Bamboo Harvester facts for kids
Bamboo Harvester as Mister Ed
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| Breed | American Saddlebred/part-Arabian |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Movie horse |
| Sex | Gelding |
| Foaled | 1949 |
| Country | USA |
| Color | Palomino |
Bamboo Harvester (born 1949, died 1970) was a special horse. He was famous for playing the talking horse, Mister Ed, in the popular TV comedy show from 1961 to 1966. He was a gelding, which means a male horse that cannot have foals. Bamboo Harvester was a mix of two horse breeds: an American Saddlebred and a part-Arabian.
This amazing horse was born in 1949 in the Los Angeles area. People aren't exactly sure if he was born in El Monte or at Harvester Farms in Chatsworth, California. His trainer was Les Hilton, who learned a lot from the famous cowboy and entertainer Will Rogers.
In 1968, about two years after the Mister Ed show ended, Bamboo Harvester started having health problems. He was 19 years old, which is quite old for a horse. He had issues with his kidneys and arthritis, which made his joints hurt. He passed away in 1970.
There was another palomino horse named Pumpkin (sometimes called Punkin). This horse was used for photos and some public appearances for the show. Pumpkin lived until 1979. After Bamboo Harvester passed away, Pumpkin was sometimes called "Mister Ed" unofficially. This caused some confusion later on.
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The Mystery of Mister Ed's Passing
Bamboo Harvester started having health issues around 1968. There are two main stories about how he passed away. Both stories come from people who might know the truth.
Story One: Quiet Burial in Oklahoma
One story says that Bamboo Harvester was put to sleep peacefully in 1970. This happened without any public announcement. He was then buried at Snodgrass Farm in Oklahoma.
Story Two: Alan Young's Version
The actor Alan Young, who played Wilbur Post on Mister Ed, told a different story. He said he often visited Bamboo Harvester after the show ended. According to Alan Young, Mister Ed passed away from a tranquilizer given by accident. This happened while the horse was living in a stable in Burbank, California, with his trainer, Lester Hilton.
Alan Young explained that Lester Hilton was away visiting family. A temporary caregiver might have seen Ed rolling on the ground, trying to get up. Ed was a big, heavy horse, and sometimes he needed help to stand up. The caregiver might have thought the horse was in trouble and gave him a tranquilizer. For reasons unknown, the horse passed away a few hours later. In this version, Bamboo Harvester's remains were cremated. Lester Hilton then scattered the ashes in the Los Angeles area, in a secret spot only he knew.
The Confusing Second Horse
Alan Young's story also helps explain the confusion about Mister Ed's death date. In 1979, a different horse passed away in Oklahoma. Many people thought this was the real Bamboo Harvester. But this horse was actually the one named Pumpkin, who had posed for photos for the show's press kits. After the real Bamboo Harvester passed in 1970, Pumpkin was sometimes called Mister Ed. This led to news reports about "Mister Ed" dying in 1979, even on shows like Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update.
Alan Young said that when the story about the Oklahoma horse came out in 1979, he knew it wasn't the real Mister Ed. But he didn't want to "shatter their illusions" and tell people the horse they were remembering wasn't the famous one. He believed the horse in Oklahoma was just one used for early publicity photos.
Honoring the Real Mister Ed
The real Bamboo Harvester was laid to rest in 1970. He was buried on a farm at Snodgrass Farm in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. For many years, there was no marker for his grave. Then, in the summer of 1990, fans of Mister Ed from Oklahoma put up a granite gravestone. This stone honors the horse, using his stage name and image as 'Mr. Ed'. However, it does not mention his actual death date of 1970.
