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Frank Cady

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Frank Cady
Cady in The Great Rupert (1950)
Born
Frank Randolph Cady

(1915-09-08)September 8, 1915
DiedJune 8, 2012(2012-06-08) (aged 96)
Resting placeLos Osos Valley Memorial Park, Los Osos, California[1]
Other namesFrankie Cady
Frank R. Cady
Alma materStanford University
OccupationActor
Years active1947–1990
Known forSam Drucker
TelevisionThe Beverly Hillbillies
Green Acres
Petticoat Junction
Spouse
Shirley Cady
(m. 1940; died 2008)
Children2

Frank Randolph Cady (September 8, 1915 – June 8, 2012) was an American actor best known for his role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three American television series during the 1960s – Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, and The Beverly Hillbillies – and his earlier role as Doc Williams on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.[2]

Early life

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Cady was born in Susanville, California, the youngest of three children of Leon and Clara Cady.[3] In high school, he worked at a local newspaper, The Lassen County Advocate.[4] Cady's family later moved to Wilsonville, Oregon.

He studied journalism and drama at Stanford University, where he was involved with the campus humor magazine, the Stanford Chaparral. Following college graduation, Cady served an apprenticeship at the Westminster Theater in London, appearing in four plays. In England, he made an early television appearance on the BBC in late 1938.[4]

He returned to Stanford in 1939 for graduate studies and a position as a teaching assistant. While at Stanford, Cady met and later married his wife, Shirley Katherine Jones, in 1940. Born in Oakland, California, Shirley Cady, a Stanford graduate, had several vocations – professional singer, teacher, and legal secretary.[3]

Dissatisfied with academia, Frank began a series of jobs two years later, as an announcer and news broadcaster at various California radio stations. His career was put on hold in 1943 when he joined the United States Army Air Forces, serving in England, France, and Germany during World War II.[5]

Television and movie career

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After being discharged from military service in 1946, Cady appeared in a series of plays in the Los Angeles area that led to movie roles, beginning in 1947. In 1949, he had an uncredited speaking role in the film noir drama D.O.A.. In 1950, he had another uncredited role in Father of the Bride. He had a small part in The Asphalt Jungle (also 1950) playing a witness who refused to identify a robbery suspect. He appeared in George Pal's film When Worlds Collide (1951), and worked with Pal again in 1964 in 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.

Cady acted in Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (or The Big Carnival, also 1951) and portrayed the male half of the fire escape sleeping couple in Rear Window in 1954. He played the husband of Eileen Heckart characters in two films: The Bad Seed (1956) and Zandy's Bride (1974). He appeared on the Make Room For Daddy episode that was the pilot for The Andy Griffith Show. He was cast on some radio programs, including Gunsmoke episode #140 ("Outlaw Robin Hood") on January 8, 1955.[6]

In the 1950s, Cady played Doc Williams in Ozzie and Harriet (1953–1964). In 1961, he made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as twin brothers Joe and Hiram Widlock in "The Case of the Pathetic Patient".

In 1964, he played Webb Norton, an angry and abusive father (to Dylan Cannon’s character Ivy Norton) on Gunsmoke, in the episode “Aunt Thede” (S10E13).

He acted in television and was the only actor to play a recurring character on three television sitcoms at the same time, which he did from 1968 to 1969, appearing on The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction simultaneously. As Sam Drucker, he appeared in 142 of 170 Green Acres episodes during its six-year run from 1965 to 1971. Also as Drucker, he was one of only three co-stars of Petticoat Junction who stayed with the series for its entire seven-year run (1963–1970), along with Edgar Buchanan and Linda Henning, appearing in 152 of the show's 222 episodes. He played Drucker in 10 episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies from 1968 to 1970, and he continued his Drucker role in the final season of Green Acres after Petticoat Junction ended in 1970.

His final acting role was in the television movie Return to Green Acres (1990). In a 1995 interview with the Portland Oregonian Cady spoke of his television career: "You get typecast. I'm remembered for those shows and not for some pretty good acting jobs I did other times. I suppose I ought to be grateful for that, because otherwise I wouldn't be remembered at all. I've got to be one of the luckiest guys in the world."[7]

In 2005, Cady attended Eddie Albert's funeral, along with Green Acres co-stars Sid Melton and Mary Grace Canfield.[citation needed]

