One of the sillier, but yet most beloved of comedy/fantasy shows that were so prevalent in the Sixties was that show about a talking horse, the famous Mister Ed. The talking palomino had a popularity with real children and those elusive children of all ages because of the skill of Alan Young making you really believe that a horse could talk with the voice of Allan 'Rocky' Lane.

I'm sure for retired B picture cowboys who weren't getting too much work in the Sixties, Mister Ed must have provided a few nice paychecks for someone not in demand to be a cowboy hero any more. Lane's voice was well integrated into the personality of the palomino of whom evolution seems to have taken a quantum leap.

The premise of the show was that Mister Ed would only talk directly to Alan Young as Wilbur Post, architect who set up his studio in the barn on his property so he could spend as much time as he could with his talking equine. I well remember in the pilot episode when Young acquired Mister Ed, the horse told him that he never felt like talking to anyone until he met Young whom he felt had a real love of animals. It was the love that came through every week.

Young was married to Connie Hines who for five years couldn't figure out what this thing between Mister Ed and her husband was. Neither could anyone else and that led to the plot of most of the episodes.

I have very fond memories of the show in my younger days. It was one of those shows that was in a totally make believe world. No politics or issues of social significance ever intruded on the world of Wilbur Post and Mister Ed. It was and is completely timeless, you could remake all the episodes today without too much trouble.

In fact Mister Ed's primary source of mischief was the telephone extension in the studio/barn where he could call out anonymously to the world. When that receiver was picked up you knew Alan Young was in for 30 minutes of trouble. Can you imagine today what Mister Ed could do with a personal computer? The mind boggles.

Though I can never see anyone ever with the gentle humorous style of Alan Young doing Wilbur Post today, I could be surprised. I'm willing to be.

... Mr. Ed is one of those shows. Following a storyline similar to the "Francis the Talking Mule" series of films, the animal in question (the horse, Mr. Ed) will only speak to one person - his owner Wilbur, an architect who has an office in the barn where Mr. Ed lives. Mr. Ed doesn't limit himself just to giving advice to Wilbur. Mr. Ed has definite ideas of how he wants to run his own life. He might fancy himself an author or a potential star of the screen, or he might take off on a humane mission to buy his mother when he learns she is a plow horse. As a result, Wilbur is often left in a ridiculous position and not in the good graces of his wife, Carol or his neighbors.

The whole thing is good clean silly fun in the tradition of Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Petticoat Junction. Believe it or not there are still many of us who enjoy such entertainment.

When we were young, we'd always make fun of the theme song of this show. This show was great for showing imagination, & throwing a punch line. This is one of the few family comedies of it's time where the main family doesn't have any kids, but a talking horse in his second childhood.

Alan Young plays a straight man for the horse, & actually his ways of covering for when Mr Ed almost gets caught talking are very much the same as when a certain Major Nelson was trying to cover for his Genie. The difference is that Mr. Ed is more of a hay burner where Barbara Eden is more of a jet burner.

Ed is portrayed as your average white horse who just happens to talk but mostly only to his owner, Wilbur, or to anybody on the telephone. His antics are always amusing & great fodder for the kids.

I was browsing through and figured that I would try a search on some of the older movies/series I used to watch when I was younger.. what a delight to see that Mister Ed was part of them! I miss watching the series so much and I agree that Nick at Nite or some other provider should pick up the series and air it again. I can still remember some of the episodes (such as Ed surfing or the occasional way Ed would pick up a pencil that he used to dial a phone number with) and how much I looked forward to watching it every night. It would be great to see someone even make a movie out of it.. I would definitely go to see it! I would also recommend anyone to watch the series.. maybe you'll love it like I have for so many years!

My Dad and three brothers and I watched the show when I was around the age of 9. I recall Mr. Ed saying "Wellll give the boy a Kewpie Doll". But I cannot find any proof online nor can I find anyone who watched the show that remembers that. Did I imagine it or maybe I heard it on another show? This has been a recurring trivia thing for me for years. My wife thinks I am nuts. Hopefully someone out there has watched the DVD's and can help me out. I think I will eventually get the DVD set for my grandkids who are in the 4-8 year range now. I am curious as to how the series ended, did it have a "Final Episode? That will be the next trivia question for me to have to answer.

