Alan Young

Alan Young was born on November 19, 1919 in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England and proudly boasts an ancestor who was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.

His parents eventually moved to West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and at the beginning of World War II, he attempted to join the Royal Canadian Navy only to be rejected because of health problems - so he turned to his love of radio and became a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Alan's first Canadian radio show was Stag Party, a one-man show where he performed comedic acts. He was fired from that show when he asked for a raise, but went on to perform situation comedy for CBL, and was later discovered by an agent who encouraged his successful move into American radio. 

During Alan’s stint in Canada, he met and befriended Fletcher Markle, a man who had made a name for himself in American radio and was later able to help Alan acquire parts.

In 1944, Alan decided to move to the United States, where The Alan Young Show replaced Eddie Cantor’s NBC show for the summer. It was a situation comedy that starred Alan as a shy young man (himself) and featured Jean Gillespie as his girlfriend, Betty, and Ed Begley as Betty’s father, Papa Dittenfeffer. 

He also starred in episodes of Family Theater and Old Gold Comedy Theater.

Alan Young’s best known role was in television, where he played Wilbur Post, the master of a talking horse named Mr. Ed. Young had initially turned down the role, but after years of being unable to acquire other roles, took the part in 1961. The show lasted for five years and was cancelled in 1965. Alan then began to concentrate on the Christian Science movement and had little to do with show business afterwards.

Alan was heard as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney’s cartoon, Mickey’s Christmas Carol and in 1988 Young accepted a part in Coming of Age, a sitcom about an Arizona retirement community. He was an active participant in the popular radio drama, Adventures in Odyssey since 1994 onwards and was genuinely the nice guy he appeared to be, right up until he passed away earlier this year. 

If you need a good belly laugh, I'd really recommend you listening to the series, The Alan Young Show, on RUSC here.

Happy listening my friends,