Eddie Albert off to greener pastures

I didn't say Green Acres was in black and white, but I see how you'd assume that by what I said. I'll stop now before I dig a bigger hole for myself.

Ah, McDuffie. Your ignorance of this show is really showing. "Green Acres" NEVER was in black and white.

Ah, so you'd rather I lie and say I did watch it? I watched it a handful of times, not nearly enough to say I was a devot viewer. There are a multitude of earlier black-and-white shows I simply never got a chance to watch regularly. I'll come right out and admit that. *grumble*these high and mighty people*grumble*

I don't think that a TV writer should admit on a TV website that they have never watched Green Acres, one of the most delightfully surreal programs ever broadcast by an American network. (In the category of intentionally surreal, fictional scripted programming, not news coverage from the last 35 years.)

Eddie Albert was, indeed, a superb actor. He did a memorable turn as a freelance photojournalist in the 1950s film Roots of Heaven. The film uses the attempt of a band of idealists to save the elephants from ivory hunters as the matrix for a meditation upon humankind's capacity for destruction of the natural environment. In the final scene, Albert resolves to follow the group, no longer as a recorder of its struggle, but as a participant. His casting off of his cameras and other photographic gear is the unspoken statement of his enlistment, and it is a masterstroke of acting. I was thinking about it just a day ago, oddly enough, about thetime that Eddie Albert died.

I met Eddie Albert a few times. Incredibly nice man. He did a voice-over on a PSA for me for nothing. Nothing. Simply because I didnt have the money in my budget and he knew it. He was probably best known for his brilliant comic roles in Green Acres and Petticoat Junction, but he was also an amazing dramatic actor in films such as The Heartbreak Kid, The Big Picture, The Longest Yard, The Sun Also Rises, The Teahouse of the August Moon, The Longest Day and many others. A true professional.

Eddie Albert the actor was wonderful but Eddie Albert the man was even more so. He will be missed. Hard to believe he was 99 years old.

Eddie Albert was a great man. He was an outstanding actor,with some of his best roles in Roman Holiday, The Longest Yard, Captain Newman, M.D., and The Longest Day. If you want to see a show with clever writing and fine acting, put on Green Acres. That show never received the credit it deserved. I have all 182 episodes on tape. I also had the privilege to interview Mr. Albert in 1990. He was patient, insightful and a delight to talk with. His skills were multi-faceted; he was a singer and musician, a supporter of agriculture, and a fervent advocate for the environment. Through his research, Mr. Albert was able to determine that DDT was damaging the egg shells of birds. He brought his testimony to colleges and to Congress, and because of his efforts, DDT was banned in this country. He was, dare do I say it in these times, a LIBERAL?, and proud of it. He also was a war hero. On the island of Tarawa during World War II, he singlehandedly commandeered a ship to rescue hundreds of pinned-down Marines on the island while the Japanese strafed his ship with gunfire. Eddie Albert, above all, was a great American, and someone everyone should appreciate and honor, especially during this Memorial Day weekend.

In the world of television very few stand out as Eddie Albert did.He was rare.IOne of a kind.I really enjoyed him.He may God be with him always.