Lisa was the glamorous blonde wife of attorney Oliver Wendall Douglas (Eddie Albert), who was dragged from her privileged life in Manhattan to a decrepit farm in the sticks in this wacky series peopled by outlandish characters.
Eva played a character much like herself: a moneyed Hungarian accustomed to the finer things in life. Lisa hilariously mangled the English language and she couldn't boil water (hotcakes was the only dish she could prepare), but she was still lovable.
Lisa cried when Oliver (which she pronounced "AH Lee Va") told her he'd bought the Haney Farm in Hooterville and they were moving from their swanky New York penthouse to a ramshackle farmhouse. But out of loyalty and love, she agreed to live in Hooterville for six months.
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Once Lisa moved to the country, though, she blended in with the locals. She developed a motherly relationship with hired hand Eb Dawson (Tom Lester) -- he called her "Mom" -- and she accepted Fred and Doris Ziffel's pet pig Arnold as their "son."
Lisa was well received by the rural folks. Unlike her husband, she seemed to understand the preposterous looniness of the people. One example was her conversation with Mr. Ziffel while a baffled Oliver listened in disbelief:
"Green Acres" was the brain child of Paul Henning, who had created "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Petticoat Junction," CBS practically begged him to develop a third rural series, so "Green Acres" was spun off of "Petticoat Junction," and was also set in Hooterville.
Henning said, "I thought Eva was ideal [for the role]. CBS at first
said that nobody can understand her, she's too Hungarian. But I
saw her in a play and could understand her clearly." Eva's comic
timing was praised by Albert and by director Richard Bare.
Born in Budapest, Eva wrote in her memoirs that she made up her
mind to be an actress when she was four years old. Eva was a
cabaret singer and ice skater in Hungary.
She was the first Gabor sister to emigrate to the US, and was
considered a better actress than her older sisters Magda and
Zsa Zsa. "I was the first actress in the family, and I am still the
only actress in the family. I shouldn't be saying it, but it slipped out."
"Green Acres" was canceled in 1971 after six seasons, part of CBS's
"rural purge." Known as much as a socialite who married five times as
she was known as an actress, Eva died in 1995 of respiratory failure
at age 76.
Fred: "Arnold is an inheritor."
Lisa: "What did he inheritate?"
Fred: "Twenty million dollars."
Lisa: "Now can he sit on the couch?"
Lisa, though, never forgot that she came from the life of luxury. No matter that she lived on a farm; she wore expensive dresses, jewelry, and high heels, all purchased on Fifth Avenue. When Oliver, who farmed in a three-piece suit, spoke of growing wheat, saying it's "used to make the greatest single commodity consumed by every family," Lisa responded, "Caviar?"
No. 27
Classic TV Beauties 1960s Countdown
EVA GABOR as Lisa Douglas in "Green Acres"
