Eddie Albert (4/22/1906-5/26/2005) was a versatile actor who moved smoothly from the Broadway stage to movies, but he found stardom in TV's Green Acres.  His mother was not married when he was born, in 1906. After marrying, she changed his birth certificate to read 1908.

Nominated for Academy Awards as supporting actor in Roman Holiday (1953) and The Heartbreak Kid (1972).  Rarely the star of films, Albert often portrayed the wisecracking sidekick, fast-talking salesman or sympathetic father. His stardom came in television, especially with Green Acres, in which, ironically, he played straight man.  

Acted on radio and appeared in summer stock.  Big break in show business came during the '30s in the Broadway hit Brother Rat, a comedy about life at Virginia Military Institute. Warner Bros. signed him to a contract and cast him in the 1938 film. According to Hollywood gossip, he was caught in a dalliance with the wife of Jack L. Warner and the studio boss removed him from a film and allowed him to languish under contract.  Left Hollywood and appeared as a clown and trapeze artist in a one-ring Mexican circus.

Joined the Navy in World War II and served in combat in the South Pacific. He received a Bronze Star for his heroic rescue of wounded Marines at Tarawa.

Restarted his film career after the war, beginning with Smash-up with Susan Hayward in 1947.  His other films include: Carrie, Oklahoma!, The Teahouse of the August Moon, The Sun Also Rises, The Roots of Heaven, The Longest Day, Miracle of the White Stallions, The Longest Yard and Escape to Witch Mountain.

Besides the 1965-1971 run in Green Acres he costarred on TV with Robert Wagner in Switch (1975-1978) and was a semi-regular on Falcon Crest (1988).

Tireless conservationist, crusading for endangered species, healthful food, cleanup of Santa Monica Bay pollution and other causes.  He established Plaza de la Raza, a foundation in East Los Angeles that teaches arts to poor Hispanics.

Helped Dr. Albert Schweitzer combat famine in Africa. Traveled the world for UNICEF. Concerned about seeing fewer pelicans on beaches where he was jogging, he went with ecologists on a trip to Anacapa Island. They discovered that in every nest all the eggs were crushed, and nobody knew why. Taking samples and testing them, they found DDT in all the eggs. He began speaking about the harmful effects of the pesticide at universities around the country, and in 1972 the federal government banned DDT.