Granby's Green Acres featured a former banker "who knew little about farming and proved it every week."
Characters and Cast
Three of the main characters on Granby's Green Acres were much like those heard on many other situation comedies on radio: a husband, his "somewhat addled and impractical" wife, and "their breathless teenage daughter." Radio historian John Dunning wrote that the husband and wife were "inspired by characters heard on the Lucille Ball show, My Favorite Husband." In fact, radio regulars Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet also played Mr. and Mrs. Atterbury on My Favorite Husband. Dunning noted, "The names were changed, but the basic characters remained the same." Granby's Green Acres was Benaderet's "one and only full-fledged starring role on radio." Two other regulars were also familiar to radio listeners. Louise Erickson played Janice, the Granbys' daughter, and Parley Baer played Eb, the farm's hired hand. The storekeeper, Will Kimble, was played by Howard McNear in the first episode and by Horace Murphy in subsequent broadcasts. Bob LeMond was the announcer, and Opie Cates was the music director.
Television adaptation
Although Granby's Green Acres was not transferred directly to television, as were many old-time radio programs, it was the inspiration for Green Acres. The television program followed two popular programs produced by Paul Henning, as Jeffrey Westhoff explained:
CBS asked Henning to create a third show. To avoid the stress of running three shows at once, Henning asked Petticoat writer Jay Sommers to create and produce this new program. Sommers proposed reviving Granby's Green Acres, changing the farmer's name and shortening the title.This meant that Benaderet's old radio show had become a spinoff of her television show.
History
The show's creator, Jay Sommers, based its concept on memories of time he spent as a boy on a farm near Greendale, New York. His stepfather went broke trying to make the farm successful. In 1948, Granby's Green Acres was auditioned for a slot on ABC with Hanley Stafford originally set to star. Of the eight episodes that aired, five remain in existence, as does the unaired pilot episode.
