Alan Reed
Encyclopedia
Alan Reed was an American
actor and voice actor
, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone
(whom he was said to have physically resembled) on The Flintstones
and various spinoff series. He also appeared in multiple films, such as The Tarnished Angels
, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Viva Zapata!
(as Pancho Villa
), Nob Hill
and various other films, as well as making acting appearances on various television series and he was the voice of Boris in Lady and the Tramp
.
, he majored in journalism
at Columbia University
, and then began his acting career in the city, eventually working on Broadway
. He was Jewish.
announcer
and stage actor before entering a film and television acting career.
From 1957–58, Reed appeared in a recurring role as J.B. Hafter, a studio boss, on the CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve
, starring Howard Duff
and Ida Lupino
, then married in real life but appearing as a fictitious acting couple living in Beverly Hills
, California
. In 1964–65, he had a recurring role as Mr. Swidler in the ABC
sitcom Mickey
starring Mickey Rooney
as the owner of a resort hotel
in Newport Beach
, California
.
; as the "Allen's Alley" resident poet Falstaff Openshaw on Fred Allen
's NBC Radio show, and later on his own five-minute show, "Falstaff's Fables", on the American Broadcasting Company
; as Officer Clancey and other occasional roles on the NBC Radio show Duffy's Tavern
; as Shrevey the driver on several years of The Shadow
; as Chester Riley's boss on the NBC Radio show The Life of Riley
, and as Italian immigrant Pasquale in Life with Luigi
on CBS Radio, and various supporting roles on Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
, also on CBS Radio.
. They would have three sons, including actor Alan Reed, Jr. (born May 10, 1936).
His final performance as Fred Flintstone
was a cameo guest shot on an episode of Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics
.
Reed died of a heart attack
in Los Angeles, California
on June 14, 1977, two months shy of his 70th birthday. His body was donated to the Loma Linda University
School of Medicine . He was survived by his wife, sons and several grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and voice actor
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone
Fred Flintstone
Frederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
(whom he was said to have physically resembled) on The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
and various spinoff series. He also appeared in multiple films, such as The Tarnished Angels
The Tarnished Angels
The Tarnished Angels is a 1958 American drama film directed by Douglas Sirk. The screenplay by George Zuckerman is based on the 1935 novel Pylon by William Faulkner.-Plot:...
, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Viva Zapata!
Viva Zapata!
Viva Zapata! is a 1952 fictional-biographical film directed by Elia Kazan. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using as a guide Edgcomb Pinchon's book, 'Zapata the Unconquerable', a fact that is not credited in the titles of the film...
(as Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
), Nob Hill
Nob Hill (1945 film)
Nob Hill is a 1945 technicolor film about a Barbary Coast saloon keeper starring George Raft and Joan Bennett. Part musical and part drama, the movie was directed by Henry Hathaway.-Cast:*George Raft as Tony Angelo*Joan Bennett as Harriet Carruthers...
and various other films, as well as making acting appearances on various television series and he was the voice of Boris in Lady and the Tramp
Lady and the Tramp
Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters on June 22, 1955, by Buena Vista Distribution. The fifteenth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, it was the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen...
.
Early life
Born Edward "Teddy" Bergman in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he majored in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and then began his acting career in the city, eventually working on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. He was Jewish.
Acting career
For a time, he continued to list himself either as Bergman or Alan Reed, depending on the role he was playing (Reed for more comedic roles, Bergman for more serious ones). He was able to act in 22 foreign dialects, and made a career as a successful radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
and stage actor before entering a film and television acting career.
From 1957–58, Reed appeared in a recurring role as J.B. Hafter, a studio boss, on the CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve
Mr. Adams and Eve
Mr. Adams and Eve is a CBS sitcom starring Howard Duff and his then wife, Ida Lupino, as a fictitious acting couple, Howard and Eve Adams, residing in Beverly Hills, California. In the television series, Lupino is known professionally as Eve Drake. The program aired sixty-six episodes from January...
, starring Howard Duff
Howard Duff
Howard Green Duff was an American actor of film, television, stage, and radio.Duff was born in Charleston, Washington, now a part of Bremerton. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1932 where he began acting in school plays only after he was cut from the basketball team...
and Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
, then married in real life but appearing as a fictitious acting couple living in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In 1964–65, he had a recurring role as Mr. Swidler in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom Mickey
Mickey (TV series)
Mickey is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September 1964 to January 1965. Created and produced by Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx, the series stars Mickey Rooney.-Synopsis:...
starring Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
as the owner of a resort hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in Newport Beach
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Radio work
His radio work included the role of Solomon Levy on Abie's Irish RoseAbie's Irish Rose
Abie's Irish Rose is a popular comedy by Anne Nichols familiar from stage productions, films and radio programs. The basic premise involves an Irish Catholic girl and a young Jewish man who marry despite the objections of their families.-Theater and films:...
; as the "Allen's Alley" resident poet Falstaff Openshaw on Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it...
's NBC Radio show, and later on his own five-minute show, "Falstaff's Fables", on the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
; as Officer Clancey and other occasional roles on the NBC Radio show Duffy's Tavern
Duffy's Tavern
Duffy's Tavern was a popular American radio situation comedy which ran for a decade on several networks , concluding with the December 28, 1951 broadcast....
; as Shrevey the driver on several years of The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
; as Chester Riley's boss on the NBC Radio show The Life of Riley
The Life of Riley
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, is a popular American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a long-run 1950s television series , and a 1958 Dell comic book...
, and as Italian immigrant Pasquale in Life with Luigi
Life with Luigi
Life With Luigi was a radio comedy-drama series which began September 21, 1948 on CBS Radio, with the final episode broadcast on March 3, 1953.The story concerned Italian immigrant Luigi Basco, and his experiences as an immigrant in Chicago...
on CBS Radio, and various supporting roles on Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama of "the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account — America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator." The show aired on CBS Radio from January 14, 1949 to September 30, 1962...
, also on CBS Radio.
Family life and death
In 1932, Reed married the former Finnette Walker (1909–2005), a Broadway actress. She appeared on stage in the early 1930s and was a chorus member in the original 1934 Broadway production of Anything Goes with Ethel MermanEthel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
. They would have three sons, including actor Alan Reed, Jr. (born May 10, 1936).
His final performance as Fred Flintstone
Fred Flintstone
Frederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
was a cameo guest shot on an episode of Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics
Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics
-DVD release:On January 19, 2010, Warner Home Video released Scooby's All-Star Laff-A Lympics - Volume 1 on DVD in Region 1. The single disc release features the first four episodes of the Laff-a-Lympics segment of the package. Target released an exclusive second volume with the next four episodes...
.
Reed died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
on June 14, 1977, two months shy of his 70th birthday. His body was donated to the Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University is a Seventh-day Adventist coeducational health sciences university located in Loma Linda, California, United States. The University comprises eight schools and the Faculty of Graduate Studies...
School of Medicine . He was survived by his wife, sons and several grandchildren.