EVA GABOR

February 11, 1919

Eva Gabor was born in Budapest, Hungary, the youngest of three sisters, Zsa Zsa, and Magda. 

She was the first of the sisters to immigrate to the US, shortly after her first marriage in 1937 when she was 18 years old. 

“I was the first actress in the family, and I am still the only actress in the family. I shouldn’t be saying it, but it slipped out!” ~ Eva Gabor

Her first movie role was in 1941’s Forced Landing at Paramount Pictures.

She made her television debut in a 1949 episode of NBC’s “Your Show Time” titled “A Lodging for the Night”, the final episode of the anthology series. “Your Show Time” was the first television series to be shot on film and the first to receive an Emmy Award.  

She worked for Desilu in two episodes of “The Ann Sothern Show” (1959 & 1961).  Lucille Ball played Lucy Ricardo on the series in October 1959. 

Despite her many appearances on stage and screens large and small, she is best known for playing Lisa Douglas on CBS TV’s “Green Acres” (1965-71) doing 170 episodes with Eddie Albert, who played her husband. She also played the character on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Petticoat Junction”, “Honey, I’m Home” and on a 1990 reunion show.

The series also featured many of Lucille Ball’s co-stars and friends: Barbara Pepper, Eleanor Audley, Jerry Hausner, Sid Melton, Bea Benadaret, Shirley Mitchell, Parley Baer, and many others. 

While still doing “Green Acres,” Gabor played romance novelist Eva Von Graunitz in “Lucy and Eva Gabor” (HL S1;E7).  

She returned to the series (this time using her own name) in “Lucy and Eva Gabor Are Hospital Roomies” (HL S5;E2) in September 1972.  (The above is a publicity photo since both stars were in separate hospital beds for the entire episode.)

This episode was hastily written to accommodate Lucille Ball’s broken leg. 

She also appeared on Broadway five times between 1950 and 1983. 

She was also a successful businesswoman, marketing wigs, clothing and beauty products. 

In 1984, Eva Gabor was present at the “All-Star Party For Lucille Ball” although she was uncredited and did not speak. Gabor and Ball were also in the audience (and briefly on camera, although not together) when AFI gave it’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” to Jack Lemmon in 1988. 

Her final screen appearance was in a 1994 episode of “Burke’s Law” a re-boot of a series she had also appeared on in 1963. 

Gabor was married five times.  

• Eric Valdemar Drimmer (1937-42), a Swedish-born masseur turned osteopath and psychologist.  
• Charles Isaacs (1943-49), an American investment broker.
• John Elbert Williams, MD (1956-57), a plastic surgeon. 
• Richard Brown (1959-73), a textile manufacturer, who later became a writer and director.
• Frank Gard Jameson Sr. (1973-83), an aerospace executive.

After her final marriage, Gabor was involved in a relationship with TV producer Merv Griffin until her death. It was rumored that this was a platonic relationship to hide Griffin’s suspected homosexuality.

She died in 1995 at age 76.