Mister Ed, DuckTales: Alan Young Dies at 96

Actor Alan Young has died at the age of 96. Born Angus Young, on November 19, 1919, Young is perhaps best known as Wilbur Post, from the Mister Ed TV show, which began in syndication and was picked up by CBS. Young also provided the voice for Scrooge McDuck on the DuckTales TV show and other Disney properties.

Mr. Young’s other TV series work includes House of Mouse, The Ren & Stimpy Show, The Smurfs, Coming of Age, Alvin & the Chipmunks, The Dukes, The Incredible Hulk, and Battle of the Planets.

TV Line reports Young passed away due to natural causes.

Here is more from The New York Times:

He was born Angus Young in North Shields, England, on Nov. 19, 1919. His family moved to Edinburgh when he was a toddler and then to Canada when he was about 6. He made his radio debut at 13, and by the time he was 17 he was both a writer and a performer on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation show.

Mr. Young’s radio career took off in 1944 with “The Alan Young Show”; originally a summer replacement for Eddie Cantor, it proved so popular that it remained on the air for five years. After the show was canceled in 1949, he hit the theater circuit, playing the bagpipes and doing stand-up comedy.

In 1950 he brought “The Alan Young Show” to TV. It remained on the air until 1953. In 1951 it won the Emmy Award for best variety show, and Mr. Young won for best actor. (Sketch actors were included in that category at the time.)

Throughout the ’50s he appeared in numerous TV roles and on the variety shows of Steve Allen, Ed Sullivan, Dinah Shore and others. In later decades he made guest appearances on dozens of series, including “Death Valley Days,” “The Love Boat,” “Coach” and “ER.”

His last film was “Em & Me” (2004), an independent feature in which he played an elderly man traveling cross-country to visit his ex-wife’s grave.

Mr. Young was also a frequently heard voice in animated movies like “The Great Mouse Detective” and television cartoon series like “The Ren & Stimpy Show” and “The Smurfs.” He was the voice of Scrooge McDuck in several Disney projects.

He published two autobiographies: “Mister Ed and Me” (with Bill Burt) in 1995 and “There’s No Business Like Show Business … Was” (2006), an account of his career and life in Hollywood.

Mr. Young’s first marriage, to Mary Ann Grimes, with whom he had two children, ended in divorce. He married Virginia McCurdy, a singer, in 1948 and had two children with her; she died in 2011. His family declined to release information about survivors, his publicist said.

 

We invite you to remember Mr. Young and his work, below.