I was lucky enough to meet him when I was a kid when he ran an import-export business off Hollywood Blvd (I believe it was) called Alan Reed Enterprises. You could find a lot of Flintstones souvenirs in the store along with gift and specialty items. Nice guy. I was absolutely thrilled to shake his hand. All these people gave us memories we will always treasure.
I've seen that episode of The Beverly Hillbillies dozens of times. But I never realized the wrestling promoter was the same guy who was the voice of Fred Flintstone!!! Now I just hope a big cat doesn't pick him up and set him outside the door and lock it. WILMAAAAAA!!!!!!! LOL
He definitely looks like Hanna and Barbera drew the likeness of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed. Dark hair combed over, big nose, large facial creases around his mouth, always wears a suit and tie.
And if you see George O'Hanlon, the guy that does George Jetson's voice...tall, thin face, long thin nose, light brown hair...you can't help but wonder if they drew George Jetson's likness after him, too.
It is really sad that all of the cast of the Flintstones are now no longer with us, with the passing of Harvey Korman a couple of years ago. His "Great Gazoo" Martian character was funny, because Korman himself was a very talented and genuinely funny man- especially on the old Carol Burnett show.
Except for a few really good voice actors today, there really aren't that many talented voice actors still alive anymore like Paul Frees, Vic Perrin, Mel Blanc, and Don Messick.
@ttfn101 The only ones from that era still alive today is Gary Owens, who voiced "Space Ghost" amongst many others, and Mike Roads who was the phenomenal voice of Reed Richards in Fantastic Four, and Race Bannon in Jonny Quest. I believe at this moment, he is still alive, but he is in his late 90's in age. The other great voice that most don't know about is Michael Rye, who voiced the Lone Ranger radio serials, and
The Green Lantern from the Superfriends cartoons in the '70's and '80's.
@ttfn101 actually....not all ...but they're late 80's and early 90's.....June Foray is 93 (various characters) and John Stephenson is 87 (Mr. Slate and various characters)......yeah ...go figure Mr Slate!!....whose voice sounded like he would have been in his 60's, but the guy was in his late 30's and early 40's during The Flintstones run.
@karenpato1: You're right about those two. I had forgotten about Foray, who did the voice of Pebbles as her main voice character (Don Messick was Bam Bam). I had thought that John Stephenson had passed away years ago. I cannot believe that both he and June are still alive after all these years. I saw him on an old episode of Perry Mason from the early 1960's, and he was old even back then!
The other Flintstones voice actor who passed away in 2005 was Howard Morris, who had GREAT voice talent!
@ttfn101 Howard Morris was also the insane Enest.T.Bass on 'The Andy Griffith Show', aside from doing so many Hanna-Barbera character. I miss that guy!
@jasobres- Yes, Bea was the first voice of Betty on The Flintstones, and she was also on the BHB show as well from time to time, as well as "Petticoat Junction".
She was replaced by Gerry Johnson as voice of Betty after Bea passed away.
alan Reed was more than just Fred Flintstone; he was a very versatile comic radio actor. He was Falstaff Openshaw, the poet on the Fred Allen Show, Pasquale the pizzeria owner on Life With Luigi, Clancy the Irish cop on Duffy's Tavern, Riley's boss on Life Of Riley and many others. He was also the voice of BORIS the russian wolfhound in Lady and the Tramp.
Fred Flintstone was just the crowning glory of a great comic voice career.
@giovannimacaroni Thanks for the info on Mr. Reed...to me Fred Flintstone died when Alan Reed died...I have read that the reason that he never voiced many other charcters on the show (unlike Mr. Blanc, who was resposible for, shall we say a 'few' voices in his day)...was that his voice was so powerful and distictive that it was impossible for him to do a voice that wasn't easily recognized as his....thanks for posting...always cool to see him..
@joeyvader: Yeah, I agree with you. Alan WAS Fred Flintstone, and could never be replace. Henry Corden, who recently passed away, did an okay job as the voice of Fred, but no one could replace Alan.
If you watch "Family Guy", Seth McFarland has an occasional Fred Flintstone sight-gag / pop-in moment, and Jeff Bergman does Fred Flintstone's voice then, and Jeff does an OUTSTANDING job as a great replacement for Fred.
Alan Reed had a great voice for Fred, as well as Blanc being Barney Rubble.
@ttfn101 Oh yeah...it's obvious that McFarlane is a huge Flintstone fan, with many references to them...I think Dawes Butler did Barney's voice on a handful of episodes....maybe Mel Blanc out with laryngitis or something...? And yer right...McFarlane is a great voice actor as well..
@joeyvader: Mel Blanc was involved in a car accident during the filming of The Flintstones, and because of that. he was replaced for an episode or two while he recovered. In fact, even before Blanc got out of the hospital and while still in bed, he taped his Barney Rubble voice-over work while still in the Hospital!
@ttfn101 Cool info...here's another bit of 'Stones trivia...originally they were to be called "The Flagstones", but shortly before airing the name was changed to avoid confusion between them and Hi and Lois's character names in the comic strip "Hi and Lois".....which was "Flagston'..
alan Reed was more than just Fred Flintstone; he was a very versatile comic radio actor. He was Falstaff Openshaw, the poet on the Fred Allen Show, Pasquale the pizzeria owner on Life With Luigi, Clancy the Irish cop on Duffy's Tavern, Riley's boss on Life Of Riley and many others. He was also the voice of BORIS the russian wolfhound in Lady and the Tramp.
Fred Flinstone was just the crowning glory of a great comic voice career.
Oh, It's the Beverly Hillbillies on 'TV Land' back when TV Land showed great Old classic shows. I signed up for expanded cable a few years back just to get TV Land & can't believe how much this cable Channel sucks. Pure shit like 'Raymond', 'The Nanny' & a glut of 'Reality Programming'. God this channel sucks now.
i loved the flintstones and now my 5 year old son dose to you couldnt watch this show and not think of fread i agree about the honeymooners 2 great shows
Whoa!!! I've seen this episode numerous times and never knew this was Allan Reed. This was also, the first time I had an idea of pro-wrestlings "kayfabe". You better belive "Dr.D" David Schultz would've slap the script writers, in the ear.
