Alan Young Oral History

Object number2010.001.0044

Date06/07/2010

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject Alan Young

Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin

ObjectOral history

Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumBorn digital (.wav file)

Dimensions26 Minutes

Terms

Collections

DescriptionAudio oral history interview with Alan Young. A radio and television personality, Young was the human star of "Mister Ed," a situation TV comedy series about a talking horse that aired from 1961 to 1966. The program was reportedly a favorite of the Kennedy children. Interview conducted by telephone on June 7, 2010 by Associate Curator Stephen Fagin. The interview is twenty-six minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

I always enjoy recording oral histories that explore the popular culture of the 1960s. The talking horse television series Mister Ed was in its third year of production at the time of the Kennedy assassination, having first aired less than two weeks before John F. Kennedy's inauguration on January 20, 1961. Other series that premiered around the same time in 1961 included The Dick Van Dyke Show and Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. Among the television series that launched in 1963 were General Hospital, The Outer Limits, The Patty Duke Show, The Fugitive, and Petticoat Junction. The long-running BBC series Doctor Who actually premiered on the day following the assassination, November 23, and was delayed due to news coverage of the shooting. - Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator