'Mister Ed' paved the way for animals in the entertainment industry, breaking through the glass ceiling barn door by talking up TV viewers and being as charming as any leading man out there.

As the theme song said, "A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course. That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed!"

Yes, Ed was in his hay-day on TV for six glorious seasons, always easily bribed to tell a good story with a little peanut butter, making him a horse we can endorse. But he also gets the sniff of approval from his fellow four-legged friends in Hollywood.

As the 50th anniversary of 'Mister Ed''s big Oct. 1, 1961, network debut approaches, we gathered quotes from some of the biggest names in TV's animal kingdom to roast and pay tribute to the equine entertainer.

Check out our gallery for commentary provided by everyone from Flipper and Lassie to weed-smoking Wilfred and Annie's Boobs, the monkey from 'Community.'

The 1950s were, quite simply, the Golden Age of Television. Everything from the biggest rock stars in the world to the top acting and writing talent in Hollywood were represented on the tube, alongside Shakespearean dramas, Broadway shows and operas.

TV schedules in the '50s were also packed with family comedies ('Leave It to Beaver' and 'The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet'), Westerns ('Gunsmoke' and 'The Lone Ranger'), some of the all-time greatest comedians (Groucho on 'You Bet Your Life,' Gleason on 'The Jackie Gleason Show') and, despite the more traditional times, some of the most independent ladies in TV land ('Our Miss Brooks' and, of course, 'I Love Lucy'). In short, though TV was still in its early days in the 1950s, there was plenty to watch, and love, in prime time. -- By Kimberly Potts

Stamp collecting is something I just never got into (don't worry, I have plenty of other obsessions), but this might be the first time I actually go to my local post office and get a sheet.

Yesterday, 20 new classic TV stamps were unveiled: I Love Lucy, The Twilight Zone, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Honeymooners, Texaco Star Theater, Perry Mason, The Lone Ranger, Burns and Allen, Ozzie and Harriet, Hopalong Cassidy, Lassie, Dragnet, You Bet Your Life, The Dinah Shore Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Phil Silvers Show, Howdy Doody, The Red Skelton Show, and Kukla, Fran, and Ollie,

Seventeen. That is the number of premieres that aired during the 1973-74 Saturday morning schedule. It marked the largest number of premieres since original fare began to be offered during the 1965-66 season. It also marked an official shift in the what the networks decided was rating-getting Saturday morning fare.

Taking an example from ABC's successful Saturday morning schedule during the 1972-73 season, the other networks loaded up their time slots with animated versions of its primetime related fare. There was also a lack of animated rock bands. With The Osmonds, Jackson 5ive and Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan off the schedule only one band (and one solo performer) joined the fray this time around.

The 1973-74 season also marked the return of some old Saturday morning favorites: Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Batman, Superman and Aquaman. After a bit of a vacation these characters returned to the airwaves in new formats. For all, it would be the beginning of a long-running Saturday morning relationship that would last well into the 80s.

Island-dwelling heroes, martini-swilling Ivy Leaguers and autobiography-penning sitcom actors ... we're talking, of course, about TV land's most beloved canine cohorts.

How much do you know about the most memorable prime-time pooches?

Take our quiz and find out! Be warned: it's "ruff" stuff.

Child actor Gary Gray died of cancer on April 4. The LA Times has the obituary.

Gray made his acting debut in Joan Crawford's A Woman's Face, but is probably best known for the many Westerns he was in, including Return of the Bad Men and Rachel and the Stranger. He played Nancy Reagan's (Davis) son in The Next Voice You Hear, appeared in films with Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo, appeared on I Love Lucy, and was in the last Lassie movie that MGM made in 1951, The Painted Hills.

(Oh, the pic? That's Gray on the right. On the left? Dean Stockwell!)