In the US Navy, Eddie Albert was awarded the Bronze Star for his participation in the WW2 Battle of Tarawa - an extremely costly battle for the US Marines (3,000 casualties).
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1752.html
So long Eddie. As others have said, you led a full life.
No shit? I miss him. He was a great actor. I didn’t like him much, but he did his job well.
And yes, he was a war hero, as wolf-meister said above.
He will be much missed.
Another great Albert moment on film: the photographer in Roman Holiday. I always giggle when he steps out of the crowd at the press conference to show off his lighter.
He was good as a general (or was it a colonel) on Omaha Beach in The Longest Day.
Ah well, Mr. Haney’s probably selling him a genuwine St. Peter approved harp and set of wings as we speak.
IIRC he was a Higgens Boat pilot. He was credited with pulling out many wounded Marines from the water under heavy fire.
This is interesting, from Eddie Albert’s L.A. Times obit:
Well, that explains Albert’s work in the Arbor Day Foundation PSAs. I always thought that it was because he needed the work. Nice to see it was for something he believed in.
And only on The Straight Dope will you read of that, ladies and gents.
What’s more…NBC had been broadcasting closed-circuit for several months before that, using Eddie and his nightclub partner in a series of sketches from their club act.
Thus making Mr. Albert part of TV’s first actual series…an achievement only partially diminished by the fact that it couldn’t be seen outside the RCA Building.
The name of the act?
(You won’t believe this.)
"The Honeymooners."
I have no online cites for the above, but a Prof. William Hawes wrote a very bizarre little book years ago called American Television Drama that tells the whole story.
The way the Yahoo obit had it, he changed it himself to sound less like a sandwich.
:dubious:
The news report I saw left out the ‘in a wheelchair’ part. They just said he was playing basketball with his granddaughter. I remember thinking ‘holy crap, at 99?’
Ah, I’m too cynical sometimes. But I think the whole ‘playing basketball’ thing is a bit of an exaggeration.
The L.A. Times also notes that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s ten years ago, so I suspect his recent years were something of a challenge, despite the stories of pushups and basketball.
Most people remember Eddie Albert for his comic and straight acting roles, but he was a notable Broadway musical theater performer as well. He had substantial roles in the Rodgers & Hart show *The Boys From Syracuse * and the Irving Berlin show Miss Liberty, among others. There is a photo of an oh-so-young Eddie in tights from The Boys From Syracuse that is just priceless.
Ah, Eddie, you will be missed. Say hi to Eva and Arnold for us.
Oliver: Lisa, honey, I’m dead!
Mr. Haney: Waal, if’n it ain’t Mr. Douglas! We all been waitin’ fer ya–you must be nigh unto 95 years old!
Oliver: Well, as a matter of fact, Mr. Haney, I was–
Mr. Haney: Now, don’t say a word–I know just what you were goin’ to say! You were lookin’ fer a harp!
Oliver: Now, Mr. Haney, I’m sure they supply–
Mr. Haney --An’ I got right here a gen-you-wine Harpo Marx gold-plated harp, fer only one hundred dollars.
Oliver: A hundred dollars? Why you can just go to–
Lisa: Olivair, dahling! Vhere haff you been? Deed you breeng Alf and Ralph viss you? Vait teel you see our cloud–eet needs its silver lining repolished!
Oliver: Lisa!
[they nuzzle behind pearly gates for a few minutes]
Mr. Kimball: Glad to see you, Mr. Douglas! Well, not glad, it means you’re dead. Well, not dead, 'cause you’re talking to me. Not that you are talking to me . . . Say, maybe I’m not dead! [wanders off]
Arnold: snort snort
Arnold: snort snort
Arnold: snort snort
Arnold: snort snort
Arnold: snort snort
Oliver: Lisa–what are all these pigs doing here?
Mr. Ziffel: Waal, Mr. Douglas! We all been waitin’ fer ya–you must be nigh unto 95 years old!
Oliver: Well, as a matter of fact, Mr. Ziffel–
Mr. Ziffel: Ah see all the Arnolds have been sayin’ hello. Turned into Hog Heaven what with all the Arnolds we used on the show!
Lisa: Not only zat, but Mr. Ziffel has two Mrs. Ziffels up here, dahling!
Oliver: Well, where’s Sam Drucker set up his store? I can’t wait to start planting!
Lisa: You deedn’t breeng heem viss you? He must be 95 years old! I hope you’re not hungry, dahling . . .
Oliver: As a matter of fact, I am.
Lisa: Bad news, dahling. Every time I try to make hotscakes up here, zey fall right through ze clouds!
Oliver: Ahh–I am in heaven!
I actually met Mr. Albert a little over 12 years ago. Mrs. Flex and I were taking a vacation to Tahiti. We had to take a puddle jumper over to Moorea from the big island and he was on the same plane (and staying in the same hotel!). He was pretty frail and we carried his luggage for him to and from the plane. He was vacationing with Nanette Fabray and we all chatted on the way over. A couple of days later we ran into Ms. Fabray at the hotel and had another short chat. At first she thought we were fans coming up to talk to her and suddenly remembered we were the ones who helped them on the plane. That look of realization and embarassment was precious. It’s gotta be tough in their position to not be able to interact with ordinary people in an ordinary way.
I always loved Green Acres. Mr. Albert was a very pleasant man and I certainly now have a special feeling for him since we met. May he rest in peace.
I just hope he hasn’t got a pitchfork in his hands again.
It’s a compliment to that show that there’s been a “big budget motion picuture” version in the works for years but it never comes any closer to fruition than the movie versions of Good Omens and Confederacy of Dunces. At one point it was even announced that it would star Steve Martin and Bette Midler (the latter being less Hungarian beauty queen than pampered NYC Jewish princess) but luckily somebody went through rehab; another time it was Chevy Chase and Ivana Trump (the fact that she can’t act and would come across as an ice queen apparently not making a difference) but that too was quickly "leave the script, bring the cannoli"d. That show could only star Eddie, Eva, Pat and the gang- it worked because of the chemistry of the actors, Eva’s sweetness, Eddie’s ernestness, Pat’s voice and the absolutely inspired bits of absurdist humor that rivalled if not surpassed Monty Python’s best (the characters saw the credits… God that was brilliant!- I do remember thinking once that it could work on Northern Exposure if Marilyn Whirlwind saw the credits in an episode and said in her monotone “that’s not right…” while it was corrected, but that’s about the only show that could have gotten away with it).
I saw a Chris Rock interview once in which he said he’d been approached to play Lamont in a screen version of Sanford & Son and told them “You can’t remake that show- it wasn’t about a Watts junk dealer, it was about Redd Foxx as a Watts junk dealer!”. Green Acres wasn’t about a successful NYC lawyer who relocated to the country, it was about Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor relocating to the country. (I read that the idea for the series came from an Eva Gabor interview on her pal Merv’s show in which she had him crying with laughter while describing the weekend she spent on a farm, feeding chickens while wearing her mink and her jewels.)
Enjoy heaven, Mr. Douglas, and while you’re there be sure to see the Eiffel Tower.
Looks like Frank Cady(Sam Drucker) is 90. That guy has a list of credits a mile long!
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0128326/
Eb and the Monroe Brothers (Alf & Ralph [the first lesbian on primetime?]) are also still alive. Eb is extremely religious and gives speeches to churches and youth groups (and is proud of the fact that at 66 he is still a virgin, not that I would imagine it’s that difficult for him anymore).
Even though Green Acres made him an icon, I’ll always be impressed with his powerful performance as Col. Norval Algate Bliss (Mr. Future) in Captain Newman, M.D..