Death

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Shirley Cady died on August 22, 2008, at the age of 91. The Cadys, who were married 68 years, had two children – daughter Catherine Turk and son Steven Cady. They had three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Frank Cady died at his home on June 8, 2012, at age 96. No specific cause was given.[5] Upon his death he was cremated and his ashes are buried at Los Osos Valley Memorial Park, Los Osos, California in the same plot as his wife.[1]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1948 He Walked by Night Pete Hammond Uncredited
1949 Flamingo Road Tom Hill Uncredited
D.O.A. Eddie - Bartender Uncredited
1950 Perfect Strangers Geologist Uncredited
The Asphalt Jungle Night Clerk Uncredited
The Great Rupert Mr. Taney - Tax Collector
Father of the Bride Engagement Party Guest Uncredited
Emergency Wedding Mr. Hoff Uncredited
Experiment Alcatraz Max Henry
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone Harry Uncredited
A Christmas Wish Tax Investigator
Hunt the Man Down Showbox Puppeteer Uncredited
1951 Lightning Strikes Twice Gas Station Man Uncredited
Dear Brat Creavy
Ace in the Hole Al Ferderber
Let's Make It Legal Ferguson
When Worlds Collide Harold Ferris
1952 The Atomic City F.B.I. Agent George Weinberg
The Sellout Bennie Amboy
1953 Half a Hero Mr. Watts
Marry Me Again Dr. Day
1954 Rear Window Man on Fire Escape
1955 Trial Canford Uncredited
The Indian Fighter Trader Joe
1956 The Bad Seed Henry Daigle
Three Violent People Dr. Graham Uncredited
1957 The Tin Star Abe Pickett Uncredited
1958 The Missouri Traveler Willie Poole
The Girl Most Likely Pop
1959 The Man Who Understood Women John Milstead
1964 7 Faces of Dr. Lao Mayor James Sargent
1967 The Gnome-Mobile Charlie Pettibone Uncredited
1970 The Million Dollar Duck Assayer
1974 Zandy's Bride Pa Allan
1975 Hearts of the West Pa Tater
1990 Return to Green Acres Sam Drucker TV movie; final film role

Television credits

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Year Series Role Episode(s)
1954–1965 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Doc Williams 71 episodes
1956 December Bride "Lily in a Gas Station"
Private Secretary Barney "Passing the Buck"
1957 Broken Arrow Thaddeus Parker "Devil's Eye"
1958 Maverick Hamelin "Rope of Cards"
Trackdown Bob Tail "The Wedding"
1959 The Gale Storm Show Director "It's Murder My Dear"
Sugarfoot Lawyer Jay Hollis "The Mysterious Stranger"
1960 The Alaskans Bradshaw "The Last Bullet"
Make Room for Daddy Will Hoople - Town Drunk "Danny Meets Andy Griffith"
Klondike Lester "Swoger's Mule"
1961 Guestward, Ho! Harry Crawford "Bill, the Fireman"
Hawaiian Eye Harvey Gamson "The Stanhope Brand"
Pete and Gladys Teller "The Live-In Couple"
Perry Mason Joe/Hiram Widlock "The Case of the Pathetic Patient"
Rawhide Storekeeper S3:E14, "Incident of the Big Blowout"
1962 Dennis the Menace Dr. Ferguson "The Club Initiation"
"The Joey Bishop Show" Defense Attorney "Very Warm For Christmas"
Cheyenne Wayne "The Quick and the Deadly"
1963 The Virginian Mr. Hardy "The Exiles"
Glynis George "The Pros and Cons"
Grindl Mr. Burroughs "The Great Bank Robbery"
1963–1970 Petticoat Junction Mr. Drucker, The General Store Shopkeeper 168 episodes
1964 Hazel Mr. Pincus "The Flagpole"
Gunsmoke Webb Norton "Aunt Thede"
1965–1966 The Andy Griffith Show Luke 2 episodes
1965–1971 Green Acres Mr. Drucker, The General Store Shopkeeper 142 episodes
1968–1970 The Beverly Hillbillies Sam Drucker 10 episodes
1974 Hawaii Five-O Judge Edgar Bergstrom "Mother's Deadly Helper"
1974–1975 These Are the Days Homer (voice) 16 episodes
1977 Eight Is Enough "Hit and Run"
1977 ABC Weekend Special Mr. Minney "The Winged Colt"
1978 ABC Weekend Special Mr. Sutter "Soup and Me"
1978 ABC Weekend Special Mr. Sutter "Soup for President"

References

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  1. ^ a b Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 109. ISBN 978-0786479924.
  2. ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (June 11, 2012). "Frank Cady, Kept Store on 'Green Acres', Dies at 96". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Frank R. Cady Obituary". Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Frank Cady biography". Official Petticoat Junction Web site. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Noland, Claire (June 10, 2012). "'Green Acres' actor Frank Cady dies at 96". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017.
  6. ^ "Gunsmoke". OTR.Network Library.
  7. ^ "Green Acres character actor Frank Cady dies". Associated Press via Yahoo News. June 10, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
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