Posted on 06/10/2012 5:08:25 PM PDT by Borges
Frank Cady, 96, a character actor who played Hooterville general-store proprietor Sam Drucker on the TV sitcoms “Green Acres” and “Petticoat Junction,” died Friday at his home in Wilsonville, Ore., said his daughter, Catherine Turk. No specific cause was given.
Like Mr. Haney, Eb Dawson, Hank Kimball and Arnold the Pig, Cady’s Sam Drucker was a supporting cast member on “Green Acres” to lawyer Oliver Wendell Douglas and his socialite wife, Lisa, played by Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, who had ditched the high life in New York City for the charms of a farm in Hooterville.
Cady played Drucker for the entire run of “Green Acres” on CBS, from 1965 to 1971, when it was canceled.
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Just the other night saw him in an episode of Hawaiian Eye ( via DVD ) . Have Seasons 1 and 2 of Green Acres , too . 96 - wow ! R.I.P. Sam !
RIP Mr. Cady. I believe you were one of the good guys.
Eddie was a true war hero and a Minneapolis native before Minneapolis was the Berkeley of the midwest.
That was the show’s whole idea, that everyone was crazy except Mr. Douglas. Of course Sam Drucker was the exception as he was also normal.
He was also a semi-regular on “Ozzie and Harriet.”
I don’t know how far back he goes in films, but the earliest I recall seeing him is in a nifty little spy/crime thriller called “The Atomic City” (1952), which starred Gene Barry as a nuclear scientist whose son is kidnapped and ransomed for the atomic bomb formula. Cady had a small role, and already looked kinda old back then!
Ralph Monroe(Mary Grace Canfield) is also still alive. Alf (Sid Melton)just died a few months ago.
I did not know who William Schallert was until I looked him up.
As soon as I saw his face, I immediately knew who he was. Probably in more TV shows than any other actor.
Frank Cady was also in a lot.
In another TV show in which Eddie Albert starred along with Robert Wagner.
In one episode he sings “Lile Marlene”, I am unsure of exact spelling but boy he could sing.
I mentioned him as he is not one of the huge Tv / movie stars still alive such as Ernest Borgnine. I liked him while watching the repeats of Patty Duke Show & in Get smart.
Great character face and a good actor. I enjoyed Green Acres, especially Mr. Haney.
Wasn’t the “rural purge” Fred Silverman’s doing?
“That was the show’s whole idea, that everyone was crazy except Mr. Douglas. Of course Sam Drucker was the exception as he was also normal.”
Well, Sam acted normal, but he wasn’t quite normal in that he (and also Lisa) accepted all of the weird characters as being normal. So really Oliver was the only normal person.
Such a strange show. I was the only one in my family that appreciated it.
You made me look it up. LOL It was called Switch and ran from 1975 to 1978. He did have a wonderful voice.
Obviously he was living life hard and partying. Just dropped dead at 96, what else could be the cause?
Loved his character. RIP.
Petticoat Junction is on every day. I’m old and really enjoy the “clean programs”.
Same here. As soon as I saw his picture I said, "Oh, Patty Duke's father!"
Yes he did have a great voice.
If I remember right he sang “Lili Marlene” with no music and it is normally sung by a girl. He started very slow then increased the tempo.
Yep, it was a different time back then. TV shows and movies were not so in your face about innuendo and language.
Can you imagine if they made “Gilligan’s Island” today? Oh my gosh, the entire situation would be “sexually charged” shall we say.
And who would be the obligatory “gay” character on Gilligan’s Island????
I remember the three sisters that worked at the hotel next to the train station. The show always opened with them bathing in the water tower. Oh yeah.
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