Green Acres (1965–1971)

A New York attorney and his wife try to live as genteel farmers in the bizarre community of Hooterville.

Creator:

Jay Sommers

Stars:

Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, Tom Lester

4 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Eddie Albert	...	Oliver Wendell Douglas (170 episodes, 1965-1971)
Eva Gabor	...	Lisa Douglas (170 episodes, 1965-1971)
Tom Lester	...	Eb Dawson (149 episodes, 1965-1971)
Frank Cady	...	Sam Drucker (142 episodes, 1965-1971)
Pat Buttram	...	Mr. Haney (141 episodes, 1965-1971)
Alvy Moore	...	Hank Kimball (135 episodes, 1965-1971)
Hank Patterson	...	Fred Ziffel (80 episodes, 1965-1971)

Storyline

Manhattan lawyer Douglas drags his protesting socialite wife and her finery to the rural backwash of a rundown farm outside Hooterville. They attempt to get the farm fixed up. Farmer Fred Ziffel's pig Arnold watches TV and is in many ways smarter than the Hootervillians.

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Plot Keywords:

farm | famous opening theme | pig actor | 1960s | multiple actors for one character | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Country Cousins

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmways Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (170 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the towns in the vicinity of Hooterville were Pixley, Crabwell Corners and Stankwell Falls.

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Goofs

In the opening song when Oliver sings "You are my wife," he reaches for Lisa with his left hand. As Lisa sings "Goodbye city life," Oliver reaches in and grabs her with his right hand.

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Quotes

Lisa Douglas: Could you keep it a secret from my husband? You see, I want to surprise him.
Ralph Monroe: My lips are sealed.
Hank Kimball: Now if we could only keep them that way.
Ralph Monroe: If you weren't so sexy, I'd beat your brains out!

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Crazy Credits

After the closing credits, the Filmways logo appears, and Eva Gabor's voice says, "This has been a Filmways presentation, darling."

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Connections

Referenced in Petticoat Junction: The Good Luck Ring (1965)

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Soundtracks

"Green Acres"
Sang by Eddie Albert & Eva Gabor

User Reviews

Surrealism hits the TV sitcom

I always thought that if Salvador Dali wanted to do a TV sitcom, he'd come up with something like "Green Acres".

This show was a lot of fun, and thank God it never took itself seriously. It was also one of the first to really break the "fourth wall", making self-referential remarks, such as the characters pointing to the credits as they rolled, or having the characters refer to background music being played--I don't think any sitcom had ever done that before! Anyway, Eddie Albert did a great job as perennial straight man to the lunacy around him, with everyone else in on the strangeness. I watched this show as a kid and never really appreciated Oliver's predicament, but now, as a middle-aged man, I know exactly how he feels.

Forty years after its heyday, the show holds up very well. Give it a look.