Mister Ed’s Jockey

On January 4th, 1958, the CBS Network began airing a new sit-com entitled Mister Ed (1958-1966). The show centered upon the misadventures of a talking horse named Mr. Ed and his human friend, Wilbur Post, portrayed by Alan Young. Young was chosen for the part of Wilbur Post by producer George Burns simply because according to Burns, Young “just seemed like the sort of guy a horse would talk to.” The show won a Golden Globe for Best TV Show: Comedy, in its 5th season. 

Young was born on November 19th, 1919, in North Shields, England to Scottish parents. The family relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland when Young was a toddler and then to West Vancouver, Canada when he was 6 years old. As a high school student, he started his own Comedy radio show on the CBC. He was discovered on the show by an American agent who brought him to New York City where he appeared on the Philco Radio Hall of Fame. That led to his television debut, The Alan Young Show (1950-1953), which aired on NBC. Prior to that show, Young also appeared in the movies, Margie (1946), Chicken Every Sunday (1949).

Alan Young was hired in the 1970s by the Walt Disney Animation Studios to lend his Scottish-American accent to voice the character of Scrooge McDuck, one of Donald Duck’s uncles. His first performance as Scrooge McDuck was on the Disneyland Record: An Adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, performed by the Walt Disney Players in 1974. In that album, he also provided the voice of Mickey Mouse and Merlin the Wizard from The Sword in the Stone (1963). The album spawned the creation of the Oscar-nominated short, Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983). Young continued to voice the character of Scrooge McDuck for the animated series DuckTales (1987-1990), until his death on May 19th, 2016 at the age of 96. He also was the voice-acting mentor of Russi Taylor who provided the voices of Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck on the show. (Russi Taylor is also the current voice of Minnie Mouse. Her late husband, Wayne Allwine, was the former voice of Mickey Mouse.) 

In addition to Scrooge McDuck, Alan Young also starred in the live-action Disney film, The Cat from Outer Space (1978) and lended his voice to the animated film, The Great Mouse Detective (1986) as Hiram Flaversham. Young also lent his voice to one episode of the series TaleSpin (1990-1991) as the turtle, Dr. Cooper.

In between his roles as Wilbur Post and Scrooge McDuck, Alan Young also acted in the 1960 film adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. He also did a cameo in a 2002 remake of The Time Machine, which starred Guy Pearce and was directed by Simon Wells, the great-grandson of H.G. Wells. Young also provided the voice of Jack Allen, one of John Avery Whitaker/“Whit’s” good friends on the Christian radio series, Adventures in Odyssey (1987-present). Doctor Who actor (2005-present), David Tennant will succeed Alan Young in the role of Scrooge McDuck for the upcoming Disney XD “sequel” series DuckTales scheduled to air in Summer 2017.

Alan Young will forever be remembered as Wilbur Post on “Mister Ed,” and the as the original voice of Scrooge McDuck. His distinctive voice defined those characters in the minds of audiences.  

Tyrus Wong: The real-life Bambi

On August 21st, 1942, 75 years ago, Walt Disney Animation Studios released Bambi. The film garnered three Academy Award Nominations for Best Original Score, Best Original Song, “Love Is a Song,” and Best Sound and was a critical hit, but a commercial failure. Today, however, it is regarded as a true Disney classic thanks to the many talented artists who worked on the film. One of the film’s artists was Tyrus Wong, who passed away on December 30th, 2016 at the age of 106.

Born in China on October 25th, 1910, Wong immediately developed an interest for drawing and was encouraged by his father to pursue it. In the 1920s, due to the deficient economy in China at the time, Wong and his father relocated to the United States, leaving his mother and sister behind. Just like Bambi, Wong unfortunately would never see his mother again.       

After graduating the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, Wong’s father passed away. From 1936-1938, Wong worked for the WPA (Works Progress Administration) making paintings for libraries and other public spaces. In 1938, he found employment at the Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was hired as an “in-betweener,” which means an artist that creates thousands intermediate drawing that help bring the animated sequences to life.

Not long after Tyrus Wong was employed at Disney, he learned that the studio was working on adapting the novel Bambi: A Life in the Woods by: Felix Salten for the screen. As he took to heart what Walt Disney told all of his artists, “Don’t animate thoughts, animate feelings,” and with inspiration from the landscape paintings of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.), Wong created atmospherical watercolors and pastel paintings for the film that astonished. Because of his good work, Wong was promoted by Disney to the job of inspirational sketch artist for the film.

