Bamboo Harvester
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2024) |
 Bamboo Harvester as Mister Ed | |
| Other name(s) | Mister Ed |
|---|---|
| Breed | American Saddlebred/part-Arabian |
| Born | Bamboo Harvester 1949 |
| Died | 1970 (aged 20–21)[1] |
| Resting place | Snodgrass Farm Tahlequah, Oklahoma U.S. |
Bamboo Harvester (1949–1970) was a palomino, part American Saddlebred and part-Arabian horse who portrayed the fictional character, Mister Ed on Mister Ed, the comedy, television series about a talking horse and his human, Wilbur Post, that ran from 1961-1966. He was the more famous one of the two horses that played Mister Ed on screen and off-screen.
Foaled in 1949, the gelding was trained by Will Rogers' protégé, Les Hilton. Bamboo Harvester was born in the Los Angeles area, but sources disagree as to whether his birthplace was in El Monte[2] or at Harvester Farms in Chatsworth, California.[3][4] When the horse died in California in 1970, his cremated remains were scattered in or near Los Angeles, California in a place Les Hilton kept secret.
The final episode of Mister Ed was broadcast on February 6, 1966 when Bamboo Harvester was 17 years old.
Bamboo Harvester suffered from several ailments, including kidney problems and arthritis. His process of getting back up to a standing position was difficult, so it looked as if his struggling was him having a seizure to his substitute wrangler. He was mistakenly euthanized in 1970.[5]
Bamboo Harvester's stable mate and Mister Ed double was another palomino horse named Pumpkin (AKA Punkin). Pumpkin posed for photos used in press kits, and made personal appearances. After Bamboo Harvester's death, Pumpkin continued to be known as Mister Ed. "Punkin" lived until 1979.
Pedigree
[edit] |
| Sire The Harvester American Saddlebred (Born 1938) |
Revel's Cream of Wheat (Born 1932) | Rey El Moreno (Born 1924) | Solano (Born 1916) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lois Hardy (Born 1917) | |||
| Highland Squirrel King's Lady (Born 1921) | Highland Squirrel King (Born 1899) | ||
| Queen (Born 1900) | |||
| Red Dawn | Exclamation Rex Squirrel (Born 1922) | Forrest Rex (Born 1909) | |
| Emily Easton (Born 1917) | |||
| Unknown Mare | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | |||
| Dam Zetna Hara Part-Arab (Born 1945) |
Antez (Arabian) (Born 1921) | Harara (Born 1912) | Deyr (Born 1904) |
| Haffia (Born January 1906) | |||
| Moliah (Born 1911) | Hamrah (Born 1904) | ||
| Wadduda (Born 1899) | |||
| Koricha (breed unknown) (Born 1935) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Unknown | |||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||
| Unknown |
Death
[edit]Horse trainer and owner of Bamboo Harvester, Lester Hilton revealed that Bamboo Harvester was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at a place Hilton kept secret in California in 1970. Nine years later, in 1979, his double, Pumpkin died and was buried on a farm in Oklahoma. Fans placed an engraved, granite marker for "Mister Ed" at Pumpkin's grave in 1990.[5]
Bamboo Harvester lived with his trainer, Lester Hilton in Burbank, California.[citation needed] By 1968, the horse was suffering from a variety of health problems, and died at age 19. There are several different, yet plausible stories of how and when he died. In one version, he was euthanized in 1970 without publicity, and was buried at Snodgrass Farm in Oklahoma.[citation needed]
However, a different story is told by Alan Young in his book, Mister Ed and Me about his time with the equestrian actor. Young wrote that he had frequently visited his former co-star in retirement. He stated that Bamboo Harvester died after a horse-sitter mistakenly gave the horse him a tranquilizer when he appeared to be in distress.
Young says Hilton was out of town visiting relatives and a temporary caregiver might have seen Bamboo Harvester rolling on the ground, struggling to get up. Young said Ed was a heavy horse and he was not always strong enough to get back on his feet without struggling. The theory is that the caregiver thought the horse was in distress and administered a tranquilizer and for unknown reasons the horse died within hours. The remains were cremated and scattered by Hilton in the Los Angeles area at a spot known only to him.[6]
In another version of events, it was a different horse (perhaps Pumpkin) that died in Oklahoma in February 1979 that was thought to have been Bamboo Harvester. Pumpkin was the horse that posed for the still pictures of "Mister Ed" for press kits. After Bamboo Harvester's death in 1970, this horse was unofficially known as Mister Ed, which led to him being reported as such (including sardonic comments on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update) following his own death.[7]
Young said he knew that the alternate stand-in for Mister Ed who died in Oklahoma in 1979 was Pumpkin, not Bamboo Harvester, but did not have the heart to shatter the illusion that the horse being memorialized was the real Mister Ed.[6]
Pumpkin was laid to rest at Snodgrass Farm in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, with no marker in 1979. It was not until August 1990 that Mister Ed fans in Oklahoma dedicated a standing, granite marker for the fictional character he portrayed. His epitaph includes his stage name and image of "'Mister Ed', and does not mention the death dates of the two equestrian actors in 1970, and 1979..[citation needed]
The engraving on the granite headstone reads:
MISTER ED
This monument was dedicated to the loving memory of Mr. Ed on Sunday, August 26, 1990. It is the result of a heartfelt fund-raising effort by the people of northeastern Oklahoma and Tulsa Radio Station Z104.5 FM.
According to national media reports, Mr. Ed moved to Oklahoma in the late fund-raising after a successful Hollywood career. Mr. Ed continued to entertain and bring joy to many Oklahomans. Finally retiring in this very field, Mr. Ed passed away February 22, 1979.
May his memory live long.
PALOMINO PUMPKIN (PUNKIN), THE DOUBLE
Bamboo Harvester portrayed Mister Ed on screen throughout the run of the TV series. His stable mate and stunt double was a palomino quarter horse named Pumpkin (AKA Punkin). Pumpkin posed for the still photos used in press kits for the show, and made personal appearances. Pumpkin outlived his fellow actor by a decade. After Bamboo Harvester's death, Pumpkin was unofficially known as Mister Ed. Pumpkin appeared as a talking horse named "Mister Fred" in "The Birthday Gift", the season 4, episode 13 of Green Acres that aired on January 1, 1969 wherein a man gives his wife a horse named Mister Fred for her birthday that turns out to be a talker. It was a parody of the pilot episode of Mister Ed.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ AP: Grave of famous horse still attracts visitors 50 years later
- ^ Ken Beck; Jim Clark (2002). The Encyclopedia of TV Pets: A Complete History of Television's Greatest Animal Stars. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 267ff. ISBN 978-1-4185-5737-9.
- ^ "Harvester Farms" in Chatsworth Past & Present, February 2015.
- ^ "Mr. Ed's Home May Become A Landmark", Los Angeles Daily News as reprinted in Orlando Sentinel, February 2, 1997.
- ^ a b "How Curious: Is Mister Ed Buried In Oklahoma?". KGOU. April 29, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ a b Young, Alan. Mr. Ed and Me 1994, St. Martins Press, New York, ISBN 0-312-11852-X, pp. 181-3.
- ^ Curtis, Gene (October 7, 2007). "Only in Oklahoma: The famous Mister Ed still keeps 'em talking". tulsaworld.com. Tulsa World. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
External links
[edit]- Bamboo Harvester as Mister Ed at IMDb
- Bamboo Harvester at AllBreedPedigrees.com