Whatever Happened to the Cast of ‘Green Acres’? Say Hello to Oliver, Lisa and the Folks of Hooterville

Admittedly what Marvel Entertainment pulled off with their shared cinematic universe — bringing together characters like Iron Man, Captain America and Spider-Man — was impressive, but let’s give credit where it’s due: the Hooterville Universe was there first, uniting the worlds of Green Acres, Petticoat Junction and The Beverly Hillbillies. OK, that’s not fair. Universal Pictures actually beat all of them with their classic horror characters, epitomized by Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. But we digress.

Having already created The Beverly Hillbillies in 1962 and Petticoat Junction in 1963, producer Paul Henning teamed up with writer/producer Jay Sommers, who is credited with the concept of Green Acres. It’s about New York attorney Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert) who has had a lifelong dream of being a farmer. To achieve it, he takes his Hungarian wife, Lisa (Eva Gabor), out of the city to a farm in disrepair located in Hooterville. Both of them are fish out of water in their own way and have to learn to adapt to this new life — and the somewhat bizarre people around them. That challenge kept the show going for six seasons from 1965 to 1971 and 170 episodes (plus the 1990 reunion TV movie, Return to Green Acres).

“I got the idea from my stepfather when I was a kid,” Jay related to the Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia in 1965. “He wanted a farm in the worst way and he finally bought me one. I remember having to hoe potatoes. I hated it. I won’t even do the gardening at our home now, I was so resentful as a child. But, those childhood memories come in handy when you’re trying to dream up the idea for a new television show.”

Said Eva at the time, “I was on a farm once. It was just like this one on the show. Terrible. I didn’t like it. I do not have to call on tremendous reserves of acting to play the part of a disdainful occupant of this farm. In the script they made me a city-loving person and I am indeed just that. They have given me the most gorgeous Jean Louis creations and my own jewels and I love everyone on the show and everything about the show. Why? Because I don’t have to live on a farm … except during working hours.”

Added Eddie, “I grew up in the Midwest, which entitles me to like this kind of bucolic life. I understand the philosophy of this fellow [Oliver]. He may never learn to be a good farmer, but he maintains it’s the only way to live.”

“The theme of this show is a universal one,” proclaimed Jay. “It’s got a message: let’s get away from it all.”

But we’d prefer if you’d stick around and scroll down to reacquaint yourself with the Green Acres branch of Hooterville.