Frank Cady

Frank Cady
Cady in an episode of Petticoat Junction, 1963.
Born	Frank Randolph Cady (1915-09-08)September 8, 1915 Susanville, California, U.S.
Died	June 8, 2012(2012-06-08) (aged 96) Wilsonville, Oregon, U.S.
Resting place	Meridian United Church of Christ Cemetery in Wilsonville
Other names	Frankie Cady Frank R. Cady
Education	Bachelor of Arts
Alma mater	Stanford University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1947–1990
Known for	Sam Drucker
Television	The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction
Spouse(s)	Shirley Cady (m.1940–2008; her death)
Children	Catherine Turk, Steven Cady
Family	3 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren

Frank Randolph Cady (September 8, 1915 – June 8, 2012) was an American actor best known for his recurring and popular role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three American television series during the 1960s: Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, and The Beverly Hillbillies.

Early Life

Cady was born in Susanville, California. While in high school he worked at a local newspaper, The Lassen County Advocate. Cady's family later moved to Wilsonville, Oregon. Cady studied journalism and drama at Stanford University, where he was involved with the campus humor magazine, the Stanford Chaparral. It was at Stanford where he first met Shirley, his future wife. Following college graduation Cady served an apprenticeship at the Westminster Theater in London, England, appearing in four plays. While in England he also made an early television appearance on the BBC in late 1938.

Cady then returned to Stanford in 1939 for graduate studies and a position as teaching assistant. Unsatisfied with academic life, two years later he began a series of jobs 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 Corps, serving in England, France and Germany during World War II.

Television and movie career

After being discharged from military service in 1946 Cady appeared in a series of plays in the Los Angeles area, which led to movie roles, beginning in 1947. In 1950, he had an uncredited speaking role in the classic film noir drama D.O.A. (as Sam the bartender in Banning, California), and another uncredited role in Father of the Bride (1950), requesting mint juleps from Spencer Tracy during the engagement party. He also had a small part in the noir classic 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) as the assistant to John Hoyt's character. (Cady would work with Pal again in 1964, playing the mayor of Abalone in 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.) Cady had a prominent role in Billy Wilder's film Ace in the Hole (aka, The Big Carnival, also 1951). He had a small non-speaking role, seen mostly in long shot, in one of Alfred Hitchcock's most prestigious films, Rear Window (1954), portraying the husband of the woman who owns a dog, which is raised and lowered to their apartment window in a basket. Cady also played the husband of Eileen Heckart's character in The Bad Seed (1956). Cady would again play the husband of Heckart in the 1974 film western Zandy's Bride. Cady appeared on the Make Room For Daddy episode that was the pilot for The Andy Griffith Show as the town drunk, preceding Hal Smith who eventually took over that role as Otis Campbell. Cady also appeared on some radio programs, including the Gunsmoke episode 140 "Outlaw Robin Hood" on January 8, 1955.

In the 1950s, Cady played Doc Williams in Ozzie and Harriet (1954–55), along with numerous supporting parts in movies and also appeared in television commercials for (among other products) Shasta Grape Soda. In 1961 Cady made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as twin brothers Joe and Hiram Widlock in "The Case of the Pathetic Patient." Cady was prolific in television and was the only actor to play a recurring character on three television sitcoms at the same time, The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction, from 1968 to 1969. He also was one of only three co-stars of Petticoat Junction who stayed with the series for its entire seven-year run, along with Edgar Buchanan and Linda Henning, appearing in 170 of the show's 222 episodes. 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."

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

Personal life and death

Cady married his wife, Shirley, in 1940. They had lived in Wilsonville, Oregon, since 1991. Shirley Cady died on August 22, 2008, at age 91. The Cadys were the parents of two children — daughter, Catherine Turk; son, Steven; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Frank Cady died at his home on June 8, 2012. Buried Meridian United Church of Christ Cemetery Wilsonville Oregon. No information on cause of death was provided.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1948	He Walked by Night	Pete Hammond, Suspect	Uncredited
1949	Flamingo Road	Tom Hill	Uncredited
1950	The Asphalt Jungle	Night clerk	Uncredited
	D.O.A.	Bartender	Uncredited
	The Great Rupert	Mr. Taney, Tax collector
1951	When Worlds Collide	Harold Ferris
	Let's Make It Legal	Ferguson
1952	The Atomic City	F.B.I. Agent George Weinberg
1953	Half a Hero	Mr. Watts
1954	Rear Window	Husband above the Thorwalds
1954–1965	The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet	Doc Williams	Television, 61 episodes
1955	Trial	Canford	Uncredited
1956
	The Bad Seed	Henry Daigle
	December Bride		Television, 1 episode
	Private Secretary	Barney	Television, 1 episode
1957	Broken Arrow	Thaddeus Parker	Television, 1 episode
	The Girl Most Likely	Pop
1958	The Missouri Traveler	Willie Poole
	Maverick	Hamelin	Television, 1 episode
	Trackdown	Bob Tail	Television, 1 episode
1959	The Gale Storm Show		Television, 1 episode
	The Man Who Understood Women	John Milstead
1960	The Alaskans	Bradshaw	Television, episode "The Last Bullet"
	Make Room for Daddy	Town Drunk	Television, 1 episode
	Klondike	Lester	Television, 1 episode
1961	Guestward, Ho!	Harry Crawford	Television, episode "Bill, the Fireman"
	Hawaiian Eye	Harvey Gamson	Television, 1 episode
	Pete and Gladys	Teller	Television, 1 episode "The Live-In Couple"
	Perry Mason	Joe/Hiram Widlock	Television, 1 episode
1962	Cheyenne		Television, 1 episode
	Dennis the Menace	Dr. Ferguson	Television, 1 episode
1963	The Virginian	Mr. Hardy	Television, 1 episode
	Grindl	Mr. Burroughs	Television, 1 episode
	Glynis	Episode entitled "The Pros and Cons"	Television, 1 episode
1963–1970	Petticoat Junction	Mr. Drucker, The General Store Shopkeeper	Television, 139 episodes
1964	Hazel	Mr. Pincus	Television, 1 episode
	Gunsmoke	Webb Norton	Television, 1 episode
	7 Faces of Dr. Lao	Mayor James Sargent
1965–1966	The Andy Griffith Show	Luke, a drunk	Television, 2 episodes
1965–1971	Green Acres	Mr. Drucker, The General Store Shopkeeper	Television, 145 Episodes
1967	The Gnome-Mobile	Charlie Pettibone	Uncredited
1968–1970	The Beverly Hillbillies	Sam Drucker	Television, 10 episodes
1970	The Million Dollar Duck	Assayer
1974	Zandy's Bride(film) Pa Allan
	Hawaii Five-O	Judge Edgar Bergstrom	Television, 1 episode
1974–1975	These Are the Days	Homer (Voice)	Television, 16 episodes
1975	Hearts of the West	Pa Tater
1977	Eight Is Enough		Television, 1 episode
1977–1978	ABC Weekend Special The Winged Colt	Mr. Sutter	Television, 3 episodes
1990	Return to Green Acres	Sam Drucker

External links

• Frank Cady at Find a Grave
• Frank Cady at the Internet Movie Database