Alan Young papers (ARA), 1940s-2010s

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
Young, Alan, 1919-2016
Abstract:
The Alan Young papers consists of materials pertaining to the career of Alan Young between 1940-2010. The material in this collection are made up of scripts for radio, television, movies, plays and musicals, photographs, art work, memorabilia, magazines and audio/visual materials. Some of Young's most notable works include Mister Ed, Androcles and the Lion, Tom Thumb, and The Time Machine. He was also the voice actor for characters like Scrooge McDuck and Farmer Smurf, among other performances.
Extent:
20 Linear Feet; (20 boxes: 10 cartons, 3 document boxes, 5 flat boxes, 2 tubes)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Alan Young papers, PA Mss 192. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

The Alan Young papers consists of 24 boxes, or 20 linear feet of materials pertaining to the career of Alan Young between 1940-2010. The materials in this collection are made up of scripts for radio, television, movies, plays and musicals, photographs, art work, memorabilia, magazines and audio/visual recordings.

Biographical / historical:

Alan Young was born on November 19, 1919, in Tynemouth, England by the name of Angus Young. When he was around 6 or 7, he and his family moved to Canda where, while bed-ridden from asthma from age 10-17, he found solice in listening to The Jack Benny Program and other comedy radio shows. After a start in Canadian radio at the age of 13, Young moved to American radio with The Alan Young Show in 1944. His film debut was Margie in 1946 and a year later his radio show moved to TV. Other movies followed, including Androcles and the Lion (1952), Tom Thumb (1958), and The Time Machine (1960). He is best known, however, for Mister Ed (1961-1966), a CBS television series, in which he starred as Wilbur Post, the owner of Mr. Ed, a talking horse. Young's voice-over roles include Scrooge McDuck in numerous Disney films and in the popular series DuckTales and roles in The Great Mouse Detective, Batman: The Animated Series, The Smurfs, and The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries. In 1997, he did the voice of Haggis McMutton in the PC game The Curse of Monkey Island.

Custodial history:

This collection forms part of the American Radio Archives (ARA), which documents the early history of broadcasting, with an emphasis on California. The ARA was formerly housed at the Thousand Oaks Public Library and was owned and administered by the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation. It was transferred to the UCSB Library in 2021.

Arrangement:

The material in this collection are arranged in seven series by type.

  • Series 1, Scripts
  • Series 2, Personal Papers
  • Series 3, Photographs
  • Series 4, Musical Scores
  • Series 5, Manuscripts
  • Series 6, Publicity Material
  • Series 7, Audio/Visual Material

Physical location:
Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.

All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Alan Young papers, PA Mss 192. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062