Pat Buttram

Pat Buttram
as "Mr. Haney" on Green Acres
Born	Maxwell Emmett Buttram June 19, 1915 Addison, Alabama, U.S.
Died	January 8, 1994 (aged 78) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Renal failure
Resting place	Maxwell Chapel, United Methodist Church Haleyville, Alabama, U.S.
Alma mater	Birmingham-Southern College
Occupation	Film and television actor, writer
Years active	1944–1994
Political party	Republican[1]
Religion	Methodist
Spouse(s)	Dorothy McFadden (1936-1946; divorced); 1 child Sheila Ryan (1952–1975; her death), 1 child

Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram (June 19, 1915 – January 8, 1994) was an American actor, known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the television series Green Acres. He had a distinctive voice which, in his own words, "never quite made it through puberty".

Life

Buttram was born in Addison in Winston County, Alabama, to Wilson McDaniel Buttram, a Methodist minister, and his wife Mary Emmett Maxwell. He had an older brother, Augustus McDaniel Buttram, and five other elder siblings. When "Pat" Buttram was a year old, his father was transferred to Nauvoo, Alabama. Buttram graduated from Mortimer Jordan High School, which was then located in Morris, Alabama, then entered Birmingham–Southern College to study for the Methodist ministry.^[2]

Radio

Buttram performed in college plays and on a local radio station, before he became a regular on the National Barn Dance in Chicago, Illinois. He also had his own program on CBS.^[3]

Film and television career

Buttram in 1944

Buttram went to Hollywood in the 1940s and became a "sidekick" to Roy Rogers. However, since Rogers already had two regulars, Buttram was soon dropped. He was then picked by Gene Autry, recently returned from his World War II service in the Army Air Force, to work with him. Buttram would co-star with Gene Autry in more than 40 films, and in over 100 episodes of Autry's television show.

Buttram's first Autry film was Strawberry Roan in 1948. In the late 1940s, Buttram joined Autry on his radio show, Melody Ranch and then on television with The Gene Autry Show. During the first television season, Buttram went by "Pat" or "Patrick", with a variety of last names. From the second season forward, he used his own name.

Buttram guest starred on three episodes of Walter Brennan's ABC sitcom, The Real McCoys, including the role of Cousin Carl in the episode "Back to West Virginny" (July 27, 1961). In the story line, Amos, Luke, and Kate McCoy return to Smokey Corners, West Virginia, for the 100th birthday gathering of "Grandma McCoy", played by Jane Darwell. Henry Jones guest starred in this segment as Jed McCoy.^[4]

Buttram is remembered for his role as Mr. Haney (Eustace Haney) in the 1965–1971 CBS television comedy Green Acres. He did voice work for several Disney animated features, playing Napoleon (hound dog) in The Aristocats, the Sheriff of Nottingham (a wolf) in Robin Hood, Luke (swamp inhabitant) in The Rescuers, Chief (hunting dog) in The Fox and the Hound, and one of the Toon bullets in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He had a recurring role as the voice of Cactus Jake on Garfield and Friends. One of his last roles was a cameo in Back to the Future Part III. His final voice-over was A Goofy Movie, released a year after his death.

Buttram made the oft-quoted observation about the 1971 "rural purge", in which CBS cancelled many programs with a rural-related theme or setting: "CBS canceled everything with a tree — including Lassie", referring to the cancellations of Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction.^[5]

Personal life

In 1936, Buttram married Dorothy McFadden. The couple adopted a daughter but divorced in 1946. In 1952, he married actress Sheila Ryan; the marriage ended with her death in 1975. They had a daughter named Kathrine (nicknamed Kerry) born in 1954. Buttram retired from acting in 1980 and made his home in his native Winston County, Alabama. However, he soon returned to California, where he made frequent personal appearances.

Buttram was a staunch Republican who helped Ronald W. Reagan spice up his speeches with political quips.^[1] In 1993, Buttram expressed surprise that with the inauguration of Bill Clinton and Al Gore as US President and Vice President, respectively, so many Hollywood actors were "taken with that whole country-boy image they tried to project."^[1] According to his niece, Mary Buttram Young of Sheffield, Alabama, "Uncle Pat would always say, 'I'm from Alabama - I can see right through that'."^[1]

Buttram died in 1994 at the age of seventy-eight of renal failure in Los Angeles, California. He is interred at the cemetery at the Maxwell Chapel United Methodist Church^[6] in the Pebble community near Haleyville, Alabama.

Buttram was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and one on the "Alabama Stars of Fame" in Birmingham.

