LYCOS RETRIEVER
Eddie Albert
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Eddie Albert's television career is the earliest of any other performer. It began years before electronic television was introduced to the public. In June of 1936 Eddie appeared in RCA/NBC's first private live performance for their radio licensees in New York City. This was very early experimental all electronic television system. Due to the primitive nature of these early cameras it was necessary for him to apply heavy make-up and endure tremendous heat from studio lighting. The basic makeup was green toned with purple lipstick for optimal image transmission by RCA's iconoscope pick up cameras.
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Eddie Albert, born Edward Albert Heimberger, (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was a popular Oscar and Emmy Award-nominated American stage, film, character actor, gardener and humanitarian activist, perhaps best known for playing Bing Edwards in the Brother Rat films. He was nominated for Oscars in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday and in 1972 for The Heartbreak Kid. In an acting career that spanned nearly seven decades, two of his better known television roles were Oliver Wendell Douglas on the popular 1960s sitcom, Green Acres, and Frank MacBride on the popular 1970s crime drama,
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Though he appeared in over 75 films and starred in many others, Eddie Albert will forever be connected to Oliver Wendell Douglas, the character he played opposite Eva Gabor on the CBS sitcom Green Acres from 1965 to 1971. Albert was born April 22, 1908, in Rock Island, IL, and made his first film appearance in 1938. His most successful cinema roles came in the mid-'50s, when he starred in Roman Holiday (1953) and Oklahoma! (1955); he began a pop music career in 1954, and released several albums -- some recorded with his wife Margo -- from the late '50s to the mid-'60s. His only charting single, "Little Child," was a duet with Sondra Lee in 1956 that hit number 56. Before Arthur Godfrey was named host of Candid Camera in 1960, Albert was briefly in the running.
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Most fans of Eddie Albert never knew that he began his career at the circus. As a child he was a circus trapeze flier and gave song recitals before becoming a stage and radio actor. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, he made his film debut in 1938 and worked steadily thereafter, usually playing the good-natured, affable buddy to the star of the movie. Albert died of pneumonia Thursday at his home in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. He was surrounded by his longtime caregivers and his son, actor Edward Albert. Albert was 99.
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One of the most versatile American movie actors of the mid-20th century, Eddie Albert missed out on stardom but, instead, enjoyed a 50-year-plus screen career that encompassed everything from light comedy and zany satire to the most savage war dramas. Born Edward Albert Heimberger in Rock Island, IL, he attended the University of Minnesota. After working as everything from soda jerk to a circus acrobat (with a short stint as a nightclub and radio singer), Albert headed for New York City, where he scored a hit in the play Brother Rat, portraying military cadet Bing Edwards. He ... starred in Room Service on-stage before heading to Hollywood, where he was signed by Warner Bros. to recreate his stage role in the 1938 film Brother Rat. Albert was known for his comedic work during the early years of his career -- his other early major credits included The Boys From Syracuse and Boy Meets Girl on-stage and On Your Toes (1939) onscreen.
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One of the most versatile American movie actors of the mid-20th century, Eddie Albert missed out on stardom but, instead, enjoyed a 50-year-plus screen career that encompassed everything from light comedy and zany satire to the most savage war dramas. Born Edward Albert Heimberger in Rock Island, IL, he attended the University of Minnesota. After working as everything from soda jerk to a circus acrobat (with a short stint as a nightclub and radio singer), Albert headed for New York City, where he scored a hit in the play Brother Rat, portraying military cadet Bing Edwards. He ... starred in Room Service on-stage before heading to Hollywood, where he was signed by Warner Bros. to recreate his stage role in the 1938 film Brother Rat.
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