young landed his best-known role, Wilbur Post, in the popular television series "Mister Ed" (1958), which ran for 5 years. Since then, Young has made a number of television and film appearances but is known primarily for his voice characterizations in cartoons, especially as Scrooge McDuck in "DuckTales" (1987).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Lyn Hammond

Spouse

Virginia McCurdy	(12 May 1948 - 2011) (her death) 2 children
Mary Anne Grimes	(1941 - 1947) (divorced) 2 children

Trade Mark

Often voices cartoon characters with a Scottish accent

Trivia

Started a broadcast division for the Christian Science Church in Boston shortly after finishing the "Mister Ed" (1958) series.

Naturalized U.S. citizen.

As a child he had bronchial asthma, which kept him bedridden four months of each year. That is how he developed his love for radio.

He once went on a date with Norma Jean Baker, later to become Marilyn Monroe.

Is seen at "Mister Ed" (1958) conventions singing the theme song.

Is the only actor to appear in both The Time Machine (1960) and The Time Machine (2002).

Was 40 years old when he played the 18-year-old James Filby in The Time Machine (1960).

Has three children.

His Disney-esque character "Uncle Dave" from Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) was loosely based on his "Uncle Scrooge McDuck" ("DuckTales" (1987)) and "David Filby" (The Time Machine (1960)) roles.

Repeated the role of David Filby for a sketch for a documentary on the movie The Time Machine (1960) in 1992 over 30 years later.

On "The O'Reilly Factor" (1996) in 2007, he revealed that he owned a percentage of "Mister Ed" (1958), which made him independently wealthy.

Best known by the public for his starring role as Wilbur Post on "Mister Ed" (1958).

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Young reminisces about "Mister Ed" (1958) makeup man Jack P. Pierce in the book "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland & Co., 2010) by Tom Weaver.

Had his first name legally changed from Angus to Alan when he was age 20. According to his autobiography, "Mister Ed and Me and More!" (2007), he was proud of his birth name but Americans always made unflattering comments about it, such as mispronouncing it "Agnes," which prompted him to change it legally.

Uncle of Laura Mennell.

Personal Quotes

[When Connie Hines was hired to play his wife, Carol]: She was perfect for it, and is so dear. She didn't have many lines beyond 'Dinner is ready' or 'I'll make some coffee.' They were just simple lines but she did them beautifully.

When I was young I was paid $3 for doing a short monologue. That impressed my dad who earned the same amount for working all day in a shipyard at the time. He told me to 'Keep up this talking business because lips don't sweat.' It was good advice.

Ed Wynn, a wonderful old comedian, gave me good advice. He said 'Make it simple. You're going into someone's home, so don't be insulting.'

Ed [the horse] actually learned to move his lips when the trainer touched his hoof. In fact he soon learned to do it when I stopped talking during a scene, which actually could be a bit of a problem.

A dear old man once told me that birthdays are a heavy weight to carry all your life. So I actually stopped counting birthdays when I was sixteen.

Where Are They Now

(2007) Release of his book, "Mister Ed and Me and More".