TV & Film

A lively tribute to the life of character actor and cartoon voice Alan Reed, spiced by background music and audio clips of radio/TV shows and movies. Most of it is read
by Alan Reed Jr. (whose father had died in 1977) but there are some bits spoken
by Reed himself from 1970s interviews. Joe Barbera is heard commenting on Alan's
work with The Flintstones (as Fred) and the creation of the series. Bill Marx narrates
some letters Fred Allen wrote to Reed.

Teddy Bergman, later to become Alan Reed, was determined to be a stage actor, including
a job in Oklahoma City and a dramatic academy. He found his way into what we now call old time radio (comedy/drama) and there are many clips of hilarious or dramatic
moments from Baby Snooks, The Shadow, Fred Allen (where he did the Falstaff
character), The Mel Blanc Show (an early partnership, years before they played
Fred and Barney). Movie clips, too, and it's amazing to hear all the parts Alan played
over the years. Joe Bevilacqua, who turns up doing some narration, puts in backing
music and various clips which make this a nostalgia trip into the Golden Age of
Radio. I really enjoyed all the clips, the inside info, and the journey into the life of
a skillful character actor--the man who decided the best way to express
Fred Flintstone's exuberance at life was to shout out, "Yabba Dabba Doo!"