Alan Reed

Alan Reed, born Herbert Theodore Bergman on August 20, 1907, in New York City, was an American actor whose career spanned stage, radio, film, television, and voice acting. He is best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on the Hanna-Barbera animated series The Flintstones. Reed died on June 14, 1977, at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles following a heart attack.

Reed was raised in New York City by Jewish parents; his father had emigrated from Lithuania, and his mother was born in the United States to Ukrainian-Jewish parents from Galicia. He attended George Washington High School and studied journalism at Columbia University. Between those two institutions, he trained in drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Before establishing himself as a professional actor, Reed worked in vaudeville alongside his cousin Harry Green, operated a wholesale candy factory, and served as social director, entertainment producer, and actor at the Copake Country Club.

In his early career Reed performed under his birth name, Teddy Bergman. According to his obituary in The New York Times, he adopted the stage name Alan Reed because his Jewish identity had limited his early roles to parts requiring ethnic accents. Billed as Teddy Bergman, he made his Broadway debut in Double Dummy in 1936, followed by A House in the Country in 1937, and Love's Old Sweet Song in 1940. Under his stage name, Reed went on to appear in two additional Broadway productions: the comedy The Pirate and the drama Hope for a Harvest, both between 1940 and 1942.

Reed's radio career was extensive. As early as 1930, billed as Teddy Bergman, he co-starred with Herbert Polesie in Henry and George, a CBS program mixing short dramas and comedies with dance music. His subsequent radio credits included the role of Solomon Levy on Abie's Irish Rose, the character Falstaff Openshaw on Fred Allen's NBC program, and his own five-minute ABC show, Falstaff's Fables. He played Officer Clancey on Duffy's Tavern, Shrevey the driver on The Shadow, Chester Riley's boss on The Life of Riley, and Italian immigrant Pasquale on Life with Luigi. He also appeared in supporting roles on Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, and as Lt. Walter Levinson in several episodes of Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Reed was heard regularly on the Crime Doctor series, held the title role on Joe Palooka, and was the original actor to play Daddy opposite Fanny Brice on Baby Snooks.

In film, Reed appeared in Days of Glory, Nob Hill, Viva Zapata!, The Tarnished Angels, and Breakfast at Tiffany's. His television work included a recurring role as studio boss J.B. Hafter on the CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve from 1957 to 1958, the same character on The Bob Cummings Show, Councilman Jack Gramby in an episode of My Favorite Martian in 1963, and a recurring role as Mr. Swidler on the ABC sitcom Mickey from 1964 to 1965.

Reed's voice work became the most enduring dimension of his career. In 1955 he provided the voice of Boris the Russian Wolfhound in Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp. In 1960 he originated the role of Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera's prime-time animated series, and voiced the character across all six seasons of the show's original run. He continued in the role through spin-off series including The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and The Flintstone Comedy Hour, as well as various specials. His final performance as Fred Flintstone was a cameo on Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics. Reed also voiced Dum Dum, the sidekick of Touché Turtle, for Hanna-Barbera, and served as the voice of J.J. Keebler in television commercials for the Leo Burnett Agency. In 1969, radio playwright and director Norman Corwin cast Reed as Santa Claus in a KCET television reading of Corwin's 1938 play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas.

In May 1932, Reed married Finette Walker, a Broadway actress born in 1909, whom he had met at television station W2XAB in New York City. Walker had appeared on stage in the early 1930s and was a chorus member in the original 1934 Broadway production of Anything Goes. The couple had three sons, including actor Alan Reed, Jr., born in 1936. Reed was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1967, which was treated surgically, and later developed emphysema. He died on June 14, 1977, two months before his seventieth birthday.