Mr. Ed, the talking horse

How did they get Mr. Ed to “talk,” as it appeared? And was there only one Mr. Ed, or did they have stunt doubles? I heard Mr. Ed was really a female, is this true? Why lie to the American public, were the producers also politicians?

Fot the straightdope on Mr. Ed, try Snopes

Make sure you check “More information about this page”


That’s probably not the best place to look, as it is in Snopes’s “The Repository Of Lost Legends”. Look at some of the other “debunkings” in that area.

I believe that Mr Ed was made to talk using penut butter, but I could be mistaken.

You can trust this site though.

Ahem, always go to the horse’s mouth (groan) for the Straight Dope: Cecil speaks on How did they get Mr. Ed to talk?

Just read it, that was great. Thanks.

Regarding your other question, they had a stunt double for Mr. Ed, just in case, but he was only ever used for one shot (Mr. Ed, with Wilbur on his back, had to move from a sitting position to standing up, and Ed was too old for that). Otherwise, everything was the real Ed.

My source for that is a book I have that I can’t find on amazon or barnes and noble just now.