Alan Young

Birthday

Nov 19, 1919

Birthplace

North Shields, Tyne-and-Wear, England, UK

Bio: 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… More Bio: 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" (1961), 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).

Started a broadcast division for the Christian Science Church in Boston shortly after finishing the "Mister Ed" (1961) series.

Naturalized U.S. citizen.

As a child he had bronchial asthma, that kept him bedridden four months of each year. That is where he found his love for radio.

He went on a date with Norma Jean aka Marilyn Monroe.

Is seen at "Mister Ed" (1961) conventions singing the theme song.

Played the parts of David and James Filby in The Time Machine (1960) featuring Rod Taylor.

Started a broadcast division for the Christian Science Church in Boston shortly after finishing the "Mister Ed" (1961) series.

Was the voice of Scrooge McDuck in the 1987 TV series "DuckTales" (1987).

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

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

Has three children.

Alan Young's 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" in 2007, Alan admitted he owned a percentage of "Mister Ed." This made him independently wealthy.

Where Are They Now:

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