Henry Corden, the second Fred Flintstone, was mentioned. He voiced Arnie Barkley in NBC's The Barkleys--an Archie Bunker-like bus driver. Some feel Ralph Kramden and Archie Bunker were similar characters, the working class loudmouth dad from NYC. Having Arnie be a bus driver was a def. throwback to Honeymooners (and Arnie's wife in the show, Agnes, was much like Edith Bunker but Barkley was All In The Family inspired as it was.)
It's weird hearing Fred Flintstones vioce come from a regular human. lol But somebody's doing Fred's voice. The same for Nancy Cartwright for Bart Simpson's voice. lol
I remember seeing this episode as a kid and freaking out when I heard the voice of the wrestling promoter. I actually blurted out, "Holy SHIT!! It's FRED FLINTSTONE!!!" Which, as you might guess, caused my parents to stare at my dumb ass. (This clip has to be from around 1965, right?) Surprisingly, I didn't get punished for it (the ONLY time I ever swore as a kid and didn't catch hell).
"Family Guy" and "Robot Chicken" have a guy who does Fred when they do parody skits of "The Flintstones". I don't know what his name is but he does a pretty good job, closer to Alan Reed's Fred than Henry Corden sounded. I wonder if it was Seth MacFarlane doing Fred in those shows?
@elc1960: The guy who does the voice of Fred Flintstone on Family Guy is Jeff Bergman, who is fantastic as the voice of Fred. I would LOVE to see Bergman on the show as Fred more often. Bergman is a great voice actor, like McFarlane, and should be on the show.
Bergman did a far better job of Fred than the late Henry Corden, who ironically, was ALSO on The Flintstones show back in the 1960's playing various different voice roles on that show. He mainly voice tough-guy characters on that show.
Actually, his name is Jeff Bergman, and he does the best Alan Reed/Fred Flintstone impersonation I have ever heard. He is almost identical to Reed's Flintstone voice. The late Henry Cordon was just okay as Fred Flintstone. He just didn't have any vocal range talents that could completely mimic Reed's work. Oddly enough, Corden also voiced a couple of Characters on the old Flintstones cartoon from time to time, along with Alan Reed, Mel Blanc, Harvey Korman, and the talented Howard Morris.
True, but you have to admit that Corden was probably the only one around that time who was best qualified at being the voice for Fred Flintstone. You can hear the difference between the two, especially when they both yell, "Yabba dabba doo!"
That may be true at that time. Corden's voice sounded like Fred in a way, and maybe the show's producers couldn't come up with a decent replacement for Reed in the early '80's, and had to turn to him when no one else could be found.
Corden's most famous work was from the Jonny Quest and the Flinstones cartoons in the early 1960's, I think.
What was funny to see, was when he guest starred on an occasional episode of The Monkeys. Weird to see him and then hear him at the same time.
@ttfn101 Sounds to me that when Reed got sick in the 1970's......Hanna-Barbera pulled the same crap Columbia did with the Three Stooges....got somebody (Cordon) that was already employed or contracted with the company, instead of auditioning for a credible voice or personality. The Flintstones were already canceled by 1966 but still had commercials after the series and The Pebbles and Bamm Bamm show in 1971 which I believe Reed was apart of........Laff-alympics and Christmas specials was Cordon.
@Ray364 Absolutely "The Flintstones" was a stone-age ripoff of "The Honeymooners." Not only does Fred sound and act like Ralph Kramden, Barney sounds a lot like Art Carney's Norton, at least as long as he was voiced by the legendary Mel Blanc. And Fred's wife Wilma sounds a great deal like Gleason's TV wife Audrey Meadows to further the comparison.
@Ray364 In fact, the Flintstone's WAS inspired by The Honeymooner's and there are many similarities in the characters. Barney, though shorter, was cut from the same cloth as Art Carney's Ed Norton.
@Ray364: Yes, the Flintstones were the cartoon equivalent of The Honeymooners. Hanna-Barbera was asked to make a cartoon version of The Honeymooners, and their idea was to make The Honeymooners, but with a slight twist to it- make it in the Stone Age, so they came up with The Flintstones, and the rest was history.
The Character of Fred was the cartoon version of Ralph Cramden (Jackie Gleason), and Barney Rubble was Fred's Art Carney sidekick on the cartoon.
Now that I think about it, I think both Reed and Cordon where the film "The Man Called Flintsone". Reed voiced Fred, but it definitely sounded like Henry Cordon did Fred's singing in that movie. Which was weird...because Alan Reed could sing and DID do Fred's singing in the TV show.
@Odawg96 Actually, according to interviews on the box set DVD's, Alan Reed only sang when Fred was supposed to sound like Fred, i.e. off key and loud. Henry Corden provided Fred's singing voice when he was supposed to carry a tune like in "Listen to the Rockin' Bird".
Alan Reed...the ORIGINAL and BEST version of Fred Flinstone. Yeah, Henry Cordon was the guy I heard in the PEBBLES commercials and all those Saturday Morning Flinstone shows in the 80s, but Alan Reed was the man. And don't forget he was also DUM-DUM from the Touche Turtle seris!
They have been trying to find someone to do Fred's voice since the early 70s and no one can duplicate Reed's voice. BTW, this is my favorite Beverly Hillbillies episode.
guess what? he was my great grampa too!!! hi kristie, its jessica!!! im on my dads youtube because im very bored... But its true! alan reed was our great grandfather...
There are some actors that you will always identify with one character, no matter what they are doing. Alan Reed is one of them. Close your eyes and listen to him talk here and you can see Fred hatching one of his get-rich-quick schemes.
Believe it or not yes it is. That is why there is Fred Flintstone looks more alive than all the other characters. The voice of Barney Rubble (MEL BLANC) is not the actual voice. It's just one of his 1000 voices that he made up. So when you hear Fred talks, You hear the actual voice of Alan Reed. It is safe to say that Fred Flintstone the voice behind Alan Reed.