DURABLE, LONG-LASTING and a perennial favourute on CBS Siundays, this unlikely premise for a sitcom just would not quit. ED survived all of its competition by following a few simple rules. There was never any false notions about its being "high brow" or even "art." Secondly, it maintained a high level of on-going humor; in short, it was funny.

WE ONCE HEARD a comment made by an acquaintance; whose acumen as a scribe or a film critic were just about naught. What he said was:

"I think that MR. ED is kinda a copy of FRANCIS THE TALKING MULE!" HMMMMM! WELL THAT is surely a hard hypothesis to refute; so we'll concede the argument and try to concentrate on that which makes them different.

WELL, OF COURSE the show has the same premise of that 1950's series of "B" Pictures. Starting with FRANCIS (Universal, 1950), there was a whole lot of "Francis the Talking Mule" movies. Aimed at the juvenile trade, all of the pictures save the last starred Donald O'Connor.* Co-starring as the voice of 'Francis' was the uncredited Chill Wills. Donald and Francis always managed to get into the most embarrassing situations and to run afoul of authority figures; being,. the Army, Newspapers, Family, Employers, what have you.

WITH THE ARRIVAL of MR.ED, it was made perfectly clear that the angle of attack would be different. Instead of all the trouble and comical situations' being generated by the 4 legged protagonist's interaction with strangers, Ed and Wilbur Post's problems almost always concerned misunderstandings with Wilbur (the ever youthful, Alan Young) and his wife, Carol Post (Connie Hines) or his variously featured neighbors. Former Republic Pictures' Western Star, Allan "Rocky" Lane, provided the voice of Mister Ed.

THE SERIES DID boast of some good writing, tight & economical direction and some appropriately perplexed reactions from the neighbors, portrayed by: Larry Keating, Edna Skinner, Leon Ames, Florence Mac Michael and others. In short, MISTER ED was much more domestic than those FRANCIS pictures.

PERHAPS THE MOST memorable of the MISTER ED was its opening theme song. "A Horse is a Horse; of Course, of Course......" has been sung, revered and parodied for nearly a half century.

IN THE CASE of many other themes, they are remembered long after their source (movie or series) has been forgotten. But that is not so here. As MISTER ED remains not just a fond memory; but continues to live on via the wonderful world of reruns.

NOTE: * After several installments of the "Francis Franchise", Donald O'Connor left the series; stating that the Mule was getting more fan mail than he was. One additional FRANCIS movie was made; albeit with Mickey Rooney and Paul Frees providing the "Mule elocution."

Mister Ed was one of the very first fantasy sitcoms that was made. The series very nearly didn't make it to the air due to the skepticism of the networks. Enter Studebaker Corporation and the novel idea of having their dealers contribute $25 from the sale of each car sold in 1960 to the production and sale in syndication of Mister Ed's first season. The success of this first season was enough to attract the attention of James Aubrey of CBS to put the series on CBS on Sunday afternoons. Mister Ed is entertaining and light-hearted. It is well written and directed. The one thing that the casual viewer may overlook is the wonderful acting of Alan Young as Wilbur Post. In reality he was reacting to himself in his many conversations with Ed, but he creates the illusion that Ed is really a talking horse and that he is really having conversations with him. The rest of the cast was first rate , too, with lovely Connie Hines bringing a believability to Carol, and Larry Keating, Edna Skinner, Leon Ames and Florence MacMichael adding to the fun. Mister Ed rules!

Mister Ed was a sitcom that I remember well from my younger days growing up in New Jersey and Minnesota since it was a very funny, but one joke show that had a long run, thanks to the chemistry between star Alan Young and Mister Ed, whose would only talk to Wilbur. The scenes between the two would formulate most of the plots, such as the episode when Ed caused trouble and Wilbur locked him in his stall.

Also contributing to the mayhem were Connie Hines, who recently passed away as Wilbur's wife Carol and Larry Keating and Edna Skinner as the Addisons. After Keating's death, his role was not recast and he was replaced by Leon Ames, who portrayed Gordon Kirkwood.

