If only Mister Ed could talk now

It’s almost as complicated as the Anna Nicole Smith situation and it involves another deceased Hollywood star -- the late horse Mister Ed, star of the 1960s sitcom of the same name.

Homebuilder Todd Carroll, who owns the Tahlequah, Okla., site where some say Ed is buried, has built a 1,000-pound granite monument to the horse.

And now he wants to cash in on the creature’s fame and build a subdivision on the 16-acre site with the entrance going past the monument. One possible name for the subdivision: Ed Stone.

But is Mister Ed really buried there?

Some neighbors say yes, the newspaper the Oklahoman reported, but some Internet sources say the horse that is buried there was used only in publicity shots. Equine actors have stand-ins too.

It would be nice if the matter could be cleared up by Mister Ed, who had the ability to speak on his TV show, but of course he’s not available, having died in 1969.

A representative of Alan Young, who portrayed Mister Ed’s owner, Wilbur Post, on the TV show, said the horse died in Burbank, was cremated and had his ashes spread there, the Oklahoman reported.

Mister Ed’s real name, by the way, was Bamboo Harvester, but let’s not make the story any more complicated than it is.

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Unclear on the concept: At a beach resort in the Philippines, Jo Quinio of Glendale saw a sign that must have been posted by a delusional gardener (see photo).

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Unusual Names Department: Driving through East L.A., I noticed a recreational area with a moniker that might not appeal to some over-protective parents -- Hazard Park.

Actually, the name doesn’t mean it’s a nest of possible accidents: It’s a tribute to 19th century L.A. Mayor Henry Hazard.

Even more eye-catching is Two Strike Park in La Crescenta, which sounds like an exercise area for people with two criminal convictions. Actually, it was given that name by 1940s actor Dennis Morgan, who raised funds for the park and felt that any kid who had to play in the street “had two strikes against him” (see photos).

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Fowl-play file: In his “Community Scanner” column in Long Beach’s Beachcomber newspaper, Steve Propes recounted how a duck waddled into a pet store “with a 43-year-old woman to buy some crickets for food -- for the duck, not the woman.”

Meanwhile, the woman’s male companion was allegedly swiping items from a nearby linen store.

“As the thief ran to his car,” Propes wrote, “a security guard gave chase, the man gunning the engine as the woman with the duck was getting in. She dropped the duck.”

A pet store employee who came to the assistance of the duck suffered an ankle injury, but the duck emerged unscathed. The couple were arrested.

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miscelLAny: Riverside County public defender Mary Ann Galante heard it from a colleague in Santa Clara County: A defendant who was supposed to attend a court-ordered class handed the judge proof that he had been present for the required sessions on Feb. 29, 30 and 31.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083; by fax at (213) 237-4712; by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012; and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.