Allan Lane
Allan "Rocky" Lane was an American studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in a career lasting from 1929 to 1966. He is best known for his portrayal of Red Ryder and for being the voice of the talking horse on the television series Mister Ed, beginning in 1961.
Biography
Lane was born Harry Leonard Albershardt or Albershart in Mishawaka, Indiana to Linnie Anne and William H. Albershardt. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan.Lane had been a photographer, model and stage actor by age 20. He played varsity sports, baseball, football and basketball at the University of Notre Dame but dropped out to pursue his interests in acting.
Film career
Lane's first film role for Fox was as a romantic lead opposite June Collyer in the 1929 release, Not Quite Decent. He made several other films at Fox but jumped ship to Warner Bros.While at Warner his career foundered, and after a number of bit parts he left films in the early 1930s. By 1936, Lane returned to films and to 20th Century Fox, taking supporting roles in the drama Laughing at Trouble and the Shirley Temple film Stowaway. After several more supporting roles at Fox, Lane longed for a starring role; therefore, he took the lead in a Republic Pictures' short feature, The Duke Comes Back.
From 1929 through 1936, he appeared in twenty-four films. He was in 1938's The Law West of Tombstone. In 1940, he portrayed "RCMP Sergeant Dave King", the role becoming one of his most notable successes. The first was King of the Royal Mounted, a 12-part 1940 serial adaptation of Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted. He starred in several Royal Canadian Mounted Police films, including the serials The Yukon Patrol and King of the Mounties. He is best remembered for these today.
In 1946 and 1947, he portrayed Red Ryder in seven films, replacing Wild Bill Elliott in that role. The following year, he became "Rocky Lane" in Western films.
Between 1940 and 1966, Lane made eighty-two film and television series appearances, mostly in westerns. Between 1947 and 1953, he made over 30 B-movie westerns with his faithful horse 'Black Jack'.
His last roles were in voice-over acting, including providing the speech for Mister Ed. He was never credited on-screen for providing the voice for Mister Ed.
Death
Lane died of cancer in Woodland Hills, California, on October 27, 1973, at age 64. He was interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery.In popular culture
Lane was one of the movie cowboys named in the lyrics of the song “Whatever Happened To Randolph Scott” by The Statler Brothers, which became a hit single in 1974.Comics
Allan "Rocky" Lane was often portrayed in the celebrity comics by his nickname, Rocky Lane, primarily during the heyday of Western-themed comics in the 1940s and 1950s.The actor was featured in the comic book Rocky Lane Western, published in 1949 by Fawcett Comics. The series was published by the company until 1954, when it left the comics market following the lawsuit "National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc.." Charlton Comics took over the title that same year, starting with issue #56 and ending with issue #87, published in 1959. The publisher also released a comic series starring his horse, Black Jack, titled Rocky Lane's Black Jack.
In Brazil, the Rocky Lane stories were published by Rio Gráfica Editora in the 1960s. Between 1965 and 1968, the publisher even commissioned local stories from Primaggio Mantovi, an Italian cartoonist who became a naturalized Brazilian citizen.
Selected filmography
Not Quite Decent as Jerry ConnorThe Forward Pass as Ed KirbyLove in the Rough as JohnsonMadame Satan as Zeppelin Majordomo Night Nurse as Intern The Star Witness as Young Deputy at the Leeds Home Honor of the Family as JosephExpensive Women as Party Boy with Bobby Local Boy Makes Good as Runner with a Bad Knee The Famous Ferguson Case as Reporter The Tenderfoot as Actor Week-End Marriage as Office Clerk Winner Take All as Monty - Joan's Friend Miss Pinkerton as Herbert Wynn Crooner as Heckler on Dance Floor A Successful Calamity as Polo Player The Crash as Geoffrey's Associate One Way Passage as Friend of Joan's Laughing at Trouble as John CampbellStowaway as Richard