Character actor Frank Cady–in zillions of movies, most notably Ace in the Hole and The Bad Seed–but best known as Sam Drucker on the “hick trifecta” *Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies *and Petticoat Junction--died at 96 on Friday.
Even as we speak, Mr. Haney is emptying the stock out the back of the store onto his truck . . .
He and Eli Wallach remind me of what my aunt said when she passed 90: “I guess they’ll just have to shoot me on Judgement Day.”
IIRC, both Cady and Janet Leigh were native Californians, as was my dad; and although there’s no traditional regional dialect, there was something distinctive in their speech.
I used to work in the small coastal town where Cady lived and spoke to him a time or two. Couldn’t have been more different from Sam Drucker; a sweet, modest gentleman with an easy laugh.
I’m sure his general store was put out of business by a Wal-Mart years ago!
I loved the fact that Drucker was two different characters in each show (as befitting the differences in the shows). In Green Acres, he was part of the general absurdity, but in Petticoat Junction, he was far more realistic.
He was still alive? Wow! I thought he had to be dead when I watched those shows.
And the weird part is that when you learned you were wrong you were in fact right. It’s Schrodinger’s Drucker.
Amazing that somebody who played a love interest of Irene Ryan lived until 1912. Of course he was only in his 50s, a bit younger than his character (at least I assume Sam Drucker was supposed to be a bit older).
I guess that leaves only Eb.
Okay, this post was confusing on several different levels.
So I’ll just point out that Mary Grace Canfield, aka Ralph Monroe, is still alive at age 87.
Apologies, that should read 2012. (When you time travel as much as I do you sometimes get your centuries confused.)
Sorry to learn about this. I loved both those shows as a kid.
Aw, damn. 
RIP, Frank.
Betty Jo, Billie Jo, or Bobbie Jo?
Ellie Mae Clampett or Lisa Douglas? :dubious:
I don’t know, that sounds like ol’ Sam.
Green Acres–I will go to my grave proclaiming–was one of the most brilliant, absurdist, po-mo shows of all time. “Vould you like a ‘directed by’ egg zis morning, dahling?”
Agreed. I always assumed the writers must have had access to some really good drugs back in the 60’s.
Too bad about Frank. Count me in with the “didn’t know he was still alive” folks.
A lot of the writing reminded me of the early absurdist Marx Brothers films at Paramount, before they were bought and gelded by MGM.
I mean, Alfred Lord and Ralph Waldo Monroe? Drobny the Hungarian Resistance Duck? Arnold and Cynthia’s inter-species romance? References to everyone from Anna Held to Gilda Gray to Anna May Wong? *Love *that show.
Plus, Oliver and Lisa were the hottest TV couple outside of Gomez and Morticia.
His character, while part of the weirdness, was actually a nice guy who was slightly more normal than the rest. I wonder if don’t mind me was confusing him with Mr. Haney.
The show was absolutely surreal. I love watching the reruns and also wonder what kind of drugs the writers were using.
Sorry, but the hottest couple on the show was Fred & Doris Ziffel, with their love-child Arnold 
I remember one episode with Oliver and Lisa in bed as the opening credits ran, and Lisa says, “Oh look! It’s the writing!” Oliver: “Writing? What writing?” Lisa: “The writing in the air!” Oliver: “Writing in the air??” Lisa: “Yes - the writing in the air. But the letters are always backwards!” Brilliant!
When Nick at Night first started showing “Green Acres” reruns, they used the tagline: “It’s not dumb. It’s surreal!”
ZaSu Pitts!
S’trewth! I always have to tell people who are only vaguely familiar with it that it is not Beverly Hillbillies or Petticoat Junction, it is a brilliantly insane *parody *of them.
(Remember every time Oliver started on one of his How Great Is the American Farmer speeches, a fife started playing some patriotic theme, which everyone could hear but him?)
I loved all these shows as a kid. Green Acres may have been the best absurdist comedy of it’s time, followed closely by the Hillbillies. I know Cady wasn’t as old as he played at the time, but I’m still surprised that he was still around until recently. RIP Frank, and all the other departed residents of the Bugtussle greater metropolitan area.