The one episode that I remember the most was when Mister Ed played baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the horse slid into home plate. It was one of the show's most memorable moments.

The theme song was a classic, salvaged by co-writer Jay Livingston's vocal after an opera singer sang the original so poorly that the producers were looking for a new theme. We'll always remember the opening line "A horse is a horse of course."

G'day

As a young girl, I used to see Mister Ed on free to air TV. Then as an adult, I saw the repeats and realised it was a fabulous show for all ages with it's excellent humour. Actually the humour would be more appreciated by mature people than very young children. Very clever scripts with witty dialogue.

I love horses but I'm sure Mister Ed wouldbe enjoyed by non-horsey people just as much as horse lovers. I would recommend the Mister Ed series to any age group. You grown ups out there, if you haven't watch any Mister Ed episodes, please do as it's definitely not just a show for children. Honestly!

Three examples of the humour:

(1) Kaye (with Roger behind her) runs in to tell Carol "Get your laundry, Roger is taking us to the cleaners". Carol says "That's nice of you Roger". Roger replies "That's the least I can do, she is always taking me to the cleaners".

(2) Mr Ed is listening in on the extension phone and Wilbur catches him and hangs up the phone, saying "That's the last time I'm telling you not to ears-drop". Mr Ed replies "Good, because I'm sick of hearing it".

(3) A new neighbour (who has been upset by Mr Ed but naturally he thinks it's Wilbur causing the problem) knocks on Wilbur's door. When Wilbour answers (Roger happens to be with him), the neighbour says with his fist ready to punch Wilbur "Do you want a punch". Roger says "The things they sell these days from door to door".

You will not be disappointed if you buy the Mister Ed DVDs.

(NOTE: I haven't made any spelling errors - we Australians spell some words different to how the USA spell them! Cheers from Josephine from Down Under.

Wilbur Post (Alan Young) seems like an average person, with a wife named Carol (Connie Hines), a house, and a steady job as an architect, except for one thing: his horse.

As the theme song reminds us: "A horse is a horse, of course, of course..." But Ed is no ordinary equine. He talks, albeit only to his owner (Ed calls Wilbur "the only person worth talking to"). Not only does Ed talk, he causes all sorts of trouble, which always gets pinned on Wilbur. Whether eating Carol's tomatoes or pulling down neighbor Roger Addison's (Larry Keating) TV antenna, that palomino always has something up his sleeve, er...hoof. Oftentimes, Ed will do something around a stranger, causing a lot of confusion for the latter.

As for other aspects of the show, Wilbur somehow always has the worst luck, not even necessarily caused by Ed's tricks. Carol is truly one hot babe. Roger and Kay (Edna Skinner) can fluctuate between sour and good-neighborly. Overall, the show is pretty silly, but it's not doing any harm. I recommend it.

I recently rediscovered this delightful series after not having seen it since I was a small child. MR. ED, I think, often gets incorrectly bracketed with such "silly" mid-1960s fantasies as THE MUNSTERS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and I DREAM OF JEANNIE. Maybe a talking horse just seems too foolish to take seriously. As a matter of fact, this is an extremely inventive, witty and sharply written show - one in which the character of Mr. Ed, the equine hero, is used to comment on human foibles. It is also a comedy about values and conflicting familial duties.

What makes MR. ED work is the magical illusionism of a talking horse combined with a perfect, likable cast. Wilbur Post, the hapless owner of Mr. Ed, is played by the late Alan Young. Young combines an easy-going Bing Crosby vibe with a bumbling innocence reminiscent of Danny Kaye. His dialogues with Mr. Ed, conducted in the barn which doubles as his office, form the comedic core of the show. The attractive Connie Hines plays Wilbur's charming but demanding wife Carol. The highly original "triangle" which forms between Wilbur, Connie, and Mr. Ed fuels many of the plots.

For the first three seasons, the couple next door - MR. ED's equivalent of the Mertzes - were the acerbic Roger and Kay Addison. This elegant couple are the perfect foil to the homespun Wilbur and Carol, and their sophisticated bickering repartee is a key part of the show's success.

