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8 things we learn about Oliver Wendell Douglas in the Green Acres premiere
His backstory takes up almost half the episode!
The classic sitcom Green Acres starts off in typical zany fashion. In order to efficiently convey the amount of exposition needed in a pilot episode, news anchor and What’s My Line? host John Daly explains everything we need to know about the show as if it’s an evening report, complete with TV screens behind him that show relevant information (like pictures of Oliver as a baby).
It’s a hilarious gimmick that was only the beginning for a show with plenty of meta and absurd gags to come. Here are eight things revealed about Oliver Wendell Douglas in the very first episode of Green Acres.
1. He was born on a farm near Saratoga Springs, New York.
Oliver was born in a farm house in upstate New York – a fact he cites as a reason he wants to buy a farm. He just wants to return to his roots! Of course, his mother reveals later in the episode that the only reason he was born near Saratoga Springs was because his father wanted to watch a horse race.
2. He was named after a Supreme Court justice.
Oliver Wendell Douglas was named after the real Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Holmes served on the court for 30 years at the beginning of the twentieth century. He attended Harvard Law School, just like the fictional Oliver Wendell, and is one of the most influential justices in the court’s history. Not to mention the fact that he had a fantastic mustache!
3. He wanted to be a farmer since he was a kid.
Oliver (the Green Acres character) knew from a very young age what he wanted to do with his life. At 14, he told his father he wanted to be a farmer. Unfortunately, his father decided the day Oliver was born that he would become a lawyer and didn’t have any say in the matter.
4. He grew up to be the spitting image of his father.
Yes, that’s Eddie Albert playing Oliver’s father in this flashback scene. Apart from a mustache and a stern attitude, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree!
5. His first job after college was at the law firm Felton, O’Connell, Clay, Blakely, Harmon, Dillon & Pastor.
After graduating from Harvard Law, Oliver got a job as an associate at this many-partnered law firm in New York City. He was a diligent worker but still held dreams of one day living out in the country.
6. He read farming literature on his lunch break.
Though his workday was filled with all kinds of legal briefs, Oliver filled his lunch hour reading things like “Interseeding Legumes in Corn” and “Zinc Deficiency of Field and Vegetable Crops.”
7. He grew mushrooms in his desk drawer.
Oliver even tried his hand at growing something in the office! One drawer of his desk was filled with a layer of earth perfect for cultivating mushrooms. Too bad his boss didn't share his enthusiasm for fungi.
8. He was a Lieutenant in the Air Force.
Oliver was promptly fired from Felton, O’Connell, Clay, Blakely, Harmon, Dillon & Pastor and was soon drafted into the army. He joined the Army Air Force but even in the sky his love of farming got in the way. When asked to bomb a target he objected because it was right in the middle of a field of ripe tomatoes. In real life, Eddie Albert served in U.S. Army intelligence.
21 Comments
And yes, there are probably many people out there who became lawyers at the behest of their fathers, but really wanted to be farmers, writers, ballet dancers and yes, even actors. And they did probably secretly watch "Green Acres" and did wish that they too could escape to a farm. And maybe some even did.
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