By far the most appealing trait Ed brought to the show was his personality. He loved attention and would perform for long hours as long as he was the star of the show. This vanity was evident in his scenes. Off-camera, he was the same as the horse everyone grew to love on-camera.
In front of Ed’s stall were all the familiar props from the movie set: the table with the telephone, the pencil for dialing, the sunglasses and others. When Ed wanted attention, he played with the props until someone noticed. Most new props and tricks were learned on the set. Les would walk him through the stunts a few times, until he was comfortable with the routine, then the filming began. Usually the scene was shot in one take. The majority of Ed’s tricks were variations on picking things up with his mouth. This trick could be parlayed into unlimited scenes with various props and combined with other movements.
Ed followed Les commands exactly, looking always to the whip to learn what Les wanted next. One day, I was riding my horse, Diamond, and stopped by to see Les. A friend, Maggie, was riding with me. Les asked us to stand in two spots in the arena. In a third and fourth spot, he put a barrel, emulating a baseball diamond for the now famous Dodger baseball episode with Leo Durocher. As we stood there, Les intstructed Ed to canter around us using only hand and whip cues. Ed never faltered or changed speed. He always watched Les. The viewer, if they were alert, could watch Ed’s eyes and ears and tell where Les was hiding behind the camera because Ed never stopped watching him.
The only trick Ed disliked was hitting a baseball with a bat. Ed had to hold the bat in his teeth. He didn’t like the way it felt when the ball hit the bat. Les asked me to help him with this trick because it took two people: one to stand beside Ed and encourage him to hold the bat, the other to pitch the ball. Ed finally gave in and hit the ball on cue, mostly because he was bored. He knew we’d quit once he did the trick we wanted.
Another trick that amazed fans was Ed riding a surf board. This stunt was relatively easy to train. Ed was used to riding in horse trailers, which don’t have the best shock absorbers and sometimes have none at all. Ed was accustomed to having a floor moving and bouncing under his hooves. The hard part fell to the prop men who had to create a realistic “surf board” that was strong enough to hold his weight, which was over a thousand pounds. Ed trusted Les, and Les trusted the skill of the propmen. Even so, he worried that the “surf board” might not be strong enough when Ed stood on it. Fortunately, the trick went off without a hitch.
Pumpkin followed in Ed’s footsteps, learning all the same tricks in preparation for replacing Ed when needed. As part of this training, he was often on the set, learning to be relaxed around the commotion inherent in setting up the scenes. Pumpkin appeared in the series only once when a shot was required from above Ed’s back. Being a quarter horse, Pumpkin’s backline was rounder and more flattering in the camera lens. Ed was patient, letting cameramen, electricians and propmen work around him. Often they dragged electrical cords, ropes and other paraphernalia under and around him. Pumpkin had a hard time learning to be that cavalier. A younger horse with little experience, these antics worried him. However, as he aged, he became calmer. One sign of this was being the horse selected to appear as “Mr. Ed” in the Hollywood Christmas Parade. Ed had to be on the set early in the morning, and Les worried the late hour of the parade on Sunday night would interfere with his performance on the set. The public did not seem to notice the switch, and Pumpkin handled the ride down Sunset Boulevard quite well, despite the noise from the crowd.
Episode 13, Ed’s Mother, aired on March 21, 1961. In the story line, Ed found his mother at an old farm auction, bought her and brought her home, causing more problems for Wilber. Ed’s “mother” was played by our horse, Nicker, a palomino gelding. Nicker was brought to us for safe keeping when his former owner left for Alaska, promising to return at the end of summer. We never heard from him again. A patient and gentle eighteen-year-old Thorobred cross when he arrived, his background included both parades and horse shows, although not at the same level as Ed’s career. Nicker taught many beginning riders; he also romped and played with more experienced riders. He was in his 20s when he played Ed’s mother. Older thorobreds often look ribby, with large bellies and high withers. Nicker was no different and his lean, almost gaunt look suited his character just fine. His role was filmed in two days on the set.