Interestingly, "Flintstones" cast members Alan Reed, Bea Benadaret, and Mel Blanc all appeared on "The Beverly Hillbillies" (as did John Stephenson, the voice of Mr. Slate).
not only that, but Bea Benadaret was the star of "Petticoat Junction" from 1963 until her death in 1968. Bea had played Pearl Bodine, Jethro's mother, on and off in "The Beverly Hillbillies" and then took on the role of Kate Bradley on "Petticoat Junction". This show is what caused her to vacate her role as Betty on "The Flintstones".
It came as a result of Bea Benadaret playing Pearl on "The Beverly Hillbilles". Though she nearly spent six seasons playing Kate Bradley on "Petticoat Junction", she managed to find time to play Pearl one more time on "The Beverly Hillbillies" (in her only appearance on the show in color). I always thought she was the best Betty Rubble. Ironically, Bea died of lung cancer the same year as her "Burns & Allen Show" costar Fred Clark (the third Harry Morton).
I tracked down John's appearance on "The Beverly Hillbillies". He plays Mr Landman and is questioning the Clampette's income taxes. When one closes their eyes and listens to him talk you can tell how perfect his natural speaking voice was in those authoritative cartoon roles he was cast in. His scene with Granny is hilarious.
He also played the teacher to Sheila James' character in which she accused Drysdale of putting them in their cabin (do you know what the name of that character was, too?)
Henry took over from Alan Reed when he died in 1977. Henry was the voice of Fred Flintstone for the next 28 years! It was Henry Corden was the grumpy landlord in the Monkees show. It's Alan Reed who is credited with coming up with "Yabba Dabba Dooo!"
Henry has done other cartoon roles...one role far removed from Fred is a character known as Bump on CB BEARS. He did a lot of work for Hanna-Barbera as you pointed out...working for them for nearly 30 years until his death in 2005.
An irony is that Alan originated the voice of Fred Flintstone and voiced the character in the 1960's and anytime the character was used in the 1970's up until 1977...but Henry was the voice of the character much longer but it's Alan who gets the notoriety.
Alan Reed died in 1977,so that's why he never had the opportunity to work in the 1994 Flintstones movie. He would have loved to see Roseanne star John Goodman as Fred Flintstone. And another actor who played Fred in 2000's THE FLINSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS.
Coincidentally, Alan had a voice as you heard, that was similar to Jackie Gleason's 'Ralph Kramden' character...and after the demo reel for the show was completely re-tooled, Alan and Mel Blanc became the voices of Fred and Barney. In the demo reel, called The Flagstones, Daws Butler did both voices.
Alan also played a couple of popular characters on radio. He played Falstaff Openshaw, a poet, who lived in ALLEN'S ALLEY in the early years of that sketch on Fred Allen's program. He was also the character, Pasquale, on the radio program LIFE WITH LUIGI. When Alan passed away, Henry Corden took over the voice of Fred Flintstone. Alan last gave voice to Fred in a 1977 episode of LAFF-A-LYMPICS...Fred made a guest appearance. Alan spoke in his natural voice in mostly all his roles.
I'm sure Reed was the most relaxed dude in the Flintstone recording studio, need only using his original voice tone; while his colleague, Mel Blanc, turned blue in the face having to adjust his voice several different octaves for the variety of characters he played on that one show alone—from Barney Rubble to the various wisecracking, household appliances. "Squawk! It's a shitty job, but it's a living! Squawk!"
I guarantee that Mel Blanc never turned blue in the face doing his characters. The man was such a voice genius that he made it look easy. He was and still is so far above any other voice actor that it's almost scary. He really was THAT good.
Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Don Messick, Paul Frees, June Foray, and Frank Welker are who I'd put on the Mount Rushmore of Voice Acting. This isn't to say nobody else is any good. I'm just going by the sheer number of characters those 6 brought to life. it takes 6 or 7 voice actors to tackle the roles Mel Blanc did
Alan Reed would be in the same category of Casey Kasem, Gary Owens, Sterling Holloway, and others who used their distinct natural voice for most of the cartoon characters they voiced.
Mel, like the other voice actors I named, could go from one character to the next without missing a beat. I've seen Mel on many episodes of Jack Benny's TV show...heard a lot of his characters on Jack's radio show, too.
According to Mel Blanc in his autobiography, Reed had gulp down spoonfuls of honey to coat his throat so he wouldn't strain it while exclaiming the famous line, "Yabba Dabba Doo"! Reed respected Blanc for his professionalism when he bedridden after an auto accident when he continued to voice Barney Rubble (also in the book, where there's a photo with Reed and Blanc which miscredits Reed as Joe Barbera).
When I first saw this clip, I was waiting for Reed to say "Hey Barn or Wilma". Alan got started in vaudeville and made tons of cameos. He did Fred the best. Henry Corden was good but not as good as this guy
This made my heart all warm and fuzzy. That's rare.
TheVilllageIdiot 3 weeks ago
Fred and Barney were something else...
TheAmbassador11 1 month ago
His voice could echo all the way to China!.
zaxxon83 2 months ago
I think you mean Fred Flintstone as the voice of Alan Reed lol
mo389 2 months ago
Wilmaaaa!!
cmburke7 2 months ago
Don't forget that he wasn't just known for Fred Flintstone. He also did the vocal honors for Big Bill the alley cat in the movie Shinbone Alley.
baarbear 3 months ago
@baarbear Don't forget Pasquali in Life with Luigi !
reddfigg 1 month ago
Wow fantastic find
silvereagle2061 3 months ago
fred!!!
phoobear331 4 months ago
I've always liked Fred Flintstone's voice
FrauKaulitz1 5 months ago 7
I was lucky enough to meet him when I was a kid when he ran an import-export business off Hollywood Blvd (I believe it was) called Alan Reed Enterprises. You could find a lot of Flintstones souvenirs in the store along with gift and specialty items. Nice guy. I was absolutely thrilled to shake his hand. All these people gave us memories we will always treasure.
