Alan Reed

Alan Reed (born Herbert Theodore Bergman; August 20, 1907 – June 14, 1977)[1] was an American actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, including Days of Glory, The Tarnished Angels, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Viva Zapata! (as Pancho Villa), and Nob Hill, and various television and radio series.

For other people named Alan Reed, see Alan Reed (disambiguation).

Alan Reed
Reed in Time Table (1956)
Born
Herbert Theodore Bergman

(1907-08-20)August 20, 1907
New York City, U.S.
DiedJune 14, 1977(1977-06-14) (aged 69)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesAlan Reed Sr.
Teddy Bergman
Alma materAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts
Columbia University
OccupationActor
Years active1930–1977
Spouse
Finnette Walker
​
(m. 1932)​
Children3

Early years

Alan Reed was born Herbert Theodore Bergman on August 20, 1907, in New York City to Jewish parents. His father was a Lithuanian-Jewish immigrant and his mother was born in the United States to Ukrainian-Jewish parents from Galicia.[2] He attended George Washington High School[3] (now George Washington Educational Campus) and majored in journalism at Columbia University.

Between graduating from WHS and entering Columbia, he studied drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[4] He began his acting career in the city, eventually working on Broadway.

For several years, Reed toured in vaudeville with his cousin, Harry Green.[5] He also had two other jobs—operating a wholesale candy factory and working at the Copake Country Club as "social director, entertainment producer and actor".[4]

Career

Radio

As early as 1930, Reed (billed as Teddy Bergman) co-starred with Herbert Polesie in Henry and George, a CBS program that featured "minute dramas, popular laughmakers ... interspersed with dance music selections".[6]

Reed's radio work included having two roles in Valiant Lady,[7] the role of Solomon Levy on Abie's Irish Rose, 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 ABC, 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, as Italian immigrant Pasquale in Life with Luigi on CBS radio, various supporting roles on Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, and as Lt. Walter Levinson in several episodes of Richard Diamond, Private Detective.

Reed was "heard regularly on the Crime Doctor series,"[8] and "was the original Daddy to Fanny Brice on Baby Snooks".[9] Billed as Teddy Bergman, he had the title role on Joe Palooka.[9]

Stage

Billed as Teddy Bergman, Reed appeared on Broadway in Double Dummy (1936), and A House in the Country (1937),[10] and Love's Old Sweet Song (1940).[11]

Film

Porky's Romance, Days of Glory, Nob Hill, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Perfect Strangers, Emergency Wedding, The Redhead and the Cowboy, Here Comes the Groom, How to Be a Detective, Viva Zapata!, Pickup on South Street, I, the Jury.

Television

From 1957 to 1958, Reed appeared in a recurring role as J.B. Hafter, a studio boss, on the CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve. He also played the same character in The Bob Cummings Show. In 1963, he appeared as Councilman Jack Gramby in episode 8 of the CBS sitcom My Favorite Martian. In 1964–65, he had a recurring role as Mr. Swidler in the ABC sitcom Mickey.

Voice acting

In animation, Reed provided the voice of Boris the Russian Wolfhound in Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp in 1955. In 1960, he began the voice role for Fred Flintstone, the lead character of Hanna-Barbera's prime-time animated series The Flintstones. Reed provided Fred's voice for the entire six-season run of the show, as well as in several spin-off series (The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, The Flintstone Comedy Hour) and specials. His final performance as Fred Flintstone was a cameo guest role on an episode of Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics. Among his other voice roles for Hanna-Barbera was Touché Turtle's sidekick, Dum Dum.

Radio playwright and director Norman Corwin cast Reed as Santa Claus in the 1969 KCET television reading of his 1938 play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas.

In television commercials Reed was the voice over for J.J. Keebler, a creation of the Leo Burnett Agency.[12]

Personal life

In May 1932, Reed married the former Finette Walker[13] (1909–2005), a Broadway actress whom he met at television station W2XAB (later WCBS-TV) in New York City.[3] She appeared on stage in the early 1930s and was a chorus member in the original 1934 Broadway production of Anything Goes with Ethel Merman.[14] They had three sons, including actor Alan Reed, Jr. (born 1936).[15]

Death

Reed, a smoker, was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1967. The cancer was treated surgically,[15] but he later developed emphysema. On June 14, 1977, he died at St. Vincent Medical Center (Los Angeles) after having a heart attack, two months before his 70th birthday.[15]

Filmography

Radio
Year Title Role Notes
1930 Henry and George
1932 Joe Palooka Joe Palooka
1938 Valiant Lady Various roles
1939 The Campbell Playhouse: Twentieth Century [16]
1940 The Baby Snooks Show Daddy
1940–1947 Crime Doctor
1942 Abie's Irish Rose Solomon Levy
1944–1951 Duffy's Tavern Officer Clancy, various characters
The Life of Riley Chester Riley's boss
1948–1953 Life with Luigi Pasquale
1948–1954 The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show Various roles
1949–1962 Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
1949–1953 Richard Diamond, Private Detective Lt. Walter Levinson

Stage
Year Title Role Notes
1936 Dounle Dummy Various characters Broadway
1937 A House in the Country
1940 Love old Sweet Song

