Allan Lane

For other people named Alan Lane, see Alan Lane (disambiguation).

Allan Lane
Born	Harry Leonard Albershardt September 22, 1909(1909-09-22) Mishawaka, Indiana
Died	October 27, 1973(1973-10-27) (aged 64) Woodland Hills, California
Occupation	Film, television actor
Years active	1929-1966
Spouse	Sheila Ryan (1945-1946) (divorced) Gladys Leslie (divorced)

Allan "Rocky" Lane (September 22, 1909 - October 27, 1973) was a 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 also did the voice of the talking horse on the television series Mister Ed, beginning in 1961.

Biography

Lane was born as Harry Leonard Albershardt in Mishawaka, Indiana to William H. Albershardt and his wife Linnie Anne. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is said to have studied at Notre Dame University, where he played on the football, basketball, and baseball teams. However, he dropped out to pursue an acting career. Allan 'Rocky' Lane had been a photographer, model, and stage actor by the time he was 20 years old. In 1929, the handsome Lane was spotted by Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century Fox) talent scouts and was signed to a contract. His first film role for Fox was as a romantic lead opposite June Collyer in the 1929 release Not Quite Decent, which is now a lost film. Lane made several other films at Fox but then jumped ship to Warner Bros.

Film career

While at Warner his career floundered, 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 vehicle 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 titled The Duke Comes Back (1937).Lane's Hollywood career began in 1929 with his role in Not Quite Decent.

From 1929 through 1936, he appeared in twenty-four films. In 1937 his career began to soar; he was a hit 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 1940 serial adaptation of Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted, with Lane playing the lead role. He starred in several Canadian Mounted Police films, including the serial's 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. In 1947 he became "Rocky Lane" in western films.

Between 1940 through 1966, Lane made eighty-two film and television series appearances, mostly in westerns. Between 1947 and 1953, he made over 30 B-movie westerns (as "Rocky" Lane) with his faithful horse 'Black Jack'. His last roles were in voice over acting, including providing the speech for Mister Ed (1961–1966). In 2003 he won the TV Land Award for the category "Favorite Pet-Human Relationship" as Mr. Ed.

As Red Ryder

• Santa Fe Uprising (1946)
• Stagecoach to Denver (1946)
• Vigilantes of Boomtown (1947)
• Homesteaders of Paradise Valley (1947)
• Oregon Trail Scouts (1947)
• Rustlers of Devil's Canyon (1947)
• Marshal of Cripple Creek(1947)

