Alan Reed was a powerful and rugged presence on both film and television in the 1940s and 1950s, but he would be most remembered for his distinctive and gruff voice on radio and television.
In 1960, he brought to life the iconic and bombastic prehistoric cartoon character Fred Flintstone on the prime-time television series The Flintstones, a character inspired by the husband of Ralph Kramden from the popular earlier sitcom The Honeymooners.
Born Herbert Theodore Bergman on August 20, 1907, in New York City to Jewish parents of Lithuanian and 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 acting and studied at the Provincetown Playhouse and toured in vaudeville shows, supplementing his income by operating a candy factory and working 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 and was well-suited for radio, becoming a prime announcer for that medium.
He was featured on many of 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," and "My Friend Irma."
Once in Hollywood, Reed deserted the Bergman name completely, sporting a comic Runyonesque appeal, and played in such films as The Redhead and the Cowboy, Emergency Wedding, and Here Comes the Groom.
His more dramatic roles came with The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Desperate Hours, and one of his most unusual parts was his portrayal of Pancho Villa in Viva Zapata! starring Marlon Brando.
He also supplied the voice of "Boris" in Disney's Lady and the Tramp, and featured in many television shows, with the popular prehistoric cartoon and its various offshoots making up most of his later work after The Flintstones premiered.
Long married to a former Broadway actress, Finette Walker, one of their three children, actor/producer Alan Reed Jr., entered show business as a teenager, and 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 the age of 69 on June 14, 1977.
