Career
In 1933 Albert moved to New York City and co-hosted a radio program.1 He made his Broadway debut in O Evening Star (1936), a short-lived production, and followed it that same year with Brother Rat (1936), then Room Service (1937-1938) and The Boys from Syracuse (1938-1939).1 On November 6, 1936, he took part in an RCA/NBC experimental television broadcast, performing in The Love Nest, described as the first teleplay written specifically for television.1
His film debut came in 1938 with the screen adaptation of Brother Rat, alongside Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman.1 Through the 1950s he built a strong supporting-actor reputation with roles in Roman Holiday (1953, for which he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, playing Gregory Peck's photographer friend alongside Audrey Hepburn), Oklahoma! (1955), The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), and Attack (1956).1 He also received a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Actor in 1954 and a Golden Globe nomination for The Teahouse of the August Moon.1
Albert's defining role came in 1965 when he was cast as Oliver Wendell Douglas in the CBS sitcom Green Acres, opposite Eva Gabor as his wife Lisa.1 The show ran six seasons and 170 episodes, becoming one of the most popular comedies of the decade.1 In the early 1970s he received his second Academy Award nomination for The Heartbreak Kid (1972), won the National Society of Film Critics award for Best Supporting Actor for the same film, and appeared in The Longest Yard (1974) and Disney's Escape to Witch Mountain (1975).1 He starred in the crime drama series Switch (1975-1978) as retired police officer Frank MacBride, and received a Golden Globe nomination for The Longest Yard.1
His television work continued through the 1980s with a recurring role on Falcon Crest (reuniting him with Jane Wyman) and the television film Return to Green Acres (1990).1 He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960, in the Television category at 6441 Hollywood Boulevard.3
World War II Service
Albert enlisted in the Coast Guard on September 9, 1942, and subsequently transferred to the Naval Reserve, reaching the rank of lieutenant.1 During the Battle of Tarawa in November 1943, he piloted a landing craft under heavy enemy machine-gun fire and rescued dozens of Marines stranded offshore, with accounts crediting him with saving between 47 and 70 men.1 For this action he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat "V."1
Environmental Activism
From the late 1960s onward, Albert became one of the entertainment industry's most prominent environmental voices.4 He was involved in the creation of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, a date chosen in part to coincide with his birthday.1 He founded the Eddie Albert World Trees Foundation, served as national chairman of the Boy Scouts of America's conservation program, campaigned against the use of DDT, worked to protect endangered species, and fought to reduce contamination in Santa Monica Bay.4 He also founded City Children's Farms, an initiative bringing organic gardening to urban youth, and served as a special envoy for Meals for Millions.1 TV Guide called him "an ecological Paul Revere."1
Ghostbusters
Extreme Ghostbusters (1997)
Albert provided a guest voice in Extreme Ghostbusters, appearing in the episode "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It" as Old Ben.2 His son, Edward Albert (1951-2006), also appeared as a guest voice in Extreme Ghostbusters, in both "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It" and "Grundelesque," making the two one of the few father-and-son pairs to contribute to the Ghostbusters franchise.
Personal Life
In 1945 Albert married Mexican actress Margo (born Maria Margarita Guadalupe Teresa Estela Bolado Castilla y O'Donnell).1 They had a son, Edward Albert Jr. (born February 20, 1951), also an actor, and an adopted daughter, Maria, who later became his business manager.1 Both Eddie and Margo had their names included in the 1950 anti-Communist pamphlet Red Channels, which affected their employability during the Hollywood blacklist era; Albert credited his documented WWII heroism with helping him weather the period.1
Margo died of brain cancer on July 17, 1985.1
Death
Albert was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1995.4 His son Edward set aside his own acting career to care for him in his final years.4 Eddie Albert died of pneumonia on May 26, 2005, in his Pacific Palisades home, at the age of 99.1 He is interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, next to his wife Margo and near Eva Gabor.1
His son Edward Albert died the following year, on September 22, 2006, from lung cancer at age 55.1
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
