Monday, May 23, 2016

Actor Alan Young, Who Voiced Haggis McHaggis On "The Ren & Stimpy Show", Has Died

Actor and comedian Alan Young, best known for starring as Wilbur on the classic 1960s sitcom Mister Ed and as the voices of Haggis McHaggis in Nickelodeon's The Ren & Stimpy Show and Scrooge McDuck in Disney's DuckTales among other television and videogame projects, sadly passed away of natural causes on Thursday 19th May 2016.


Alan Young at The Time Machine (2002)

Young's manager, Gene Yusem, shared the news, saying that the U.K. born performer died at his film and TV professionals' retirement facility in Los Angeles, California. He was buried at sea. "He was an honest, decent man, a pleasure to work with and never a problem," Yusem told Reuters.


Young first voiced the iconic ultra-rich Uncle Scrooge in Mickey's Christmas Carol in 1983, and reprised the role for DuckTales and other animated projects through the years. Other notable voice roles performed by Young include Farmer Smurf in The Smurfs in the '80s and Haggis McHaggis in Nickelodeon's The Ren & Stimpy Show in the mid-'90s. Alan also guest starred in a episode of the hit ABC/The WB and Nickelodeon UK sitcom Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and provided additional voices in the popular '80s Alvin & the Chipmunks animated series.


Haggis McHaggis in Nickelodeon's The Ren & Stimpy Show

Born in North Shields, Tyne-and-Wear in the Northeast of England in 1919, Young was educated in Canada and eventually became a U.S. citizen. In the 1950s, he became a familiar face to American TV audiences with The Alan Young Show on CBS - a comedy and variety show that grew out of his radio program and earned two Emmy Awards. He reputedly was asked for by name when it came time to cast the bipedal lead of Mr. Ed, which ran from 1960-66.

Original source: Animation Magazine; Additional sources: IMDb (I, II), Ren & Stimpy Wiki, Wikipedia.