HopeStep Lively, Jeeves! as Party Guest Charlie Chan at the Olympics as Richard MastersThe Jones Family in Big Business as Ted HewettFifty Roads to Town as Leroy SmedleySing and Be Happy as Hamilton HoweThe Duke Comes Back as Duke FosterNight Spot as Pete CooperMaid's Night Out as Bill NormanThis Marriage Business as Bill BennettHaving Wonderful Time as Maxwell Pingwell aka MacCrime Ring as Joe RyanFugitives for a Night as John NelsonThe Law West of Tombstone as Danny SandersPacific Liner as BilsonTwelve Crowded Hours as Dave SandersThey Made Her a Spy as James HuntleyPanama Lady as Dennis McTeagueThe Spellbinder as Steve KindalConspiracy as Steve KendallGrand Ole Opry as Fred BarnesKing of the Royal Mounted as Dave KingAll-American Co-Ed as Second SeniorKing of the Mounties as Sergeant Dave KingAir Force as Marine Daredevils of the West as Duke CameronThe Dancing Masters as George WorthingCall of the South Seas as Kendall GaigeThe Tiger Woman as Allen SaundersSilver City Kid as Jack AdamsStagecoach to Monterey as Bruce Redmond - Posing as Chick WeaverSheriff of Sundown as Tex JordanThe Topeka Terror as Chad StevensCorpus Christi Bandits as Captain James Christie / Corpus Christi JimBells of Rosarita as HimselfTrail of Kit Carson as Bill HarmonGay Blades as Andy BuellA Guy Could Change as Michael 'Mike' HoganNight Train to Memphis as Dan AcuffSanta Fe Uprising as Red RyderOut California Way as HimselfStagecoach to Denver as Red RyderVigilantes of Boomtown as Red RyderHomesteaders of Paradise Valley as Red RyderOregon Trail Scouts as Red RyderRustlers of Devil's Canyon as Red RyderMarshal of Cripple Creek as Red RyderThe Wild Frontier as Rocky LaneBandits of Dark Canyon as Rocky LaneOklahoma Badlands as Allan Rocky LaneThe Bold Frontiersman as Rocky LaneCarson City Raiders as Rocky LaneMarshal of Amarillo as Marshal Rocky LaneDesperadoes of Dodge City as Rocky LaneThe Denver Kid as Rocky Lane Posing as the Denver KidSundown in Santa Fe as Rocky LaneRenegades of Sonora as Rocky LaneSheriff of Wichita as Sheriff Rocky LaneDeath Valley Gunfighter as Rocky LaneFrontier Investigator as Rocky LaneThe Wyoming Bandit as Marshal Rocky LaneBandit King of Texas as Rocky LaneNavajo Trail Raiders as Rocky LanePowder River Rustlers as Rocky LaneGunmen of Abilene as Rocky LaneCode of the Silver Sage as Lieutenant Rocky LaneSalt Lake Raiders as Deputy Marshal Rocky LaneCovered Wagon Raid as Rocky LaneVigilante Hideout as Rocky LaneFrisco Tornado as Marshal Rocky LaneRustlers on Horseback as Marshal Rocky LaneTrail of Robin Hood as Rocky LaneRough Riders of Durango as Rocky LaneNight Riders of Montana as Rocky LaneWells Fargo Gunmaster as Rocky LaneFort Dodge Stampede as Deputy Sheriff Rocky LaneDesert of Lost Men as Rocky Lane Captive of Billy the Kid as Marshal 'Rocky' LaneLeadville Gunslinger as U. S. Marshal Rocky LaneBlack Hills Ambush as Rocky LaneThundering Caravans as Marshal Rocky LaneDesperadoes' Outpost as Rocky LaneMarshal of Cedar Rock as Marshal Rocky LaneSavage Frontier as U.S. Marshal Rocky LaneBandits of the West as Marshal Rocky LaneEl Paso Stampede as Rocky LaneThe Saga of Hemp Brown as SheriffHell Bent for Leather as KelseyPosse from Hell as Burl HoganTelevision
;SeriesMister Ed, 1961–1966 syndicated and later CBS TV series. Lane provided the voice for Mister Ed. This was an uncredited role.Red Ryder, 1956–1957 TV series. Lane portrayed Red Ryder;Guest appearancesCheyenne, episode "Massacre at Gunsight Pass", originally aired May 1, 1961Gunsmoke, episode "Long Hours, Short Pay", originally aired April 29, 1961Bonanza, episode "The Blood Line", originally aired December 31, 1960Gunsmoke, episode "The Badge", originally aired November 12, 1960Lawman, episode "The Payment", originally aired May 8, 1960Bronco, episode "Death of an Outlaw", originally aired March 8, 1960Colt.45, episode "Arizona Anderson", originally aired February 14, 1960Tales of Wells Fargo, episode "The Reward", originally aired April 21, 1958Wagon Train, episode "The Daniel Barrister Story", originally aired April 16, 1958Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Patrick MaloneyGunsmoke, episode "Texas Cowboys", originally aired April 5, 1958Mike Hammer, episode "Husbands Are Bad Luck", originally aired 1957