Monday, June 11, 2012

Frank Cady (1915-2012)

If there was just one store in the fictional town of Hooterville, chances are Sam Drucker would've been a very rich man, especially considering how much business he was taking in.

Drucker, played by Frank Cady, had the distinction of appearing regularly on both Green Acres & Petticoat Junction, plus a few well-placed guest appearances on the third part of Paul Henning's Hooterville trilogy, The Beverly Hillbillies, making him the first character to appear on three shows at once. This feat hasn't been duplicated---yet----and that puts Cady in some rarefied air in television history.

It seems that Drucker wore many hats in Hooterville. In addition to running the general store, he also was the justice of the peace and editor/publisher of the town newspaper. Hooterville might've been the only town that petitioned for the 30-hour day, just so Drucker could get some rest!

In all seriousness, we mourn the passing of Frank Cady, who left us on Friday at 96, having long since retired after a lengthy show business career that included a number of other TV & movie roles. Cady also did some commercials, but I wasn't able to find anything to post with this piece. As of this writing, the cause of death is not known, but likely natural causes.

Cady's passing leaves just two cast members from Green Acres----Tom Lester (Eb) & Mary Grace Canfield (Ralph Monroe), still among the living. Cady's last television appearance was in a Green Acres reunion movie some years back, which was interesting considering that of the Hooterville Trilogy, only Petticoat Junction didn't merit a reunion movie, and the Hillbillies' TV-movie got the most attention.

Rest in peace, Frank.

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