Filmography

• Not Quite Decent (1929) with June Collyer
• Knights Out (1929)
• The Forward Pass (1929) with Loretta Young and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
• Love in the Rough (1930) with Robert Montgomery
• Honor of the Family (1931) with Bebe Daniels and Alan Mowbray
• Expensive Women (1931) with Dolores Costello
• War Mamas (1931) with Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts
• Heavens! My Husband (1932) with Andy Clyde
• Laughing at Trouble (1936) with Jane Darwell and Margaret Hamilton
• Stowaway (1936) with Shirley Temple, Alice Faye, and Robert Young
• Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) with Warner Oland, Katherine DeMille, and Keye Luke
• Fifty Races to Town (1937) with Don Ameche and Ann Sothern
• Big Business (1937) with Spring Byington
• Sing and Be Happy (1937) with Joan Davis and Tony Martin
• The Duke Comes Back (1937)
• Night Spot (1938) with Cecil Kellaway and Jack Carson
• Maid's Night Out (1938) with Joan Fontaine, Cecil Kellaway, Hedda Hopper, and Billy Gilbert
• This Marriage Business (1938) with Cecil Kellaway and Jack Carson
• Having Wonderful Time (1938) with Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden, Lucille Ball, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Grady Sutton
• Crime Ring (1938)
• Fugitives for a Night (1938) with Frank Albertson
• Law West of Tombstone (1938) with Tim Holt, Evelyn Brent, and Harry Carey
• Pacific Liner (1938) with Chester Morris, Wendy Barrie, and Victor McLaglen
• Twelve Crowded Hours (1939) with Lucille Ball and Richard Dix
• They Made Her a Spy (1939) with Sally Eilers
• Panama Lady (1939) with Lucille Ball and Evelyn Brent
• The Spellbinder (1939) with Lee Tracy
• Conspiracy (1939)
• Grand Ole Opry (1940)
• King of the Royal Mounted (1940) a Republic Pictures 12-chapter serial
• All American Co-Ed (1941) with Frances Langford and Harry Langdon
• King of the Mounties (1942) a Republic Pictures 12-chapter serial
• Daredevils of the West (1943)
• The Dancing Masters (1943) with Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Margaret Dumont
• Call of the South Seas (1944) with Duncan Renaldo and Adele Mara
• The Tiger Woman (1944) with Linda Stirling, Duncan Renaldo, and Kenne Duncan
• Silver City Kid (1944) with Peggy Stewart, Glenn Strange, and Twinkle Watts
• Stagecoach to Monterey (1944) with Kenne Duncan and Twinkle Watts
• Sheriff of Sundown (1944) with Linda Stirling, Duncan Renaldo, Kenne Duncan, Max Terhune, and Twinkle Watts
• The Topeka Terror (1945) with Linda Stirling and Twinkle Watts
• Corpus Christi Bandits (1945) with Kenne Duncan and Twinkle Watts
• Trail of Kit Carson (1945) with Kenne Duncan and Twinkle Watts
• A Guy Could Change (1946) with Jane Frazee, Gerald Mohr, Adele Mara, Robert Blake, and Twinkle Watts
• Night Train to Memphis (1946) with Roy Acuff and Adele Mara
• Santa Fe Uprising (1946) with Robert Blake
• Stagecoach to Denver (1946) with Robert Blake
• Gay Blades (1946) with Jean Rogers and Frank Albertson
• Vigilantes of Boomtown (1947) with Robert Blake
• Homesteaders of Paradise Valley (1947) with Robert Blake
• Oregon Trail Scouts (1947) with Robert Blake
• The Rustlers of Devil's Canyon (1947) with Robert Blake
• Marshal of Cripple Creek (1947) with Robert Blake
• The Wild Frontier (1947) with Eddy Waller
• Bandits of Dark Canyon (1947) with Bob Steele and Eddy Waller
• Oklahoma Badlands (1948) with Hank Patterson and Eddy Waller
• The Bold Frontiersman (1948) with Eddy Waller
• Carson City Raiders (1948) with Eddy Waller
• Marshal of Amarillo (1948) with Denver Pyle, Clayton Moore, and Eddy Waller
• Desperadoes of Dodge City (1948) with Eddy Waller
• The Denver Kid (1948) with Hank Patterson and Eddy Waller
• Sundown in Santa Fe (1948) with Eddy Waller
• Renegades of Sonora (1948) with Eddy Waller
• Sheriff of Wichita (1949) with Clayton Moore and Eddy Waller
• Death Valley Gunfighter (1949) with Gail Davis and Eddy Waller
• Frontier Marshal (1949) with Gail Davis, Clayton Moore, and Eddy Waller
• The Wyoming Bandit (1949) with Eddy Waller
• Bandit King of Texas (1949) with Eddy Waller
• Navajo Trail Raiders (1949) with Eddy Waller
• Powder River Rustlers (1949) with Eddy Waller
• Gunmen of Abilene (1950) with Eddy Waller
• Code of the Silver Sage (1950) with Kenne Duncan and Eddy Waller
• Salt Lake Raiders (1950) with Martha Hyer, Byron Foulger, Myron Healey, and Eddy Waller
• Vigilante Hideout (1950) with Eddy Waller
• Trail of Robin Hood (1950) with Roy Rogers, Penny Edwards, Rex Allen, Monte Hale, Tom Tyler, Ray 'Crash' Corrigan, Kermit Maynard, and Jack Holt
• Frisco Tornado (1950) with Martha Hyer and Eddy Waller
• Rustlers on Horseback (1950) with George Nader, Claudia Barrett, and Eddy Waller
• Rough Riders of Durango (1951) with Denver Pyle
• Night Riders of Montana (1951) with Chubby Johnson, Claudia Barrett, and Myron Healey
• Wells Fargo Gunmaster (1951) with Chubby Johnson and Mary Ellen Kay
• Fort Dodge Stampede (1951) with Chubby Johnson and Mary Ellen Kay
• Desert of Lost Men (1951) with Mary Ellen Kay
• Captive of Billy the Kid (1952) with Grant Withers, Penny Edwards, and Clayton Moore
• Leadville Gunslinger (1952) with Grant Withers and Eddy Waller
• Desperadoes' Outpost (1952) with Myron Healey, Lyle Talbot, and Eddy Waller
• Marshal of Cedar Rock (1953) with Phyllis Coates, Robert Shayne, and Eddy Waller
• Savage Frontier (1953) with Eddy Waller
• Bandits of the West (1953) with Cathy Downs and Eddy Waller
• El Paso Stampede (1953) with Phyllis Coates and Eddy Waller
• The Saga of Hemp Brown (1958) with Beverly Garland, Rory Calhoun, Russell Johnson, Yvette Vickers, and John Larch
• Hell Bent for Leather (1960) with Audie Murphy, Stephen McNally, and Felicia Farr
• Posse from Hell (1961) with Audie Murphy, John Saxon, Lee Van Cleef, and Vic Morrow

Television

Series

• Mister Ed, 1961-1966 syndicated and later CBS TV series. Lane provided the voice for Mister Ed
• Red Ryder, 1956-1957 TV series. Lane portrayed Red Ryder

Guest appearances

• Cheyenne, episode "Massacre at Gunsight Pass", originally aired May 1, 1961
• Gunsmoke, episode "Long Hours, Short Pay", originally aired April 29, 1961
• Bonanza, episode "The Blood Line", originally aired December 31, 1960
• Gunsmoke, episode "The Badge", originally aired November 12, 1960
• Lawman, episode "The Payment", originally aired May 8, 1960
• Bronco, episode "Death of an Outlaw", originally aired March 8, 1960
• Colt .45, episode "Arizona Anderson", originally aired February 14, 1960
• Tales of Wells Fargo, episode "The Reward", originally aired April 21, 1958
• Wagon Train, episode "The Daniel Barrister Story", originally aired April 16, 1958
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents, episode "Lamb to the Slaughter", originally aired April 13, 1958
• Gunsmoke, episode "Texas Cowboys", originally aired April 5, 1958
• Mike Hammer, episode "Husbands Are Bad Luck", originally aired 1957

Death

Lane retired after 1966, and was residing in Woodland Hills, California at the time of his death to cancer in 1973, at age 64. He is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery.

External links

• Allan Lane at the Internet Movie Database
• Allan Lane at AllRovi
• Rocky Lane westerns
• Recollections of Allan Lane
• "Allan Lane". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3824. Retrieved September 14, 2010. 
• FanBase page - Notre Dame Football