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1937 Porky's Romance Opening announcer (voice) Short film
Teddy Bergman's Bar-B-Q Teddy Bergman
1944 Days of Glory Sasha
1945 Nob Hill Dapper Jack Harrigan
1946 The Postman Always Rings Twice Ezra Liam Kennedy
1950 Perfect Strangers Harry Patullo
Emergency Wedding Barber
1951 The Redhead and the Cowboy Col. Lamartine
Here Comes the Groom Walter Godfrey
1952 How to Be a Detective Weasel, Narrator (voice) Short film
1953 Viva Zapata! Pancho Villa
Actor's and Sin J.B. Cobb Segment "Woman of Sin"
1953 Pickup on South Street Detective Uncredited
I, the Jury George Kalecki
Geraldine Frederick Sterling
1954 Woman's World Tomaso
1955 The Far Horizons Charboneau
Lady and the Tramp Boris (voice)
Kiss of Fire Sergeant Diego
The Desperate Hours Detective
1956 Time Table Al Wolfe
The Revolt of Mamie Stover Captain Gorecki
He Laughed Last Big Dan Hennessy
1957 The Tarnished Angels Colonel Fineman
1958 Marjorie Morningstar Puddles Podell
1959 1001 Arabian Nights The Sultan (voice)
1960 Stop! Look! and Laugh Prince (voice) Uncredited
1961 Breakfast at Tiffany's Sally Tomato
1966 The Man Called Flintstone Fred Flintstone (voice)
1969 A Dream of Kings Fig King
1971 Shinbone Alley Big Bill (voice)
1975 The Story of Heidi Sebastian, Mr. Usher Final role, 1979 English dub
1978 The Seniors Professor Heigner Final role, posthumous release
2005 Son of the Mask Fred Flintstone Archival footage

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Uncle Leo Season 2 Episode 7: "Alibi Me"
1957–1958 Mr. Adams and Eve J. B. Hafter Regular cast
1958 Make Room for Daddy Joe Ferbus Episode: "The Reunion"
1959 Have Gun – Will Travel Dirks the Clamjumper Episode: "Gold and Brimstone"
1960 Peter Gunn Garson Episode: "The Maître d"
Make Room for Daddy Howard Sloan Episode: "The Apple Polishers"
1960–1966 The Flintstones Fred Flintstone, Professor Von Messerschmidt, J.L. Gothrocks, The Prowler, Grandpa Rocky Flintstone (voices) 166 episodes
1962–1963 The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series Dum Dum (voice) 52 episodes
Touché Turtle and Dum Dum
1963 Don't Call Me Charlie! Private Winthrop Fairchild Episode: "Raise Your Right Hand"
The Dick Van Dyke Show Auctioneer Episode: "The Masterpiece"
My Favorite Martian Councilman Jack Gramby Episode: "The Awful Truth"
1964 Hoppity Hooper Filmore Bear, Additional voices Episode: "Ring-A-Ding Spring"
1964–1965 Jonny Quest various characters various episodes
1964–1968 The Beverly Hillbillies Gene Booth Episodes: "Teenage Idol", "The Great Tag-Team Match"
1965 The Addams Family Parks Commissioner Fiske (Uncredited) Episode: "Cousin Itt Visits the Addams Family"
1966 Space Ghost Glasstor Episode: "Glasstor"
Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Fred Flintstone (voice) Television film
The Impossibles Smogula 1 episode
1967 Batman General MacGruder Episode: "Penguin Sets a Trend"
1968 Petticoat Junction The Bandit Episode: "Bad Day at Shady Rest"
1969 Get Smart Little girl (voice) Uncredited
1970 Where's Huddles? Mad Dog Mahoney (voice) 10 episodes
1971 The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show Fred Flintstone (voice) 16 episodes
1972 The Flintstone Comedy Hour Fred Flintstone (voice) 18 episodes
1975 The Story of Heidi Sebastian, Mr. Usher (voices) English version
1977 Laff-A-Lympics Fred Flintstone (voice)
Energy: A National Issue Television film
1977–1980 Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels Additional voices 39 episodes
Final television role
1986 The Adventures of Pinocchio Geppetto (voice)

Further reading
  • Reed, Alan; Ohmart, Ben (2009). Yabba Dabba Doo!: The Alan Reed Story. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-313-5. Ben Ohmart is president of BearManor Media, the publisher ISBN 1-59393-313-4
  • Terrace, Vincent (September 2, 2015). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-0528-9. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9

References
  1. "Alan Reed profile". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  2. "Fred Flintstone: A Stone Age Star With A Jewish Voice." Jewish Humor Central.com, October 10, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  3. Schmidt, Bill Jr. (April 24, 1932). "Airy Chats". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. E9. Retrieved December 12, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  4. Witte, Lawrence (December 9, 1960). "Static". Denton Journal. p. 10. Retrieved December 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  5. Cox, Jim (2007). Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s – A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 234–235. ISBN 978-0-7864-6086-1.
  6. "Henry and George In Lincoln". The Lincoln Star. August 3, 1930. p. D5. Retrieved December 12, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  7. Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). The Big Broadcast: 1920–1950. The Viking Press. SBN 670-16240-x. P. 249.
  8. "Fanny Brice on the Air Tonight". Belvidere Daily Republican. September 26, 1940. p. 8. Retrieved December 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  9. DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2.
  10. "Teddy Bergman". Playbill Vault. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  11. "CBS Actor Has Head Shaved for Summer". El Paso Herald-Post. May 31, 1940. p. 2. Retrieved December 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  12. Cerny, JoBe (May 11, 2015). "Icons of Advertising". Screen. Archived from the original on June 7, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  13. "Behind the Microphone" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 1, 1932. p. 19. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  14. "Finette Walker: Performer." Playbill Vault Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  15. Thomas, Nick (September 23, 2015). "Alan Reed Jr. remembers 'The Flintstones' at 55". USA Today. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
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