Sheldon Allman, a songwriter and actor who was the singing voice of Mr. Ed and composed the theme songs to “George of the Jungle” and other television shows, died Jan. 22 at his home in Culver City, Calif. He was 77.
The cause was heart failure, his family said.
In “Mr. Ed,” the popular sitcom about Wilbur Post’s talking horse, the voice of the title character was provided by Allan Lane. But whenever Mr. Ed sang, it was with the voice of Mr. Allman, who also wrote all of the songs, such as “The Pretty Little Filly With the Pony Tail” and “The Empty Feed Bag Blues.”
Mr. Allman also wrote the theme music for “Let’s Make a Deal” and for the cartoons “George of the Jungle,” “Super Chicken” and “Tom Slick,” which were parts of a half-hour animated series that had its debut in 1967. The program was short lived, with only 17 episodes produced, but it found popularity largely because of the comic theme to “George of the Jungle,” which repeatedly warned the clumsy vine swinger to “watch out for that tree.”
Mr. Allman also collaborated with Bobby Pickett, the singer of “Monster Mash,” on a 1966 musical about Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman called “I’m Sorry, the Bridge Is Out, You’ll Have to Spend the Night,” which bears a resemblance to the 1970s film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Mr. Allman, who was born in Chicago, moved to Los Angeles in 1949. His film appearances include “In Cold Blood” and “Dirty Harry,” and on television “The Twilight Zone” and “I Dream of Jeannie.”