ClyneDDW 5 months ago
alan reed was the best voice actor of fred flinstone,eternal longing
mateus01sp 5 months ago
I've seen that episode of The Beverly Hillbillies dozens of times. But I never realized the wrestling promoter was the same guy who was the voice of Fred Flintstone!!! Now I just hope a big cat doesn't pick him up and set him outside the door and lock it. WILMAAAAAA!!!!!!! LOL
ridgerunner721601 6 months ago
dang thats his normal voice huh
AmericanPride1234 6 months ago
Biggest fan lol rip always be remebered
michael200464449 7 months ago
He Even LOOKS Like Fred Flinstone
Idolfan21785 8 months ago 11
@Idolfan21785
He definitely looks like Hanna and Barbera drew the likeness of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed. Dark hair combed over, big nose, large facial creases around his mouth, always wears a suit and tie.
And if you see George O'Hanlon, the guy that does George Jetson's voice...tall, thin face, long thin nose, light brown hair...you can't help but wonder if they drew George Jetson's likness after him, too.
MrWilliamtom 3 months ago
It is good to see the person behind the voices of the original cartoons . They don't make them like the good ole days.
labelashavoc 8 months ago
such a trip to see him
PeterMayer 8 months ago
Anyone else think he kinda looks like James Gandolfini?
TheCovenantProgress 8 months ago
Cool.
Anything chance you can upload jean vander pyl (best known for voice of wilma flintstone) ?
antlantis7 9 months ago
Yabba dabba doo
UglySean 9 months ago
and Alan Reed was almost 10 years older than Jackie Gleason
nobodysperfect06 9 months ago
This guy had the best speaking and yelling voice!!!
karenpato1 10 months ago
Yabba-dabba-doo!!!
drummer4theperish 10 months ago
It is really sad that all of the cast of the Flintstones are now no longer with us, with the passing of Harvey Korman a couple of years ago. His "Great Gazoo" Martian character was funny, because Korman himself was a very talented and genuinely funny man- especially on the old Carol Burnett show.
Except for a few really good voice actors today, there really aren't that many talented voice actors still alive anymore like Paul Frees, Vic Perrin, Mel Blanc, and Don Messick.
ttfn101 10 months ago
@ttfn101 The only ones from that era still alive today is Gary Owens, who voiced "Space Ghost" amongst many others, and Mike Roads who was the phenomenal voice of Reed Richards in Fantastic Four, and Race Bannon in Jonny Quest. I believe at this moment, he is still alive, but he is in his late 90's in age. The other great voice that most don't know about is Michael Rye, who voiced the Lone Ranger radio serials, and
The Green Lantern from the Superfriends cartoons in the '70's and '80's.
ttfn101 10 months ago
@ttfn101 actually....not all ...but they're late 80's and early 90's.....June Foray is 93 (various characters) and John Stephenson is 87 (Mr. Slate and various characters)......yeah ...go figure Mr Slate!!....whose voice sounded like he would have been in his 60's, but the guy was in his late 30's and early 40's during The Flintstones run.
karenpato1 10 months ago
@karenpato1: You're right about those two. I had forgotten about Foray, who did the voice of Pebbles as her main voice character (Don Messick was Bam Bam). I had thought that John Stephenson had passed away years ago. I cannot believe that both he and June are still alive after all these years. I saw him on an old episode of Perry Mason from the early 1960's, and he was old even back then!
The other Flintstones voice actor who passed away in 2005 was Howard Morris, who had GREAT voice talent!
ttfn101 9 months ago
@ttfn101 Jean vander pyl did the voice of pebbles flintstone.
antlantis7 9 months ago
@ttfn101 Howard Morris was also the insane Enest.T.Bass on 'The Andy Griffith Show', aside from doing so many Hanna-Barbera character. I miss that guy!
Velocity9s 8 months ago
OMG that is so cool!! Every time he opened his mouth all I could see was Fred Flintstone!! LOL!!
thepen10 10 months ago
Nice!
Barclay1987 11 months ago
No looks good
Camy415 11 months ago
Nice annotation at 15 seconds
Camy415 11 months ago
@Camy415 Sorry about that, not sure how that happened. Thanks for pointing it out.
mginsel 11 months ago
Not only was Alan Reed on The Beverly Hillbillies, but Mel Blanc was too. He played a cab driver in a B&W episode.
brianvgplayer 1 year ago
@brianvgplayer Wasn't Bea Benadaret, the voice of Betty, also a cast member?
jasobres 1 year ago
@jasobres No, she was on "Petticoat Junction."
When I close my eyes, I think I'm watching "The Flintstones"!
Thanks for posting!
snoops71 11 months ago
@snoops71 Bea Benadaret was Jed's cousin Pearl, Jethro's mother. She left the show to do become Kate on Petticoat Junction.
jtkirkfan2002 11 months ago
@jtkirkfan2002 I remember that.
snoops71 11 months ago
@jasobres- Yes, Bea was the first voice of Betty on The Flintstones, and she was also on the BHB show as well from time to time, as well as "Petticoat Junction".
She was replaced by Gerry Johnson as voice of Betty after Bea passed away.
ttfn101 10 months ago
alan Reed was more than just Fred Flintstone; he was a very versatile comic radio actor. He was Falstaff Openshaw, the poet on the Fred Allen Show, Pasquale the pizzeria owner on Life With Luigi, Clancy the Irish cop on Duffy's Tavern, Riley's boss on Life Of Riley and many others. He was also the voice of BORIS the russian wolfhound in Lady and the Tramp.
Fred Flintstone was just the crowning glory of a great comic voice career.
giovannimacaroni 1 year ago
@giovannimacaroni Thanks for the info on Mr. Reed...to me Fred Flintstone died when Alan Reed died...I have read that the reason that he never voiced many other charcters on the show (unlike Mr. Blanc, who was resposible for, shall we say a 'few' voices in his day)...was that his voice was so powerful and distictive that it was impossible for him to do a voice that wasn't easily recognized as his....thanks for posting...always cool to see him..
joeyvader 11 months ago
@joeyvader: Yeah, I agree with you. Alan WAS Fred Flintstone, and could never be replace. Henry Corden, who recently passed away, did an okay job as the voice of Fred, but no one could replace Alan.
