FOUND A GRAVE

Allan Lane was born as Harry Leonard Albershardt in 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 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 (now a lost film). He made several other films at Fox but jumped ship to Warner Bros. in the early 1930s. 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 (1937). 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 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. 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 (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.