Alan Reed: The Face Behind the Voice of Fred Flintstone

''Wilma!!!!!''

Reed Sr., who had an over 50 year career in vaudeville, radio, stage, film and TV, was

died of a heart attack on June 14th, 1977. He was 69.

The second voice of Bedrock's Fred (Daws Butler voiced Fred in the pilot reel The Flagstones) was born Herbert Theodore Bergman in New York City on August 20th, 1907.

He is probably best known for his animated voice work:

Besides Fred Flintstone (THE FLINTSTONES, THE PEBBLES AND BAMM-BAMM SHOW, the big screen version THE MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE, etc.), Reed lent his unmistakable intonations to such Saturday Morning characters as TOUCHE TURTLE's sidekick Dum Dum (THE NEW HANNA-BARBERA CARTOON SERIES) and Coach Mad Dog Mahoney (WHERE'S HUDDLES?). He was also the voice of Boris the Russian Wolfhand in Walt Disney's LADY AND THE TRAMP.

LADY AND THE TRAMP

The voice cast of the classic (and first) animated prime-time series THE FLINTSTONES (ABC 1960-66): Bea PETTICOAT JUNCTION Benaderet, Jean THE JETSONS Vander Pyl and Mel ''The Man of a 1000 Voices'' Blanc

Reed also played many important on-camera roles (comic & dramatic) in such classic films as VIVA ZAPATA! (Pancho Villa), BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (mobster Sally Tomato), THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (Ezra Liam Kennedy) and THE TARNISHED ANGELS (Col. T.J. Fineman).

With Marlon Brando in Elia Kazan's ZAPATA!

TIFFANY'S Tomato

Reed, Rock Hudson, Robert Middleton and Dorothy Malone in

my favorite Douglas Sirk film: 1957's THE TARNISHED ANGELS,

based on William Faulner's Pylon

Under the gun with John Garfield & Lana Turner in

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE

Reed majored in Journalism at Columbia University and studied acting

at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Early in his career, he was billed sometimes as his stage name, Alan Reed, and quite often by his real name, Teddy Bergman.

He toured in vaudeville with his cousin Harry Green and appeared on Broadway

in 2 plays billed as Teddy Bregman: DOUBLE DUMMY & A HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY and 3 shows as Alan Reed: LOVE'S OLD SWEET SONG with Walter Huston, HOPE FOR A HARVEST with Fredric March and Mrs. March, Florence Eldridge and THE PIRATE with Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontanne.

Reed's deep voice lead to a prolific career in 1930's-1950's radio, as an announcer & performer.

Reed/Bergman was the title role on Joe Palooka, the poet Falstaff Openshaw on Fred Allen's NBC radio show (and later Falstaff's Fables), the original Daddy to Fanny Brice's Baby Snooks, Officer Clancy and others on Duffy's Tavern, Solomon Levy on Abie's Irish Rose, Pasquale on Life With Luigi and many other roles/announcers on radio shows like The Eddie Cantor Program, Henry and George, The Life of Riley, The Shadow, My Friend Irma, Myrt and Marge, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Crime Doctor, The Adventures of Sam Spade, True Detective Mysteries and more.

His big screen debut came in some film shorts in the mid 1930's and his first TV credit was on YOUR SHOW TIME in 1949.

Reed had 3 regular TV roles: reprising his radio role of the scheming landlord Pasquale in the short-lived LIFE WITH LUIGI (CBS 1952), the screwy, but likable Finnegan--a denizen of DUFFY'S TAVERN (Syndicated 1954) and movie studio head J.B. Hafter in the 1 1/2 season run of MR. ADAMS AND EVE with husband and wife team Howard Duff & Ida Lupino (CBS 1957-58).

J. Carrol Naish and Reed in LIFE WITH LUIGI

With Ed Gardner in DUFFY'S TAVERN

Some of his other notable film roles include:

Dapper Jack Harrigan in NOB HILL, the Soviet partisan Sasha in DAYS OF GLORY, juror Harry Patullo in PERFECT STRANGERS, Col. Lamartine in THE COWBOY AND THE REDHEAD, another studio mogul, J.B. Cobb, in the Woman of Sin segment of 1952's ACTORS AND SIN, fight promoter turned racketeer George Kalecki in the 1953 version of Mickey Spillane's I, THE JURY, explorer and trader Toussaint Charbonneau in THE FAR HORIZONS, Capt. Gorecki in THE REVOLT OF MAMIE STOVER with Jane Russell, Puddles Podell in MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR with Gene Kelly & Natalie Wood, Fig King in A DREAM OF KINGS and Professor Heigner in the 1978 drive-in/1980's cable staple THE SENIORS.

With Anthony Quinn and Val Avery in A DREAM OF KINGS

George Raft, Peggy Garner and Reed in NOB HILL

With Richard Egan and Jane Russell in MAMIE STOVER

Reed's many other voice

over credits on TV & film include:

CAPTAIN CAVEMAN AND THE TEEN ANGELS, SPACE GHOST, ALICE IN WONDERLAND OR WHAT'S A NICE KID LIKE, 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS, YOU DOING IN A PLACE LIKE THIS, HOPPITY HOOPER, GET SMART, STOP! LOOK! AND LAUGH!, ANDY'S GANG, the Goofy shorts TEACHER'S ARE PEOPLE, FATHER'S DAY OFF, & TWO WEEKS VACATION, FIRST FAMILY OF THE STONE AGE, FRED FLINTSTONE AND FRIENDS, THE FLINTSTONE COMEDY HOUR and Big Bill in 1970's SHINBONE ALLEY.

Big Bill (Reed) and the alley cat Mehitabel (Carol Channing)

in SHINBONE ALLEY

TWO WEEKS VACATION

His many other on-camera film and TV credits include:

The auctioneer in the classic The Masterpiece episode of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, EMERGENCY WEDDING, HERE COMES THE GROOM, GERALDINE, WOMAN'S WORLD, KISS OF FIRE, HE LAUGHED LAST (as Big Dan Hennessy), HAVE GUN--WILL TRAVEL, MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY, BATMAN, Uncle Leo in the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS episode Alibi Me, HONEY WEST, M SQUAD, TIME TABLE, THE LIFE OF RILEY, GOODYEAR PLAYHOUSE, THE PEOPLE CHOICE, STUDIO 57, THE DONNA REED SHOW, JOHNNY MIDNIGHT, PETER GUNN, MY FAVORITE MARTIAN, THE LUCY SHOW, MICKEY, DR. KILDARE, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, THE GERTRUDE BERG SHOW, THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, PETTICOAT JUNCTION, a couple of detectives in PICKUP ON A SOUTH STREET & THE DESPERATE HOURS and many more.