MR. ED himself is played by a palomino named Bamboo Harvester and voiced by Allan "Rocky" Lane in an inimitable Western drawl. Ed not only talks, he also sings, reads, writes notes, uses the telephone (a lot!), watches TV, does exercises, and shows at times a high level of erudition. He combines a cheeky insouciance with a the neediness of a little kid and in fact is practically a surrogate child for Wilbur. How they got Bamboo Harvester to perform some of the tricks required of him throughout the series is anybody's guess!

The genial bucolic setting (for the most part a convincing set, although some scenes are filmed outdoors) conjures up a specific place, the San Fernando Valley in California. The pastoral atmosphere is one of the most appealing aspects of the series, which was a unique contribution to the genre of the rural comedy. MR. ED remained in glorious black and white to the end of its run, even as many other shows were switching to color.

MR. ED has become one of my favorite early '60s sitcoms, alongside LEAVE IT TO BEAVER and THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. It is entirely worthy to keep company with those shows and remains a unique comic experience for audiences of all ages.

Like "The Brady Bunch," "The Monkees," and "Green Acres," "Mister Ed" was a show that was before my time, but I did catch reruns. As a kid, what wasn't enthralling about a talking horse? I would watch whenever I possibly could.

Mister Ed was voiced by Allan Lane who was acting as early as 1929. Mister Ed's owner, Wilbur Post, was played by Alan Young who was in many T. V. shows all the way up to 2013. If you watched any T. V. at all from the 60's to the 00's you saw him. I'm not saying you recognized him or knew who he was, but you saw him. Starring as Wilbur's wife was Connie Hines as Carol Post. She had a very small catalog with "Mister Ed" being her biggest role.

Considering the era in TV broadcasting when "Mister Ed" was first aired (1958-1966) - I really did try to cut this show some serious slack.

But, unfortunately, this one-note-joke-of-a-program (with its often weak humor) was far too predictable and contrived for my liking.

(IMO) - This is the sort of TV show that can only be fully appreciated by those viewers out there who are clearly watching it through the haze of nostalgic eyes.

This may have been one of the silliest shows of all time,but he spoke to a generation gap that continues to this day some 50 years after he went off the air,into syndication and this time around has found a new home with a new generation of people who can enjoy him today.........

The story goes like this:Married couple Wilbur and Carol Post buys a new home in the country and discovers a stall in the back yard with a lame horse named Mister Ed. However,the neighbors,The Addison's tells them that the horse was left behind by its previous owners,but this horse isn't like any other. You see,Mister Ed is owned by Wilbur Post,and when no one else is around he talks to Wilbur and does amazing things as well,but always manages to get Wilbur in trouble.

Mister Ed was one of the silliest shows of its day,but this show wasn't aimed at adults either. However,this show was aimed toward its targeted audience:CHILDREN since this show was designed for the kiddies,but the adults were watching it too. Based on the popular children's books by Walter Brooks,this show had it all even at times when Mister Ed always frustrate Wilbur to no end was fun to watch and getting into all sorts of mischief. It was crazy at times,but like the previous comment was made about this show may question the sanity of the TV executive who greenlighted this series about a talking horse was at the time just plain silly,since the executive producer of this series was no other than Al Simon,whom was behind the shows "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Green Acres","Petticoat Junction",and so forth that was produced under George Burns' production company McCadden Productions and Filmways Television. "Mister Ed" made television history as one of the few television shows that debut in national syndication to be pick up by a major television network. The series debut in national syndication for 26 episodes in black and white from January 5,1961 until July 2,1961. Then on October 1,1961 the series was picked up by CBS-TV for 130 black and white episodes airing until June 16,1965. Then in the show's sixth and final season a total of 13 episodes that were produced from September 12,1965 until February 6,1966. In all 143 episodes were produced in black and white. "Mister Ed" was gone by mid-season of 1966 and CBS replaced the series with another short-lived sitcom that aired in September of 1966.

