11 Things You Didn’t Know About Mr. Ed

People could learn a lot from him.

Creative Commons: DrFunNuts

During the 50s and 60s, TV horses had a golden age. The Lone Ranger had Silver, Roy Rogers had Trigger and Gene Autry had Champion. But one horse stood mane and shoulder above the rest. That would be Mr. Ed. I would say Wilbur Post had Mr. Ed, but if anything, it seemed the other way around.

I remembered being impressed with out four-legged hero and decided to dig into a little more information about him. Here are some things you might not have known about “The Famous Mr. Ed.”

1: Mr. Ed’s real name was Bamboo Harvester and he won various awards.

You might not have known that because he didn’t like to talk about it.

2: While most people loved the Mr. Ed theme song, a fundamentalist group from Ohio thought it was Satanic.

The group did say they didn’t think the producers put the message there on purpose. I’d hate to think Mr. Ed had gone over to the dark side.

3: Ed sometimes worked on his own schedule.

When he got tired of the proceedings, he would simply wander off. Ed would open the barn door and out he would go. I’m not sure if he would go to his dressing room.

4: His diet consisted of 20 pounds of hay a day, plus gallons of sweet tea.

If you’ve ever wondered what drink goes with hay, now you know.

5: Alan Young, aka Wilbur Post, had to dye his hair for the role.

Young’s hair was naturally blond and tended to blend in with Mr. Ed’s coat. That stands to reason. After all, Mr. Ed wasn’t going to dye is coat. The show was called, “Mr. Ed,” not “Mr. Wilbur.”

6: Clint Eastwood make a guest star appearance on the show.

I wonder if he was in awe of being in the presence of greatness. I’m talking about Eastwood being in the presence of Mr. Ed.

7: Mr. Ed., aka Bamboo Harvester, reportedly was stubborn.

He would only follow instructions from his trainer, Les Hilton. That meant Hilton had to be there whenever Bamboo Harvester was filming. That meant Ed saw more of Les.

8: Bamboo Harvester had a stunt double named Pumpkin.

Pumpkin looked almost exactly like Bamboo Harvester except Pumpkin had a gold spot on his white patch. Of course, that patch was covered when he stood in for Bamboo Harvester. No wonder Bamboo Harvester was kind of a diva. Everybody adjusted to him. Alan Young, Pumpkin, etc. It didn’t matter.

9: After trainer, Mr. Ed would eventually appear to talk when his trainer touched his hoof.

I believe the producers used a similar technique on “Jersey Shore.” Hold on. Being told that Jersey Shore didn’t do that, and it wasn’t funny. Well, excuse me!

10: The show started in syndication before being picked up by CBS.

The original sponsor was the Studebaker automobile company. This the Posts drove a Lark. As I think about it, lots of show are financed on a lark.

11: Why can’t more people be like Mr. Ed?

After all, he would only speak when he has something to say. And on top of that he was a reliable source of information. He would give you an answer that you’ll endorse. Plus, he’s reliable. He was always on a steady course.

In many ways, he was a role model.

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