Not long after “Bambi,” finished production the Walt Disney Studio strike occurred and Tyrus Wong was unfortunately fired from the studio. Wong was one of the very few artists who had not been a part of the strike, but he was simply let go of amidst all the other artists who had grown to resent Walt Disney which led to the strike in the first place. He was hired in 1942 by Warner Bros. Studios where he did concept art for Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and The Wild Bunch (1969). He retired in 1968.

Surprisingly, Tyrus Wong received no literal recognition for his work until many years after his retirement in the 1990s. In addition to being a Hollywood artist/painter, he was also a printmaker, calligrapher, greeting-card illustrator, and kite maker. He was awarded the Disney Legend Award in 2001. His work continues to be influential at Disney even today. It is extraordinary that just like Bambi the deer, Tyrus Wong was orphaned as a young man, and suffered a great deal of other trials in life but in spite of all those trials, became a incredibly remarkable artist.    

Robert Stevenson: An Actor’s Director

When the Walt Disney Studios first started producing live-action films in the 1950s, Walt  began hiring a single director, for each film rather than small groups of directors which had been his practice for animated films. Byron Haskin directed the studio’s very first live-action film, Treasure Island (1950). In 1957, two years after the opening of Disneyland in 1955, Walt Disney hired Robert Stevenson to direct the feature film Johnny Tremain (1957). Stevenson wound up being one of Walt Disney’s most-frequently used directors, directing a total of 19 films for the Walt Disney Studios, including “Tremain.”

The same year as “Tremain,” Robert Stevenson directed Old Yeller (1957), which was released on Christmas Day. He also directed a total of 26 episodes for Walt Disney’s television series, Disneyland (1957-1982) and 3 episodes of Zorro (1957-1959). Robert Stevenson’s next film for Disney would be Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959). He directed Kidnapped (1960) the following year, which he also wrote the screenplay for. After “Kidnapped,” Stevenson directed The Absent-Minded Professor, in 1961 and it’s sequel, Son of Flubber, in 1963. In both “Flubber,” movies, Stevenson directed Disney Legend/child star Tommy Kirk, whom he also directed in “Yeller,” The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964) and The Monkey’s Uncle (1965). In between the “Flubber” films, Robert Stevenson directed In Search of the Castaways (1962) with other Disney Legend/child star Hayley Mills. He would reunite with Mills when he directed her in That Darn Cat! (1965), released the same year as “Monkey’s Uncle.”

The same year as “Misadventures of Merlin Jones,” Walt Disney assigned Robert Stevenson to direct Mary Poppins (1964). This was Stevenson’s very first attempt at making a musical and it earned him an Academy Award Nomination for Best Director. His guidance helped Julie Andrews earn the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as the lead and audience favorite in “Poppins.”

After “Poppins,” “Monkey’s Uncle,” and “Darn Cat,” Stevenson directed The Gnome-Mobile (1967) which reunited him with the children from “Poppins,” Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber, as well as Ed Wynn, who portrayed Uncle Albert in “Poppins,” and Tom Lowell who played Canoe in “Darn Cat.” (Ed Wynn also played Mr. Hofstedder in “Darn Cat.) His next film was Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968), which reunited him with Dean Jones from “Darn Cat,” Elsa Lanchester from “Poppins,” and Elliot Reid from the “Flubber,” movies. The same year as “Blackbeard’s Ghost,” Robert Stevenson directed The Love Bug (1968)—his third collaboration with Dean Jones, as well as his second collaboration with David Tomlinson who played Mr. George Banks in “Poppins.” Stevenson also directed Tomlinson in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). 

Next for Stevenson was Herbie Rides Again (1974), the first sequel to “The Love Bug,” which reunited him with Keenan Wynn, who reprised his role as Alonzo P. Hawk from the “Flubber,” movies. The Island at the Top of the World (1974) and One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975) followed and “Dinosaurs,” reunited him with Peter Ustinov from “Blackbeard’s Ghost.” His nineteenth and final film for the Walt Disney Studios was The Shaggy D.A. (1976), the sequel to The Shaggy Dog (1959). “Shaggy D.A.” was his fourth and final collaboration with Dean Jones and Keenan Wynn.

Robert Stevenson remains the only director in the history of the Walt Disney Studios to receive a Best Director Oscar Nomination. He unfortunately lost the Oscar to George Cukor for My Fair Lady (1964). Despite that, “Poppins,” continues to be one of Disney’s most highly regarded films for many reasons, including his direction. His directing skills helped bring many beautiful stories to life, and he directed many of the actors who have been awarded the “Disney Legend Award” today because of films they made under his supervision. Robert Stevenson truly was an actor’s director!