Frank Cady

Best known as the lovable storekeeper, Sam Drucker, on three popular sitcoms--"The Beverly Hillbillies," "Petticoat Junction," and "Green Acres"--Frank Cady was an icon of early American television. Drucker got his taste for comedy while working on the campus humor magazine at Stanford University, where he graduated with a BA in speech and drama. After serving in the Air Force during World War II, Cady pursued acting. He earned small film roles easily, and appeared in such films as the original "Father of the Bride" with Spencer Tracy, the horror classic "The Bad Seed," and the Alfred Hitchcock thriller "Rear Window." By the '60s, Cady was working regularly in television, accruing numerous guest roles, and even earned a recurring role as Doc Williams on the popular sitcom "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet." Then came the simultaneous series "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Petticoat Junction," and "Green Acres," which allowed Cady to play Drucker from 1963, the start of "Petticoat Junction," to 1971, the end of "Green Acres." Following this heyday, Cady appeared on TV less and less, making his final screen appearance in the 1990 TV movie "Return to Green Acres." After a quiet retirement in Oregon, he died in 2012.