Alan Reed

Alan Reed was born on Aug 20, 1907 in USA. Alan Reed's big-screen debut came with Porky's Romance directed by Frank Tashlin in 1937, strarring Opening Announcer (voice, unconfirmed, uncredited). Alan Reed is known for Heidi in the Mountains directed by Isao Takahata, Randi Kiger stars as Heidi and Vic Perrin as Grandfather. The most recent award Alan Reed achieved is Online Film & Television Association. The upcoming new movie Alan Reed plays is Heidi in the Mountains which will be released on Mar 17, 1979.

Character player Alan Reed was a strong, gruff, burly presence on '40s and '50s film and TV but he would be best remembered for his equally strong, gruff, distinctive voice on radio and TV. In 1960, he gave vocal life to the bombastic prehistoric cartoon character Fred Flintstone on the prime-time TV series Les Pierrafeu (1960), the character being inspired by the Ralph Cramden husband on the popular earlier sitcom The Honeymooners (1955). It is this direct association that continues to keep his name alive today. Reed himself thought up and introduced the Flintstonian catchphrase "Yabba dabba doo!" (improvised from a script calling for Fred to say "Yahoo!") for his beloved animated character to the delight of children everywhere.Born Herbert Theodore Bergman on August 20, 1907 in New York City, to Jewish parents of Lithuanian/Ukrainian descent, he received his early education at Washington High School and studied theatre at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After majoring in journalism at Columbia University, he decided to pursue to acting at such places as Provincetown Playhouse and toured in vaudeville shows. He supplemented his income operating a candy factory and worked as a social director at a country club.A master of over 22 foreign dialects, Reed also worked steadily on Broadway with the Theatre Guild. His vocal talents were well suited for radio, becoming a prime announcer for that medium. In addition to billing himself as Teddy Bergman, he sometimes was credited under the moniker Alan Reed for more dramatic parts, eventually settling in on the Reed name. Reed was featured on the best radio shows of the time including "The Shadow," "Crime Doctor," "Abie's Irish Rose," "The Life of Riley," "The Fred Allen Show," "Life with Luigi" (which he later took to TV), and "My Friend Irma."Once in Hollywood, Reed deserted the Bergman name completely. Sporting a comic Runyonesque appeal, he played in such fare as Tête d'or et tête de bois (1951), Coup de foudre (1950), and Si l'on mariait papa (1951). His more dramatic roles came with Le facteur sonne toujours deux fois (1946) and La maison des otages (1955). One of his most unusual parts was his portrayal of Pancho Villa in Viva Zapata ! (1952) starring Marlon Brando. He also supplied the voice of "Boris" in Disney's La Belle et le Clochard (1955). Featured in many TV shows, the popular prehistoric cartoon and its various offshoots made up most of Reed's later work after Les Pierrafeu (1960) premiered.Long married to a former Broadway actress, Finette Walker, one of their three children, actor/producer Toby Reed, entered show business as a teenager. Reed started billing himself as Alan Reed, Sr. to avoid any confusion. Working up until his death, Reed died in Los Angeles from heart disease and emphysema at age 69 on June 14, 1977. Reed's incomplete autobiography was extensively used to publish his son's own biographical tribute: Yabba Dabba Doo: The Alan Reed Story.