If you watch "Family Guy", Seth McFarland has an occasional Fred Flintstone sight-gag / pop-in moment, and Jeff Bergman does Fred Flintstone's voice then, and Jeff does an OUTSTANDING job as a great replacement for Fred.
Alan Reed had a great voice for Fred, as well as Blanc being Barney Rubble.
ttfn101 10 months ago
@ttfn101 Oh yeah...it's obvious that McFarlane is a huge Flintstone fan, with many references to them...I think Dawes Butler did Barney's voice on a handful of episodes....maybe Mel Blanc out with laryngitis or something...? And yer right...McFarlane is a great voice actor as well..
joeyvader 10 months ago
@joeyvader: Mel Blanc was involved in a car accident during the filming of The Flintstones, and because of that. he was replaced for an episode or two while he recovered. In fact, even before Blanc got out of the hospital and while still in bed, he taped his Barney Rubble voice-over work while still in the Hospital!
Now that was dedication to his job!
ttfn101 10 months ago
@ttfn101 Cool info...here's another bit of 'Stones trivia...originally they were to be called "The Flagstones", but shortly before airing the name was changed to avoid confusion between them and Hi and Lois's character names in the comic strip "Hi and Lois".....which was "Flagston'..
joeyvader 10 months ago
alan Reed was more than just Fred Flintstone; he was a very versatile comic radio actor. He was Falstaff Openshaw, the poet on the Fred Allen Show, Pasquale the pizzeria owner on Life With Luigi, Clancy the Irish cop on Duffy's Tavern, Riley's boss on Life Of Riley and many others. He was also the voice of BORIS the russian wolfhound in Lady and the Tramp.
Fred Flinstone was just the crowning glory of a great comic voice career.
giovannimacaroni 1 year ago
That Beverly Hillbillies episode has me wondering if Vince McMahon got his ideas from this show. (Joking!) The more things change...
MrsWLeach 1 year ago
Oh, It's the Beverly Hillbillies on 'TV Land' back when TV Land showed great Old classic shows. I signed up for expanded cable a few years back just to get TV Land & can't believe how much this cable Channel sucks. Pure shit like 'Raymond', 'The Nanny' & a glut of 'Reality Programming'. God this channel sucks now.
rleary1 1 year ago
WOW! It is SO weird hearing that voice coming from a real person! Can't think of anyone except Fred Flintstone when I listen.
bashbrannigan 1 year ago
He even looks like Fred...
doublemandala 1 year ago 2
is that secretary majel barrett,the wife of gene roddenberry?
8302967 1 year ago
@8302967 sounds like her, also sounds like wilma a bit, wish i knew for sure!
PhobiaGuy 1 year ago
i loved the flintstones and now my 5 year old son dose to you couldnt watch this show and not think of fread i agree about the honeymooners 2 great shows
tracytcb111111111111 1 year ago
So this is Alan Reed. Nice to have a face to go with Fred. Wonderful, , ,
elsangrecaliente 1 year ago
Whoa!!! I've seen this episode numerous times and never knew this was Allan Reed. This was also, the first time I had an idea of pro-wrestlings "kayfabe". You better belive "Dr.D" David Schultz would've slap the script writers, in the ear.
14DaveHunter 1 year ago
sounds like the same laugh box too.
GuyPyro87 1 year ago
Henry Corden, the second Fred Flintstone, was mentioned. He voiced Arnie Barkley in NBC's The Barkleys--an Archie Bunker-like bus driver. Some feel Ralph Kramden and Archie Bunker were similar characters, the working class loudmouth dad from NYC. Having Arnie be a bus driver was a def. throwback to Honeymooners (and Arnie's wife in the show, Agnes, was much like Edith Bunker but Barkley was All In The Family inspired as it was.)
cartooncoon 1 year ago
So thats what Fred Flintstone looks like!
Dfuq1964 1 year ago
I know it sounds crazy, but seeing this Alan Reed here now, I tend to think Fred Flintstone is voicing him, not the other way around.
TheBoomViper 1 year ago
the actor voice of fred flinstone
rickash55 1 year ago
It's weird hearing Fred Flintstones vioce come from a regular human. lol But somebody's doing Fred's voice. The same for Nancy Cartwright for Bart Simpson's voice. lol
bandet888 1 year ago
One of the girls in our office looks just like the Boston Strong Girl.
zybeco 1 year ago
haha awwh man to be it looks fake cause I don't see fred. It feels like the cartoon is making the voice for the real guy
arualalways 1 year ago
Alan Reed was a wonderful character actor even before he was Fred Flintstone. He made Fred immortal.
Issara98 1 year ago
I remember seeing this episode as a kid and freaking out when I heard the voice of the wrestling promoter. I actually blurted out, "Holy SHIT!! It's FRED FLINTSTONE!!!" Which, as you might guess, caused my parents to stare at my dumb ass. (This clip has to be from around 1965, right?) Surprisingly, I didn't get punished for it (the ONLY time I ever swore as a kid and didn't catch hell).
elc1960 1 year ago
"Family Guy" and "Robot Chicken" have a guy who does Fred when they do parody skits of "The Flintstones". I don't know what his name is but he does a pretty good job, closer to Alan Reed's Fred than Henry Corden sounded. I wonder if it was Seth MacFarlane doing Fred in those shows?
elc1960 1 year ago
@elc1960: The guy who does the voice of Fred Flintstone on Family Guy is Jeff Bergman, who is fantastic as the voice of Fred. I would LOVE to see Bergman on the show as Fred more often. Bergman is a great voice actor, like McFarlane, and should be on the show.
