365 Days in Horse Country – Mr. Ed
“A horse is a horse, of course.” So begins the theme song
to “Mr. Ed”, one of the most popular television shows of the 1960s.
Staring a palomino gelding named Bamboo Harvester, “Mr. Ed” featured a talking horse who would only speak in front of his owner, Wilbur Post. The horse would get Wilbure into all kinds of trouble with his misbevaviours and refusal to verify Wilbur’s claims that he had a talking horse.
Bamboo Harvester was a skilled trick horse who could do things like open doors, anser the phone, and write with a pencil. He also wiggled his upper lip to appear as if he was talking. This was achieved by trainer Les Hilton, who ran a nylon thread under the horse’s top lip. When the thread was jiggled, Ed’s lip wiggled.
Mr. Ed is probably the most famous equine television star to ever grace the small screen. He won the coveted PATSY award, given to animal actors, no fever than four times between 1962 and 1965.
Michael