Biography
Although Frank Cady's most famous role would be that of general-store owner Sam Drucker, one of the less nutty residents of Hooterville in both Green Acres (1965) and Petticoat Junction (1963), he had a history as a film, stage and television actor long before those shows. Cady also appeared on some radio programs including Gunsmoke.
In the 1950s, Cady played Doc Williams in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952), along with numerous supporting parts in movies and also appeared in television commercials for (among other products) Shasta Grape Soda. Cady has been most prolific in television and was the only actor to play a recurring character on three TV sitcoms at the same time, The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Green Acres (1965), and Petticoat Junction (1963). Usually cast as a gregarious small-town businessman, druggist, store clerk or other type of all-around Midwestern-type good guy, Cady was actually a California native, born in Susanville in 1915.
The acting bug bit him when he sang in an elementary school play, and after graduating from Stanford University he headed to London, England, to train in the theater.
When World War II broke out he was already in Europe, so he enlisted in the Army Air Force and spent the next several years in postings all over the continent. After his discharge he returned to the US and headed for Hollywood.
An agent saw him in a local play, signed him, and he was on his way. One of his earlier--and more atypical--roles was as a seedy underworld character pulled in for questioning in a cop's murder in the noir classic He Walked by Night (1948), and he played a succession of hotel clerks, bureaucrats, henpecked husbands and the like for the next 40+ years. He did much television work from the mid-'50s onward.
Cady resided in Wilsonville, Oregon and at the time of his death had two children, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Filmography
all 85
Movies 51
TV Shows 34
self 3
Return to Green Acres (1990)
AfterMASH (1983)
Soup and Me (1978)
Hearts of the West (1975)
These Are the Days (1974)
Zandy's Bride (1974)
Hawaii Five-O (1968)
Green Acres (1965)
7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)
Petticoat Junction (1963)
The Beverly Hillbillies (1962)
The Virginian (1962)
The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
The Man Who Understood Women (1959)
Rawhide (1959)
The Girl Most Likely (1958)
The Missouri Traveler (1958)
The Tin Star (1957)
Maverick (1957)
Perry Mason (1957)
Sugarfoot (1957)
The Bad Seed (1956)
The Indian Fighter (1955)
Trial (1955)
Rear Window (1954)
Marry Me Again (1953)
Half a Hero (1953)
General Electric Theater (1953)
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952)
The Sellout (1952)
The Atomic City (1952)
Let's Make It Legal (1951)
When Worlds Collide (1951)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Dear Brat (1951)
Lightning Strikes Twice (1951)
Hunt the Man Down (1950)
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950)
Experiment Alcatraz (1950)
Three Husbands (1950)
Dial 1119 (1950)
Pretty Baby (1950)
Convicted (1950)
The Next Voice You Hear... (1950)
Father of the Bride (1950)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Perfect Strangers (1950)
The Great Rupert (1950)
Young Man with a Horn (1950)
D.O.A. (1949)
Abandoned (1949)
Take One False Step (1949)
It's a Great Feeling (1949)
Special Agent (1949)
He Walked by Night (1949)
Bungalow 13 (1948)
Sarge Goes to College (1947)
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1915-09-08
Deathday2012-06-08 (96 years old)
Birth PlaceSusanville, California, USA
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsFrank Randolph Cady
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