The sitcom first aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961,
and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The
show is one of the few series to debut in syndication and be picked
up by a major network for prime time.

Comedian George Burns financed the original pilot for Mister Ed
which was shot at his McCadden Studio in Hollywood at a cost
of $70,000. Scott McKay played Wilbur. Jack Benny was also
involved in the production behind the scenes.

The voice of Mr. Ed

"It Doesn’t Matter Anymore" was written by Paul Anka and recorded
by Buddy Holly in 1958. The song reached No. 13 as a posthumous
hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in early 1959 shortly after Holly
was killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. The single was a
two-sided hit, backed with "Raining in My Heart".

1967

Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono 
(February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998)

Robert Selden Duvall

Actor and director Robert Duvall has been nominated for seven Academy
Awards, winning for his performance in Tender Mercies (1983), seven
Golden Globes, winning four, and has multiple nominations and one win
each of the BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Emmy Award. He
also received the National Medal of Arts in 2005. Duvall has starred in
some of the most acclaimed and popular films and television series of
all time, including To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Twilight Zone (1963),
The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), Apocalypse Now
(1979), and Falling Down (1993).

Robert Duvall from Apocalypse Now