Bergman did a far better job of Fred than the late Henry Corden, who ironically, was ALSO on The Flintstones show back in the 1960's playing various different voice roles on that show. He mainly voice tough-guy characters on that show.
ttfn101 10 months ago
@ttfn101 Thanks for the info.
elc1960 10 months ago
mell blanc of buggs bunny fame was also on the beverly hillbillies he was a cab driver his real voice is like sylvester without the slobbering
losemothergoose 1 year ago
now I can put a face to the voice and it fits perfect....
johnsmdm 1 year ago
How did Fred Flintstone die ?
spazzcat03 1 year ago
@spazzcat03 i think fred flinstone died of old age i seen a movie when he was the star to he was a scientist
losemothergoose 1 year ago
@spazzcat03 the voice of johnny test now voices fred james arnold taylor
oldedrick 1 year ago
@spazzcat03 accident at the quarry
fixedgearplanet 1 year ago
@spazzcat03 He had a heart attack. RIP Allan Reed.
14DaveHunter 1 year ago
@14DaveHunter no he didn't. he died of an illness he had for a long time back in 1977
Jennaflip 1 year ago
Jeff Garlin favors the guy as well. He could probably do a pretty good impression.
filmmakingjoe 1 year ago
wow, fred really looks like alan reed. kick ass.
mattybock 1 year ago
That was Alan Reed in that clip...
BULLITTS67 1 year ago 11
Actually, his name is Jeff Bergman, and he does the best Alan Reed/Fred Flintstone impersonation I have ever heard. He is almost identical to Reed's Flintstone voice. The late Henry Cordon was just okay as Fred Flintstone. He just didn't have any vocal range talents that could completely mimic Reed's work. Oddly enough, Corden also voiced a couple of Characters on the old Flintstones cartoon from time to time, along with Alan Reed, Mel Blanc, Harvey Korman, and the talented Howard Morris.
ttfn101 2 years ago
True, but you have to admit that Corden was probably the only one around that time who was best qualified at being the voice for Fred Flintstone. You can hear the difference between the two, especially when they both yell, "Yabba dabba doo!"
Koolazzmike 2 years ago
That may be true at that time. Corden's voice sounded like Fred in a way, and maybe the show's producers couldn't come up with a decent replacement for Reed in the early '80's, and had to turn to him when no one else could be found.
Corden's most famous work was from the Jonny Quest and the Flinstones cartoons in the early 1960's, I think.
What was funny to see, was when he guest starred on an occasional episode of The Monkeys. Weird to see him and then hear him at the same time.
ttfn101 2 years ago
@ttfn101 Sounds to me that when Reed got sick in the 1970's......Hanna-Barbera pulled the same crap Columbia did with the Three Stooges....got somebody (Cordon) that was already employed or contracted with the company, instead of auditioning for a credible voice or personality. The Flintstones were already canceled by 1966 but still had commercials after the series and The Pebbles and Bamm Bamm show in 1971 which I believe Reed was apart of........Laff-alympics and Christmas specials was Cordon.
karenpato1 10 months ago
@karenpato1 You're right, Alan Reed was part of the Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm cartoon in '71.
snoops71 9 months ago
He sounds like Jackie Gleason (The Honeymooners), whom I believe the Flntstone character was loosely based on.
Ray364 2 years ago 24
@Ray364 don't think it was that loosely based on. The four main characters are all just like the Honeymoon characters!
JBmiddleOFnoWHERE 2 years ago 2
They say no.
Ecksntrick8 1 year ago
@Ray364 I think so too
bandet888 1 year ago
@Ray364 Absolutely "The Flintstones" was a stone-age ripoff of "The Honeymooners." Not only does Fred sound and act like Ralph Kramden, Barney sounds a lot like Art Carney's Norton, at least as long as he was voiced by the legendary Mel Blanc. And Fred's wife Wilma sounds a great deal like Gleason's TV wife Audrey Meadows to further the comparison.
andyinoregon 1 year ago
@Ray364 Well, if you can believe it; Stimpy from Ren and Stimpy was Voice Actor Billy West's impression of Larry Fine from the Three Stooges.
terrybrass 1 year ago
@Ray364 In fact, the Flintstone's WAS inspired by The Honeymooner's and there are many similarities in the characters. Barney, though shorter, was cut from the same cloth as Art Carney's Ed Norton.
MrsWLeach 1 year ago
@Ray364: Yes, the Flintstones were the cartoon equivalent of The Honeymooners. Hanna-Barbera was asked to make a cartoon version of The Honeymooners, and their idea was to make The Honeymooners, but with a slight twist to it- make it in the Stone Age, so they came up with The Flintstones, and the rest was history.
The Character of Fred was the cartoon version of Ralph Cramden (Jackie Gleason), and Barney Rubble was Fred's Art Carney sidekick on the cartoon.
ttfn101 10 months ago
@Ray364 Indeed he was!
ARBELL1982 3 months ago
He looks like Fred Flinstone.
matrox 2 years ago 3
Now that I think about it, I think both Reed and Cordon where the film "The Man Called Flintsone". Reed voiced Fred, but it definitely sounded like Henry Cordon did Fred's singing in that movie. Which was weird...because Alan Reed could sing and DID do Fred's singing in the TV show.
Odawg96 2 years ago
@Odawg96 Actually, according to interviews on the box set DVD's, Alan Reed only sang when Fred was supposed to sound like Fred, i.e. off key and loud. Henry Corden provided Fred's singing voice when he was supposed to carry a tune like in "Listen to the Rockin' Bird".
jtkirkfan2002 1 year ago
Alan Reed...the ORIGINAL and BEST version of Fred Flinstone. Yeah, Henry Cordon was the guy I heard in the PEBBLES commercials and all those Saturday Morning Flinstone shows in the 80s, but Alan Reed was the man. And don't forget he was also DUM-DUM from the Touche Turtle seris!
Odawg96 2 years ago
They have been trying to find someone to do Fred's voice since the early 70s and no one can duplicate Reed's voice. BTW, this is my favorite Beverly Hillbillies episode.
tonywallacess45 2 years ago
Wow!! Finally I know who Fred Flinstone is.
