Old Radio

November 19: Happy Birthday, Alan Young ! Before his well-known role opposite "The Famous Mr. Ed," this British actor starred in a radio show bearing his name. The Alan Young Show took the air in 1944, a radio summer replacement . This NBC show was a sitcom, featuring Alan Young trading quickfire burns with his girlfriend, Betty, played by Jean Gillespie and then Louise Erickson. Jim Backus would eventually join the cast, playing Hubert Updike III. Episode titles include "Books," "Raising Rabbits," "Landscaping," "Cucamunga Killer," and "Alan, the Movie Star." The action took place in a little cottage in Van Nuys, CA. advertisements for the 7:30 Friday shows promised "FUN!" Raised in Scotland and Canada,  Young  became enamored of radio when he was bedridden with acute asthma. Reaching adulthood, he broke into the business on a Canadian show called "Stag Party." Later, after starring in T