{ Cast & Crew: Alan Young }
Alan Young (November 19, 1919 -- May 19, 2016) was an English actor best known for his Scottish accent. Born in North Shields England, Young was a toddler when he and his family moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, proceeding to Canada when he was about six years old. At age thirteen, he became interested in performing on the radio, writing for his own show by the time he was seventeen. This aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, but was also heard in the U.S. where he gained more public awareness. Between 1944 and 1949, he performed on "The Alan Young Radio Show." It was a hit until radio began to lose its popularity and his show was canceled. This did not damper Young's spirits when television became the next invention for entertaining his U.S. audiences. Young put together a comedy act and started his new TV hit in 1950, "The Alan Young Show." The show ran for three years and won an Emmy award for Best Variety Show. His success continued to soar with his name added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but writing and starring in his own show soon became tiresome, leading to the show's cancellation.
During the time spent working on his TV show, Young found a passion for acting in film, debuting with Margie in 1946. Young starred in numerous films of the 1950's, but it wasn't until 1960 when he landed the memorable roles of David and James Filby alongside Rod Taylor's H.G. Wells in the hit film, The Time Machine. Returning to TV in the early 60's, Young is fondly remembered as the endearing Wilbur Post with his talking Palomino in the hit series, "Mr. Ed." It ran for five years and has remained a favorite ever since. Young performed in several shows and films of the 1970's before putting his beautiful accent to a character everyone knows and loves. In the early 1980's, audiences were treated to his vocal talents for the miserly fowl millionaire, Scrooge McDuck. His voice for Scrooge was first heard in the 1983 Disney feature, Mickey's Christmas Carol, continuing on in the 1987 Disney Afternoon series, "DuckTales." Young took on the role for Hiram Flaversham in The Great Mouse Detective (1986) when the character called for a Scots accent, a trademark he developed since the early start of his career. The 90's decade was a busy one when Young appeared on and off camera for both live action and animated shows.
By the 2000 years, Young continued to voice for Scrooge McDuck as well as take on small film roles including a cameo in the 2002 remake of The Time Machine. Fans who attend autograph conventions have had the opportunity to greet Mr. Young, have photos signed, and listen to him sing the theme song to "Mr. Ed" for old time's sake. Young was married to Virginia McCurdy since 1948 with one child. He has two other children from a previous marriage.
Young later lived in Woodland Hills, California, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, a retirement community. On May 19, 2016, he sadly passed away from natural causes at the age of 96.
Awards/Accolades:
Won Emmy Award for Best Actor for "The Alan Young Show" (1951)
Won the San Diego Film Festival Award for Best Actor for the film Em & Me (2003)
Won TV Land Award for Most Heart Warming Pet-Human Relationship (2005)
Information obtained by Internet Movie Database. Photo of Alan Young provided by Brina.