Keoisyodaddy 2 years ago
very cool. love that voice. weird to see the man behind the voice.
itsaguinness 2 years ago
I beleive his real name was was Ted Bergmann.
boutteperry 2 years ago
@boutteperry, it was, though he was credited mostly as Teddy Bergman.
vividwatch47 2 years ago
And Bea Benederet (Betty Rubble) was the mom on Pettycoat Junction. Would love to have seen the two of them together.
tlyoung88 2 years ago
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icartoon2 2 years ago
It's a trip!
DigitalPraise7 2 years ago
Damn you all are dropping knowledge
116Eggleston 2 years ago
I've seen that episode at least a hundred times and I've never picked up on that actor being Fred's voice. Thanks.
Statick1 2 years ago
i know u probly wont believe me but im not lying. Alan Reed was my great grandpa. i never got to meet him :( he died when my dad was a kid.
Kristiepie123 2 years ago 3
if he got any royalties from that show you guys should be loaded, I'm watching Flintstones on Boomerang right now lol.
King1of1Htown 2 years ago
Comment removed
AMouthFullOfTruth 2 years ago
lol
My grandads nephew is Richard Branson
Why The Fuck am i not rich!
Alannbitchh 2 years ago
@Kristiepie123
guess what? he was my great grampa too!!! hi kristie, its jessica!!! im on my dads youtube because im very bored... But its true! alan reed was our great grandfather...
smdmf 1 year ago
@smdmf Hey!!! yeah. he is. :)
Kristiepie123 1 year ago
Yes, Alan Reed was also Touche Turtle's sidekick, Dum Dum.
JerryM69 2 years ago
There are some actors that you will always identify with one character, no matter what they are doing. Alan Reed is one of them. Close your eyes and listen to him talk here and you can see Fred hatching one of his get-rich-quick schemes.
jtkirkfan2002 2 years ago
That was actually how Alan Reed sounded, doing the voice of Fred Flintstone
wilsonmjw2001 2 years ago
Alan Reed is the best!
Jeff Bergman does an EXCELLENT impression of the Alan Reed Fred Flintstones. The was the voice over artist on "The Flintstones on the Rocks"
Aeolis7 2 years ago
His Infamous line was This is Fred Hospital, I'm Taking My Wife To the Flintstone.
Fartingbellybutton 2 years ago
AWESOME VOICE FRED RULES!
briansith 2 years ago 2
cool but almost wish i had not of seen it :(
doug291961 2 years ago
Wow....... is that his NORMAL voice? LOL
esmajor 2 years ago 2
Believe it or not yes it is. That is why there is Fred Flintstone looks more alive than all the other characters. The voice of Barney Rubble (MEL BLANC) is not the actual voice. It's just one of his 1000 voices that he made up. So when you hear Fred talks, You hear the actual voice of Alan Reed. It is safe to say that Fred Flintstone the voice behind Alan Reed.
valenstar2007 1 year ago
That was so weird.
domparis1978 2 years ago
If you want to see a clip that fetures BOTH legendary voices of Fred Flintsone, (Alan Reed & Henry Corden) Google "The Flintstones: Dino & Juliet."
DaBigMotor 2 years ago
Interestingly, "Flintstones" cast members Alan Reed, Bea Benadaret, and Mel Blanc all appeared on "The Beverly Hillbillies" (as did John Stephenson, the voice of Mr. Slate).
vividwatch47 2 years ago
not only that, but Bea Benadaret was the star of "Petticoat Junction" from 1963 until her death in 1968. Bea had played Pearl Bodine, Jethro's mother, on and off in "The Beverly Hillbillies" and then took on the role of Kate Bradley on "Petticoat Junction". This show is what caused her to vacate her role as Betty on "The Flintstones".
ACcountryFan 2 years ago
It came as a result of Bea Benadaret playing Pearl on "The Beverly Hillbilles". Though she nearly spent six seasons playing Kate Bradley on "Petticoat Junction", she managed to find time to play Pearl one more time on "The Beverly Hillbillies" (in her only appearance on the show in color). I always thought she was the best Betty Rubble. Ironically, Bea died of lung cancer the same year as her "Burns & Allen Show" costar Fred Clark (the third Harry Morton).
vividwatch47 2 years ago
I tracked down John's appearance on "The Beverly Hillbillies". He plays Mr Landman and is questioning the Clampette's income taxes. When one closes their eyes and listens to him talk you can tell how perfect his natural speaking voice was in those authoritative cartoon roles he was cast in. His scene with Granny is hilarious.
ACcountryFan 2 years ago
He also played the teacher to Sheila James' character in which she accused Drysdale of putting them in their cabin (do you know what the name of that character was, too?)
vividwatch47 2 years ago
He also was the announcer on the second incarnation of "Dragnet" (1967-70).
vividwatch47 2 years ago
Did Henry Corden take over as the voice of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed's death?
TimFrith24 2 years ago
Henry took over from Alan Reed when he died in 1977. Henry was the voice of Fred Flintstone for the next 28 years! It was Henry Corden was the grumpy landlord in the Monkees show. It's Alan Reed who is credited with coming up with "Yabba Dabba Dooo!"
evocrim 2 years ago
Ironically, Corden guest voiced on "The Flintstones" and other Hanna-Barbera shows prior to taking over the role of Fred Flintstone.
vividwatch47 2 years ago
I forgot! Henry Corden also appeared on "The Beverly Hillbillies" (in the episode where Jethro gets a tank).
vividwatch47 2 years ago
Henry has done other cartoon roles...one role far removed from Fred is a character known as Bump on CB BEARS. He did a lot of work for Hanna-Barbera as you pointed out...working for them for nearly 30 years until his death in 2005.
An irony is that Alan originated the voice of Fred Flintstone and voiced the character in the 1960's and anytime the character was used in the 1970's up until 1977...but Henry was the voice of the character much longer but it's Alan who gets the notoriety.