The show was very keen in having great guest stars on it as well including on episode where Clint Eastwood was out of character during a segment which was very silly,but to see Clint in a comedical role was to be seen,and the other was with two of the stars of "The Beverly Hillbillies",actors Max Baer and Irene Ryan was hilariously funny. The others were Jonathan Harris,Jon Provost,and many others. As for the stars of the show,only actors Alan Young and Connie Hines remained throughout the series' entire run which ended on February 6,1966 after six seasons and 143 episodes all in black and white. However,the show had some moments as well with the changing of actors whom played the Addison's(Larry Keating and Edna Skinner,however,Keating passed away on the set after the second season in 1963 from failing health),and the Post's new neighbors,the Kirkwood's(played by Leon Ames and Florence Mac Michael)whom at times had to put up with some of the silliness the went on within the Post's residence,especially when Wilbur's wife Carol wasn't around. Not to mention Wilbur dealing with Carol's father(Barry Kelley)who thought the man she married was not quite right upstairs.

THE THEME SONG: A Horse is a horse,of course of course and nobody can talk to a horse of course,that is the horse,unless of course is the famous Mister Ed.... Go right to the source,,and asked the horse,and this one will you endorse he is always on a steady course,talk to Mister Ed........

Originally written on September 24,2003 and was completely revised on September 30, 2016 to commemorate with the show's anniversary.

This has been my favorite show for year's!!!!!!!! This is a show to really escape from reality ( Because it's about a talking horse). And TV really should be made to escape from reality, and this is the show to do it with! A masterpiece of comedy! I hope someday they make a movie of it! I heard Walt Disney picture's is making a movie! I hope they make it!

"MISTER ED," in my opinion, is a must-see CBS hit! Despite the fact that I've never seen every episode, I still enjoyed it. It's hard to say which one is my favorite. Also, I really loved the theme song. If you ask me, even though I liked everyone, it would have been nice if everyone had stayed on the show throughout its entire run. Everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. In conclusion, even though it can be seen on TV Land now, I strongly recommend you catch it just in case it goes off the air for good.

OK, so the idea is that "Mister Ed" is supposed to be family-friendly entertainment; pretty harmless stuff. Obviously it wasn't until the '70s when we started seeing the likes of "All in the Family".

But seriously, had I been in Wilbur's place, I would've devoted all my attention to Carol. Seriously, man. You have the world's hottest wife and you spend half your time talking to a horse?

Alan Young and Connie Hines later co-starred in a stage production of A. R. Gurney's "Love Letters" (about a decades-long epistolary correspondence). I once Googled images of Hines and one hit was a photo of her and Young signing autographs at an event in 2005.

This was a favorite show back when it was current but I hadn't seen it for over 40 years when I stumbled upon it in syndication. The premise may seem simple and obvious but it's highly entertaining.

The story is about a man and wife, Wilbur and Carol Post, who move into a house in the San Fernando Valley and discover a horse that was left in the stable by the previous owner. The horse, Mr. Ed, is a talking horse and a very clever and witty one at that. He will only talk to Wilbur and the episodes revolve around awkward situations for him created by Mr. Ed. The recurring characters are the neighbors, Wilbur's wife, Carol, and Mr. Ed. Most of the episodes are quite funny and one can't help but appreciate Mr. Ed's wry sense of humor.

In a day before computer generated effects, it's quite remarkable how well they created the illusion of the horse talking. His lips actually move! He performs all kinds of impressive human-like actions, including opening and shutting his barn door, picking up the phone to talk, unplugging and moving his portable television set, singing, etc. It's quite amazing to see a horse doing so many tricks and one begins to take it for granted. I have to remind myself that it's a real trained horse because it works so well. All these years later I am very impressed at the level of training and work that must have been involved in making this show.

Alan Young, Connie Hines, and the supporting cast did a wonderful job on this show. The star, a beautiful Palomino named "Bamboo Harvester" in real life, did an unbelievable job and seemed much smarter than many people I know. Mr. Ed is for all ages from young to old. Especially if you like horses or animal shows you will like this. My wife and I are getting up there and we love it. Very glad that it's still available.

