Mister Ed
| Mister Ed | |
|---|---|
Colorized Mister Ed title
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| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Walter R. Brooks |
| Directed by |
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| Starring | |
| Voices of | Allan "Rocky" Lane |
| Theme music composer | |
| Opening theme | "Mister Ed" by Jay Livingston |
| Composer(s) |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 143 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Al Simon |
| Producer(s) | Arthur Lubin |
| Cinematography |
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| Running time | 28 mins. |
| Production company(s) | The Mister Ed Company Filmways |
| Distributor | MGM Television |
| Release | |
| Original network |
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| Original release | January 5, 1961 – February 6, 1966 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Mister Ed (2004) |
Mister Ed is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that first aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse, originally appearing in short stories by Walter R. Brooks.
Mister Ed is one of the few series to debut in syndication and be picked up by a major network for prime time.
The Mister Ed show concept was derived from a series of short stories by children's author Walter R. Brooks, which began with The Talking Horse in the September 18, 1937, issue of Liberty magazine. Brooks is otherwise best known for the Freddy the Pig series of children's novels, which likewise featured talking animals that interact with humans. Sonia Chernus, secretary to director Arthur Lubin, introduced Lubin to the Brooks stories and is credited with developing the concept for television.
The show's concept resembles that of the Francis the Talking Mule movies in which an equine title character talks, but only to one person, thus causing a variety of opportunities and frustrations. The first six Francis films (1950–55) were also directed by Lubin.
Lubin wanted to make a Francis TV series but had been unable to secure the rights. However someone told him about Brooks' series of stories. He optioned these for TV.
Comedian George Burns financed the original pilot for Mister Ed which was shot at his McCadden Studio in Hollywood at a cost of $70,000. Scott McKay played Wilbur. Jack Benny was also involved behind the scenes. Unable to sell the show to a network, Lubin decided to sell the show into syndication first. He managed to get single sponsor identification for the program on over 100 stations. The show was recast with Alan Young in the lead. Production began in November 1960, although Lubin did not direct early episodes because he was working in Europe on a film. The first 26 episodes were well received enough for the show to be picked up by CBS.
The show in effect had two leads operating as a comedy team. The title role of Mister Ed, a talking palomino, was played by gelding Bamboo Harvester and voiced by former Western film actor Allan Lane. The role of Ed's owner, a genial but somewhat klutzy architect named Wilbur Post, was played by Alan Young. Many of the program's gags follow from Mister Ed's tendency to talk only to Wilbur, his skills as a troublemaker, and his precociously human-like behaviour that far exceeds anything those around Wilbur expect of a horse. A running gag is other characters hearing Wilbur talking to Ed and asking to whom he is talking. Another running gag centers on Wilbur being accident-prone and inadvertently causing harm to himself and others. According to Lubin, Young was chosen for the lead role because he "just seemed like the sort of guy a horse would talk to".
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