ACcountryFan 2 years ago
He Was Also Boris On Lady And the Tramp The Big Grey Dog In The Pound
MrFisherman17 2 years ago 2
Alan Reed died in 1977,so that's why he never had the opportunity to work in the 1994 Flintstones movie. He would have loved to see Roseanne star John Goodman as Fred Flintstone. And another actor who played Fred in 2000's THE FLINSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS.
arhuxtable 2 years ago
Alan was also in a episode of the Dick Van Dyke show . He played a Auctioneer
TELEVISIONARCHIVES 2 years ago 2
Batman too.
vividwatch47 2 years ago
incredible man...
macelaruzidane1 2 years ago 6
i thought that was JACKIE GLEASON doing the voice of FRED.
dukesfan1976 2 years ago 4
Coincidentally, Alan had a voice as you heard, that was similar to Jackie Gleason's 'Ralph Kramden' character...and after the demo reel for the show was completely re-tooled, Alan and Mel Blanc became the voices of Fred and Barney. In the demo reel, called The Flagstones, Daws Butler did both voices.
ACcountryFan 2 years ago
I'm sure he also did a Batman episode.
timpovikings 2 years ago
He was the landlord on the Monkees as well.
eartant 2 years ago
Great Cartoon and It's funny to see this. Alan just talked like himself for Fred.
TELEVISIONARCHIVES 2 years ago
Alan also played a couple of popular characters on radio. He played Falstaff Openshaw, a poet, who lived in ALLEN'S ALLEY in the early years of that sketch on Fred Allen's program. He was also the character, Pasquale, on the radio program LIFE WITH LUIGI. When Alan passed away, Henry Corden took over the voice of Fred Flintstone. Alan last gave voice to Fred in a 1977 episode of LAFF-A-LYMPICS...Fred made a guest appearance. Alan spoke in his natural voice in mostly all his roles.
ACcountryFan 2 years ago
YABA DABA DOO!
Matthew6870 2 years ago
Such a wealth of information to finally put the face with the voice. Great post.
Mowac 2 years ago 3
When I was a kid i didn't realize just how hillarious the really old Flintstone episodes were...before political correctness.
I laugh at them more than I did then. It's weird seeing the man behind that unique voice.
weare7R 2 years ago 3
and i thought wilma. barney pebbles and all them were coming through the door lol
Webkinzrocks400 2 years ago
I'm sure Reed was the most relaxed dude in the Flintstone recording studio, need only using his original voice tone; while his colleague, Mel Blanc, turned blue in the face having to adjust his voice several different octaves for the variety of characters he played on that one show alone—from Barney Rubble to the various wisecracking, household appliances. "Squawk! It's a shitty job, but it's a living! Squawk!"
mikeysaur65 2 years ago
I guarantee that Mel Blanc never turned blue in the face doing his characters. The man was such a voice genius that he made it look easy. He was and still is so far above any other voice actor that it's almost scary. He really was THAT good.
ProfessorIgor 2 years ago 2
Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Don Messick, Paul Frees, June Foray, and Frank Welker are who I'd put on the Mount Rushmore of Voice Acting. This isn't to say nobody else is any good. I'm just going by the sheer number of characters those 6 brought to life. it takes 6 or 7 voice actors to tackle the roles Mel Blanc did
Alan Reed would be in the same category of Casey Kasem, Gary Owens, Sterling Holloway, and others who used their distinct natural voice for most of the cartoon characters they voiced.
ACcountryFan 2 years ago
Mel, like the other voice actors I named, could go from one character to the next without missing a beat. I've seen Mel on many episodes of Jack Benny's TV show...heard a lot of his characters on Jack's radio show, too.
ACcountryFan 2 years ago
...far better than those so called "celebrity voices" they use in computer animated films!
vividwatch47 2 years ago
According to Mel Blanc in his autobiography, Reed had gulp down spoonfuls of honey to coat his throat so he wouldn't strain it while exclaiming the famous line, "Yabba Dabba Doo"! Reed respected Blanc for his professionalism when he bedridden after an auto accident when he continued to voice Barney Rubble (also in the book, where there's a photo with Reed and Blanc which miscredits Reed as Joe Barbera).
vividwatch47 2 years ago
oohh yeah so this is the man behind the voice !! Respect
adyburlan 2 years ago 15
That was cool I never knew Alan Reed used his own voice when he did the Flintstones I thought it was like Mel Blanc he changed his voice
ryan152342 2 years ago 2
All they needed in this scene was Mel Blanc, then they could have had Fred and Barney together.
herecalico 3 years ago
Alan Reed also played the auctioneer on the episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in an episode, "The Masterpiece".
pernelldh 3 years ago
The best Fred Flinstone voice ever!!!! Love it!!!
bkevanochko 3 years ago 4
i expected his natural voice to sound different. lol
Inutenma 3 years ago
all he needs is to wear the outfit that fred flintstone wears
Webkinzrocks400 3 years ago 2
When I first saw this clip, I was waiting for Reed to say "Hey Barn or Wilma". Alan got started in vaudeville and made tons of cameos. He did Fred the best. Henry Corden was good but not as good as this guy
jazzalex22 3 years ago 2
That is awesome! Thanks for that!
Tommyr 3 years ago 2
Alan Reed also makes a cameo on "Breakfast At Tiffany's" as Sally Tomato
HUTINAK 3 years ago
Yeah, good old Fred Flintstone himself.
MEponyfan 3 years ago 2
Really cool!!!
BDOUG23 3 years ago
What a voice! The Flintstones were the BEST.What other movies was he in besides the ones listed above? anyone know?
Joseph88keyz 3 years ago
I love Fred Flintstone, and the voice
Gladman 3 years ago
Look for Alan Reed in small parts such as Postman always rings twice from 46 and Breakfast at Tiffanys -62
lonniedc 3 years ago 2
Is the secretary Majel Barrett Roddenberry? It sure sounds like her, but I can't find any references to The Beverly Hillbillies in her filmography.
royuk 3 years ago
That was amazing, that man IS Fred Flinstone!
Bowmaj21 3 years ago
I keep waiting for him to say "Hey Barney". This is great, thanks for posting.
PMSAvenger1 3 years ago
Happy to post this folks, glad you enjoyed it. When I first saw this it took me half way through the show for the light bulb to go on!
mginsel 3 years ago