Alan Reed, also known professionally as Alan Reed, Sr., (August 20, 1907, New York City, New York, USA – June 14, 1977, Los Angeles, California, USA) was an American actor and voice actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone (although Daws Butler voiced the character in the pilot), whom he was said to have physically resembled, on The Flintstones and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, including Days of Glory, The Tarnished Angels, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Viva Zapata! (as Pancho Villa), and Nob Hill, and various television series.
As a voice actor, Reed provided the voice of Boris the Russian Wolfhound in Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp in 1955. In 1960, he began the voice role for which he was most famous, that of Fred Flintstone, the lead character of Hanna-Barbera's prime-time animated series The Flintstones. Reed provided Fred's voice for the entire six-season run of the show, as well as in several spin-off series (The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, The Flintstone Comedy Hour) and specials. His final performance as Fred Flintstone was a cameo guest role on an episode of Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics. Among his other voice roles for Hanna-Barbera was Touché Turtle's sidekick, Dum Dum.
He was fortunate to work with a cast of old radio pros—Mel Blanc (Reed had been a regular on Mel’s 1946-47 radio series), Jean Vander Pyl and Bea Benaderet. To promote the show, the actor would often make personal appearances clad in Fred’s caveman clothing. While Fred Flintstone was his bread-and-butter at Hanna-Barbera, Alan also found time to supply the voices of Dum-Dum, the sheepdog sidekick to Touché Turtle (voiced by OTR vet Bill Thompson) and “Mad Dog” Mahoney on Where’s Huddles? With his death in 1977, Hanna-Barbera was forced to replace Reed with another actor (Henry Corden) as Fred Flintstone…but those of us who grew up with the original could definitely tell the difference.
Radio playwright and director Norman Corwin cast Reed as Santa Claus in the 1969 KCET television reading of his 1938 play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 
|
Fred Flintstone | Scooby's All Star Laff-A-Lympics |
| 1970-1976 | 
|
Fred Flintstone | Fruity Pebbles |
| 1975 | 
|
Sebastian | Heidi, Girl of the Alps |
| 1966 | 
|
Fred Flintstone (Caterpillar) | Alice in Wonderland |
| 1960-1966 | 
|
Fred Flintstone | The Flintstones |
| 1960-1966 | 
|
Ring Announcer | The Flintstones |
| 1962-1963 | 
|
Dum-Dum | The New Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Series |
| 1955 | 
|
Boris | Lady and the Tramp |