Trivia for
"Green Acres" (1965)

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• Adapted from the radio show, "Granby's Green Acres", which was on the air around 1950.
  
  
• Creator Jay Sommers wrote extensively for "Petticoat Junction" (1963) in its second season (1964-65), and these un-syndicated shows feature the first appearances of Doris (then "Ruthie"), Fred, Newt and even Arnold the Pig the year before Acres went on the air.
  
  
• The first Arnold was a male. The others - 2-4 a year - were females.
  
  

• The Douglases' cow was named Eleanor.
  
  
• Though Eleanor Audley played Eunice Douglas, Oliver's mother, she was actually only one year older then Eddie Albert.
  
  
• Took place in the same fictional universe as "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962) and "Petticoat Junction" (1963). Characters from the latter series often appeared on this show and vice-versa.
  
  
• Oliver met Lisa after his plane was shot down over Hungary during World War II,
  
  
• During the final season, the Douglases got a pet duck named Drobney. He was the son of a duck (also named Drobney) that helped Lisa during World War II.
  
  
• The Douglases' rooster was named Bertram and their hen was named Alice.
  
  
• During the first season, the Douglases had a dog named Mignon (as in "filet mignon"). Mignon, was still "present" in Season 2, although not a lot of screen time.
  
  
• Lisa's maiden name was Granietz.
  
  
• Mr. Haney had a basset hound named Cynthia who had a crush on Arnold.
  
  
• The name of the towns in the vicinity of Hooterville were Pixley, Crabwell Corners and Stankwell Falls.
  
  
• Although the names of the towns in this show are assumed to be made up, there is an area of southern Tulare County, California - a rural community about 175 miles north of Los Angeles - that has several towns whose names are suspiciously similar to those in this series: Porterville ("Hooterville"), Dutch Corners ("Crabwell Corners") and, in fact, there actually is a town in the vicinity called Pixley.
  
  
• The name of the state that Hooterville was located in was never mentioned, but in the first episode, Oliver told Lisa he had to fly to Chicago and change planes a few times to get to Hooterville. In another episode he mentions the state capital (Springfield) was only a four hour drive. This could make it somewhere in very rural Illinois.
  
  
• The manufacturer of Oliver's lemon of a tractor that Mr. Haney sold him was Hoyt-Clagwell.
  
  
• The name of Hooterville's newspaper was the World Guardian.
  
  
• During the final season, Eb got a steady girlfriend in the person of Darlene Wheeler. However, in many of the early episodes it was revealed that he had a crush on Betty Jo Bradley. In several episodes he dated a girl named Lorelei.
  
  
• The governor of the state that Hooterville was in was based on then California governor (and future president) Ronald Reagan. He was a former actor that ran film festivals of his films to help generate revenue for the state.
  
  
• Mr. Haney's first name is Charlton (from episode #25, "The Deputy"). A couple of episodes referred to his first name as Eustace.
  
  
• Before Eddie Albert was considered for the part of Oliver, the producers were seriously considering Don Ameche for the part.
  
  
• There has been considerable conjecture offered regarding in what state "Green Acres" might be set. Two episodes from Season Three indicate that Hooterville may very well be in Indiana: In Season 3, Episode 21, "Flight to Nowhere", Mr. Haney indicates that it is "almost 400 miles" from Hooterville to Chicago, and in Season 3, Episode 24, "Our Son, the Barber", Eb asks Oliver to sign his application to "M.I.T....Middle Indiana Tonsorial College." Furthermore, Indiana's state nickname is "The Hoosier State", and one can't help but notice the similarities between "Hoosier" and "Hooter".
  
  
• Arnold the Pig was the only cast member to win an award for a performance in a sitcom. He won the coveted "Patsy" Award in 1967, given to the best performance by an animal.
  
  
• The major sponsors were General Foods (now Kraft Foods) makers of Maxwell House Coffee and Post Cereals.
  
  
• Was one of the victims of the infamous rural purge in 1971 along with "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962), "Mayberry R.F.D." (1968), "Hee Haw" (1969) and "Toast of the Town" (1948). These shows were perceived by CBS executive Fred Silverman to appeal only to those who lived in rural areas and older people, so he decided to cancel them even though they were all still hugely popular at the time.
  
  
• Vic Mizzy wrote the famous "Green Acres" theme, and also provided the show's score for all seven seasons.
  
  
• This was the first television sitcom in which the theme song was sung by stars of the show (beating "The Monkees" (1966) by one year).
  
  
• Was the second TV series/sitcom to have the husband and wife sleeping in the same bed, beating "The Brady Bunch" (1969) by four years ("Bewitched" (1964) was the first in 1964).
  
  
• Although according to legend the pig that played Arnold was eaten by the cast and crew, Tom Lester has said that he just said it one time as a joke.
  
  
• Pat Buttram based his portrayal of Mr. Haney on Tom Parker - aka "Col. Tom Parker", Elvis Presley's manager - whom he met years earlier when Parker was a carnival barker.
  
  

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