An October Surprise from Mister Ed

Not on the available DVD, video of Mr. Ed bringing his game to Los Angeles Dodgers Leo Durocher, Sandy Koufax, Moose Skowron, Willie Davis and Johnny Roseboro. Also …

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Move over, “Mad Men.” Mister Ed, an original 1960s dude, is back in town.

Or, rather, at home, as the DVD set of Mister Ed: The Complete First Season goes on sale.

And we get to watch equine actor Bamboo Harvester in his most famous role. And the occasion gives us the opportunity to look into some of the secrets behind-the-scenes of “Mister Ed.”

What’s the big deal with Mister Ed?

Besides that theme song? (Let’s hear the Mister Ed song in Spanish. The Spanish translation makes for a jauntier ear worm.)

Aside from Mister Ed being a “talking” horse, who only spoke to one man, Ed is a part of television history. The show was the first syndicated show to be picked up by one of “The Big Three” TV networks. New episodes of Mister Ed appeared on living room TVs from 1961 to 1966.

Five seasons of original episodes is not a bad run on TV.

What’s “Mister Ed” about?

Besides being able to speak, selective about to whom he spoke and having a sense of humor, Ed had hobbies and interests, like baseball, as was depicted above.

Since he had no time in which to practice, let alone anyone with whom to practice, Ed obviously was a “natural.”

Ed: a product of his times

Like “Mad Men,” Mister Ed shows the culture and attitudes of the 1960′s – for good or ill. Bruce Dancis of Scripps News mentions some of the period themes portrayed on the show, like sexism.

Now, if I recall, Ed seemed to come with the property when Wilbur Post and his wife moved in and was a surprise for the new owners.

These days, we’d call animal control on his previous owners for abandoning him. And Mister Ed would be loaded up in a trailer to head for the local animal shelter.

Myths and mysteries about peanut butter and thread

Remember the old story how Mister Ed’s lips moved because of peanut butter on his teeth?

Wrong.

As is stated in that Wikipedia entry, co-star Alan Young, in an interview on Australian radio, ‘fessed up to starting that one.

So, forget the peanut butter. The thing is, I’m not buying any of the other theories, either.

Young has said that a loose nylon thread on Bamboo Harvester’s teeth made his lips do that.

I don’t want to cast aspersions, but I was thinking about how it feels when a stray hair drifts into my mouth.

I know, gross. Work with me here. We make a lot of ptew type moves with our tongues trying to discharge loose hairs landing where they shouldn’t.

Do you see Bamboo Harvester doing that?

Nah. Me neither.

And where did those threads go? Down the hatch?

Actually, with no disrespect to Alan Young intended, I can’t say I believe that one, either. After all, he did start the peanut butter rumor. That doesn’t exactly make him a reliable source, IMO, even though I have the impression that he started the peanut butter theory more out of misguided merriment.

Another theory (all taken from the Wikipedia entry on Mr. Ed)  involves pulling threads attached to his lip.

To that, I also say, “Hmm? Maybe. Like with a twitch?” Except Ed swings his head a lot.

So, I’m not buying that one, either. At least, as for all the time.

(Editor’s Note) Since I wrote this post, I’ve found additional information. Bamboo Harvester’s owner was also his trainer Les Hilton, who’d trained horses for the movies. Ed’s lips moving was from a nylon thread attached to his halter and moved by the trainer, as described in this account about Hilton.

Who was Bamboo Harvester anyway?

A Palomino carrying American Saddlebred and Arabian blood, according to his listing in the AllBreedPedigree.com site.

Or, in horseman’s terms, he’s got Saddlebred on the top and Arab on the bottom. (Check out the pedigree chart to see how this kind of description came to be.)

Bamboo Harvester was liberty trained by Hollywood horseman Les Hilton, said to have been a former associate of Will Rogers.

In other words, Hilton could stand off to the side to give Bamboo Harvester cues to behave. Which makes more sense to me than threads on the lips.

Hilton came to the show with experience in training talking equids. Hilton also trained Francis the Talking Mule.

And Hilton trained all those equine stars of those Baby Boomer TV favorites, “Fury” and “My Friend Flicka.”

Hilton owned Bamboo Harvester after his retirement. The horse died at 19 and was buried in a location only known to Hilton.

So, yes, the site of Bamboo Harvester’s, aka “Mister Ed’s,” grave remains a secret.

Cultural observations about Mister Ed

What? Can’t we just laugh and enjoy? Sure. But think about this, too.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Mister Ed looks just like Roy Rogers’s Trigger. Click here for Golden Cloud’s, aka “Trigger’s” pedigree. Don’t forget to click on the icons next to his name, too.

Or, even if it is, I think the resemblance between the two golden Palominos with wide blazes helped feed into the popularity of Mister Ed. Both horses were smart and portrayed smart characters. Both horses were beloved and had a special bond with their masters.

But one was Western, and the other was – even though the show was set in the suburbs around Los Angeles – East. As in “east coast.”

Mister Ed’s attitude can be seen on a New York subway.  Except the language there is saltier.

Roy was a western cowboy, almost an anachronism in mid-20th century America, despite the proliferation of cowboy shows on TV in those days.

Wilbur was a suburban guy just like a viewer’s dad or the next door neighbor.  A little bit goofy, but special enough that a horse picked him with which to form a unique bond.

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Tags: Alan Young, Leo Durocher, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mr. Ed, Mr. Ed first season DVD, Mr. Ed theme song, October surprise, Roy Rogers, Trigger