In popular culture

• Buttram is credited as one of the writers on the Hee Haw television show in its early years.^[7]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1944	National Barn Dance	Himself	Buttram's first film appearance[8]
1948	The Strawberry Roan	Hank
1952	Wagon Team	Deputy Pat Buttram
1950	Gene Autry Show, TheThe Gene Autry Show	Pat	Television series
1961	Wild in the Country	Mr Longstreet, the mechanic	Uncredited
1961-1963	The Real McCoys	Cousin Carl Pat Clemens	episodes: Back to West Virginny, Fly Away Home, Luke the Reporter, & The Partners
1963	Make Room for Daddy	Harvey Bullock	episode: Here's the $50 Back
1963	Twilight of Honor	Cole Clinton
1964	Roustabout	Harry Carver
1964	The Hanged Man	Otis Honeywell
1964	The Tycoon	Brian	episode: The Shotgun Meyer
1965	Green Acres	Mr. Haney
1965	The Munsters	Pop Mallory	episode: All-Star Munster
1966	Sergeant Deadhead	The President
1968	The Sweet Ride	Texas Gambler
1968-1973	The Dean Martin Comedy Hour	Himself	episodes: March 14, 1968, Celebrity Roast: Ed McMahon, Celebrity Roast: Bette Davis
1970	Aristocats, TheThe Aristocats	Napoleon	Voice only Animated film
1970	The Merv Griffin Show	Himself	episode: June 25, 1970
1971	The Gatling Gun	Tin Pot
1971	The Jimmy Stewart Show	Oscar Pettywhistle	episode: Luther's Last Love
1972	Alias Smith and Jones	First Sheriff	episode: Bad Night in Big Butte
1972	The Mouse Factory	Himself	episode: Bullfighting to Bullfrogs
1972	Evil Roy Slade	Narrator
1973	Adam-12	Drunk Man	episode: Keeping Tabs
1973	Robin Hood	Sheriff of Nottingham	Voice only Animated film
1974	Emergency!	Hermit	episode: Floor Brigade
1977	Rescuers, TheThe Rescuers	Luke (swamp inhabitant)	Voice only
1979	The Sacketts	Tuthill the Bank Teller	TV mini series
1979	Angels Brigade	Used Car Salesman
1981	Fox and the Hound, TheThe Fox and the Hound	Chief (hunting dog)	Voice only Animated film
1982	Simon and Simon	Jonathan Evans	episode: Rough Rider Rides Again
1984	Family Feud	Himself	episode: Country & Western Singers vs. TV & Film Cowboys
1986	Knight Rider	Buck	episode: Fright Knight
1988	The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound	Red Eye the bartender	Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 TV movie
	Who Framed Roger Rabbit	A toon bullet	Voice only Live action/Animated film
	Garfield and Friends	Cactus Jake (10 epis.) Cactus Josh (1 epis.) Cactus Jimmy (1 epis.) Cactus Joe (1 epis.)	Voice only Animated series \ 10 episodes
1990	Back to the Future: Part III	Saloon Old Timer #3	Cameo
1990-1991	Who's the Boss	Chappy	3 episodes
1991	Tiny Toon Adventures	Bicycle Bob	episode: Son of the Wacko World of Sports
1992	Rugrats	Eddie	Voice only Animated series "Graham Canyon"
1995	A Goofy Movie	Possum Park Emcee	Voice only Animated film Dedicated to him

See also

• Biography portal

References

Notes

1. "Terry Pace, "Pat Buttram: Homespun humorist, character actor, cowboy sidekick"". The Los Angeles Times, March 1, 2001. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
2. Wilson, Claire M. "Pat Buttram" on the Encyclopedia of Alabama website
3. "KFLW (radio listing)". Herald and News. January 11, 1959. p. 51. Retrieved April 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ""Back to West Virginny", The Real McCoys, July 27, 1961". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
5. Quotation taken from amazon.com preview of book, accessed March 23, 2009. Harkins, Anthony (2005). Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon. Oxford University Press US. p. 203. ISBN 0-19-518950-7.
6. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1802
7. "Hee HAw: Writers" on TV.co,
8. Pat Buttram at the Internet Movie Database

Further reading

• Grabman, Sandra. Pat Buttram, the Rocking Chair Humorist. Boalsburg: BearManor Media, 2006. ISBN 1-59393-067-4.

External links

• Pat Buttram at the Internet Movie Database
• Pat Buttram at AllMovie
• Pat Buttram photos and links