ALAN Young is the envy of every red-blooded male in the country. It's not because of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, nor for his two Emmy awards.

Or, for that matter, a glittering showbiz career which has seen him conquer radio, film and television and work with some of the biggest names in history. I've had a soft spot for Rangers since they thrashed my LA Scots

Alan may live 5000 miles from the home of football but that hasn't diminished his love for the beautiful game.

"I'm terrible," he said with a laugh, "I just need to hear the bounce of the ball and I get thrilled."

Alan's passion for the game even saw him try out for a place in a local football team when he first arrived in Hollywood.

"I walked into the dressing room and all I could hear were Scottish accents I ended up becoming the president of the club."

Despite never having visited Ibrox, Alan admits for having a soft spot for Rangers. He added: "I followed Rangers as they came out here in the 1950s and my team, the LA Scots, gave them a game.

"They creamed us and I met all the team.

"Soon afterwards, Matt Busby came out with Manchester United and we played them too.

"Matt Busby was so good to us when I came to England in the late 50s. He took us to Manchester and to Bolton where they were playing."

He may have left Scotland in the mid 20s but in footballing terms there's no greater patriot than Alan. "I used to tell people that all the best players in the English league were Scottish," he said. I wish I could have worked with my next door neighbour - my big pal John Wayne

Alan's closest friend in showbiz was someone with whom he never had the chance to work his next door neighbour, John Wayne.

Alan felt a close bond to the man known as Duke' to his pals who was already a screen legend in his own right thanks to films such as Rio Grande, The Quiet Man and The Searchers,.

"He was a neighbour of mine when I lived down in Newport Beach next to the ocean," said Alan. "He was the most humble and down-to-earth man I ever met.

"He was very kind and very loving to his children. I just liked him, he was a real man. I saw him every Sunday night when he ran movies in his house."

For someone who has worked with the Who's Who of Hollywood greats, Alan is surprisingly humble and magnanimous about them all.

"They were all nice. I wish I could think of something wrong with one of them but I can't."

The reason most men are green with envy is because Alan, who is half-Scots, once dated screen legend Marilyn Monroe.

It was the late 40s and Alan, who later gained fame in the Mr Ed show and provided the voice for Disney's Scrooge McDuck, was a big hit on the radio with the Alan Young Show.

At the time, a float in the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade for de rigeur for any rising star. Alan was no exception, although compared to the huge stars on the other floats he was relatively unknown.

"All the other floats had big stars on them," says Alan, who will be 85 this week. "So I asked a casting director to help me with my float. He said, I'll put something on your float and no-one will notice anybody else'.

"He put five gorgeous blonde girls on the float and the public didn't look at me, just at these lovely girls.

"When it was all over, there was this little shy girl and we all went for out for cocoa and I sat with her and we got talking.

"I invited her out to a party about a week later and she said yes."

That "little shy girl" was Norma Jean Dougherty - as she was known at the time - later to become the biggest sex symbol and screen idol of the 20th century, Marilyn Monroe.

At the time, Norma Jean was just another young model and actress lured by the promise of fame and fortune to the bright lights of Hollywood.

Like millions would in future years, Alan was instantly attracted to Norma.

Unlike her screen persona as a self-confident platinum blonde, the reality was somewhat different, as Alan found out on one of their first dates.

"I was driving to this party in the San Fernando valley where I lived," he recalls. "I had to drive through the mountains and a fog came and I said, I'm kind of lost here Norma, do you mind if I drive to my house and I can phone up the house of the party to see how to get there?'"

He continued: "She got kind of quiet and when I pulled up in front of my house, I said, do you want to come in while I make a phone call?' She said no I'll stay here'.

"I said: My mother and father are in there'. So she came in and met my mother and father, who were down in Hollywood visiting.

"When you take a girl in to meet your parents, that's a serious thing and I think they took it the wrong way because they went very quiet."

Not surprisingly, Alan's father also fell under Norma Jean's spell. "My father looked her square in the chest, "laughs Alan, "because she was wearing this beautiful sweater and little skirt.

"I dated her a couple of times after that but I didn't see her again until she was a big star and I didn't recognise her.

"I found her to be so sweet and innocent.

"I did kiss her goodnight but she turned her face sideways and I got her on the cheek.

"So, I did kiss Marilyn Monroe."

Despite their brief relationship, it's clear Alan retains a soft spot for his Norma. "She was a darling girl, I was so sorry the way she was treated later on.

"She was basically a lovely young lady who was raised in foster home with no parents.

"It was a very sad story, especially the ending."

Marilyn Monroe wasn't the only Hollywood A-list star Alan has encountered during his glittering 60-year career.

He's shared the silver screen with legends such as actresses Jane Russell and Natalie Wood and his long television career enabled him to work alongside comedian Bob Hope, actress Mae West, singer Frank Sinatra and actor Clint Eastwood.

The latter was already a big name in Hollywood, starring in Rawhide, when he made a guest appearance on Mr Ed, the comedy show which made Alan a household name.

"Clint Eastwood was a such nice quite boy, very gentlemanly," says Alan. Mister Ed and Me and More! by Alan Young is out now and available from Amazon.co.uk