Green Acres

Green Acres was a television sitcom broadcast on CBS from 1965-1971 when (despite solid ratings) it was unceremoniously cancelled during the CBS "rural purge" when it cancelled most of its programming in favor of urban- and liberal-oriented shows. It was a sister show to another CBS sitcom, Petticoat Junction.

Produced by Filmways Television, the show centered on New York City attorney Oliver Wendell Douglas, whose lifelong dream was to be a farmer (to the consternation of his patrician mother Eunice). Eventually he and his ditzy Hungarian-born wife, Lisa, move to a rural area near Hooterville. The premise was the Douglases' total lack of knowledge of farming, and the interactions with the oddball residents of the area: con-artist Mr. Haney (who sold Douglas a worthless farm, stripped it of anything valuable, and would mysteriously appear when Oliver needed an item and sell it to him at an inflated price), farmhand Eb Dawson (who would call them "Mom" and "Dad" to Oliver's chagrin), general store clerk Sam Drucker (who was a regular on both this show and Petticoat Junction), scatterbrained county agent Hank Kimball, neighbors Fred and Doris Ziffel and "son" Arnold (who was actually a pig), and the Monroe "Brothers" (Alf and "brother" Ralph -- actually a female, who was called Ralph so they could get jobs; however they rarely finished any job and what work they did was disastrous). Characters from Petticoat Junction, particularly Uncle Joe Carson, also made crossover appearances on Green Acres.

In 1990 a television movie, Return to Green Acres, was filmed. In the plot, the Douglases move back to New York City but are miserable there; the Hooterville townspeople were victimized by another of Mr. Haney's schemes (which would have destroyed the town) and they beg the Douglases to return.

Cast

Main cast

Actor	Role
Eddie Albert	Oliver Wendell Douglas
Eva Gabor	Lisa Gronyitz Douglas

Supporting/recurring cast

Actor	Role	Duration	Notes
Pat Buttram	Mr. Haney	Seasons 1–6	Local con man and former owner of the Douglas farm
Tom Lester	Eb Dawson	Seasons 1–6	The hired hand on the Douglas farm (Lester would be the last recurring cast member to pass away)
Hank Patterson	Fred Ziffel	Seasons 1–6	Local farmer and owner of a pig named Arnold, which he treats as if he were his "son"; first appeared as a character on Petticoat Junction in 1963
Barbara Pepper	Doris Ziffel	Seasons 1–3	Wife of Fred Ziffel Ryan was cast in Season Five after Pepper left following Season Three due to heart trouble; first appeared as a character on Petticoat Junction in 1964 under a different name, Ruth Ziffel
Fran Ryan		Seasons 5–6
Frank Cady	Sam Drucker	Seasons 1–6	Owner of Drucker's General Store Also a regular on Petticoat Junction
Sid Melton	Alf Monroe	Seasons 1–4	One of the "Monroe Brothers" handyman service
Mary Grace Canfield	Ralph Monroe	Seasons 1–6	One of the "Monroe Brothers" handyman service (though actually a female, not a male)
Alvy Moore	Hank Kimball	Seasons 1–6	Local county agent known for his scatterbrained approach to responses
Eleanor Audley	Eunice Douglas	Seasons 1–4	Mother of Oliver Douglas and mother-in-law of Lisa

External links

• Green Acres at IMDb