Mr. Ed has the reputation of being a silly sitcom that is mainly for children which is probably due to the story centering on a horse that speaks English. However, I consider myself a person with sophisticated tastes and I adore this sitcom and consider it one of the greatest sitcoms ever. The writing is sophisticated and witty. The interplay between all the characters is hilarious and the performances are uniformly marvelous. I think that Allan (Rocky) Lane (Mr. Ed's voice), and Larry Keating, are particularly underrated in this sitcom. Alan Young is also outstanding and his comic mannerisms are a sight to behold--he is very similar to John Ritter with his wonderful combination of slapstick comedic flair and appealing personality. The fights between Wilbur and his wife are especially well-written and performed. A truly special sitcom that has never received its due credit--especially for the writing.

Sure, all the stories were silly and contrived but I still enjoy it over 50 years later. Mister Ed was played by only one horse (except in the unaired pilot), a Palomino Gelding named Bamboo Harvester. It is believed that the horse lived 30 years which was obviously far beyond the T.V. series. Constance Hines played "Wilbur Post's pretty wife" on the series and surprisingly did only a handful of other T.V. shows and attractions. Several guest stars appeared on the half-hour show, which ran from 1958-1966 and was produced by Arthur Lubin and the same production company as the "Francis the Talking Mule " movies. The character for "Ed" was "pulled" from a series of children's story books after the "Francis" character was made unavailable by the movie studio, Universal. Mr. Ed was originally taught to move his lips with an "invisible" wire attached to his mouth. Later, this smart horse learned to do this trick on command when his foot was pressed! Peanut butter was never used at all! 143 episodes and it still runs on cable to this day with all the other "barnyard and hillbilly" sitcoms from Filmways. It may be colorized, but it is usually broadcast is black and white. (Credit: Trivia details from "Wikipedia".)

As one who never saw many of the episodes of the series back in the 60's when it first aired, I had to see the series from the beginning on THIS-TV. I have to disagree with a poster earlier who said this was made for kids; the books may have that the series was based on but if you watch it today you see much of the humor and dialog is aimed at adults. The interaction between Wilbur and Ed was made even better by the fact that Allan 'Rocky' Lane voiced his Mr. Ed lines right there on set, not recorded later in a voice-over studio. The palomino used as Mr. Ed was very well trained as you notice when viewing the series and the still secret method of making his mouth move was just an extra added attraction. Those disguises on Ed like the large glasses just added to the reality of the show. You have to think what was going through the mind of that horse when filming the series. The supporting players were great on this series from the original couple next door to the last couple next door. Larry Keating having been the neighbor to Burns and Allen for year on their show fit right in as a neighbor and Leon Ames, a veteran TV actor, perfect as Wilbur's former Commander. And what can one say about the beautiful Connie Hines as his bewildered wife? Guest stars were numerous on the series and must have loved the exposure, even Mae West and Zsa Zsa wanted to guest. Until you view this series today, to say that it was totally for kids is a big mistake.

I keep seeing others mentioning something about a horse. Horse...horse...hmm...horse?

Couldn't be! This is a series about an absolutely breathtaking suburban housewife who's one of the most gorgeous women ever. She's so good looking a fella just can't take his eyes off her! Every time she walks into a room it's the same thing...wow! To say she's stunning is a complete and utter understatement. An angel, come to earth!

Thing is, she's married to a strange guy who would much rather spend his time in the barn. I just can't figure this guy out. Married to one of the most beautiful women in the world, but he'd rather hang out in the stables, reveling in the effluvia. Strange indeed. I seem to vaguely recall him doing something with a horse in the background while I'm thinking about her, but I've always found it difficult to pay attention when she's not onscreen. The mind wanders, y'know.

So ya better believe I'll keep watching, Oh well, still can't figure out what the hubbub is over a horse when it's her show. I mean, c'mon seriously....wait, wait...gotta stop talking and pay attention, here she comes again. Dang, she's SO pretty...

I was a small child when Mr.Ed first broadcast it is a funny clean comedy that i would imagine people of all ages would enjoy. keep the old shows coming.