Hungarian-American actress and socialite (1919?1995)
Eva Gabor
|
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Born
| Eva Gabor
(
1919-02-11
)
February 11, 1919
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Died
| July 4, 1995
(1995-07-04)
(aged 76)
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Resting place
| Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
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Other names
| Gabor Eva
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Occupations
| |
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Years active
| 1941?1994
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Known for
| Green Acres
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Spouses
|
Eric Valdemar Drimmer
(
m.
1937;
div.
1942)
Charles Isaacs
(
m.
1943;
div.
1949)
John Elbert Williams
(
m.
1956;
div.
1957)
Richard Brown
(
m.
1959;
div.
1973)
Frank Gard Jameson Sr.
(
m.
1973;
div.
1983)
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Parent
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Relatives
| Magda Gabor
(sister)
Zsa Zsa Gabor
(sister)
Francesca Hilton
(niece)
Tom Lantos
(cousin)
|
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Eva Gabor
(
AY
-v? g?-
BOR
, -
GAH
-bor
; February 11, 1919 ? July 4, 1995) was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite. She voiced Duchess and Miss Bianca in the animated Disney Classics,
The Aristocats
(1970),
The Rescuers
(1977), and
The Rescuers Down Under
(1990). She was popular in her role on the 1965?71 television sitcom
Green Acres
as
Lisa Douglas
, the wife of
Eddie Albert
's character
Oliver Wendell Douglas
. Gabor was an actress in film, on Broadway, and on television. She was also a businesswoman, marketing wigs, clothing, and beauty products. Her elder sisters,
Zsa Zsa
and
Magda Gabor
, were also actresses and socialites.
Early life
[
edit
]
Gabor was born in
Budapest
, Hungary, the youngest of three daughters of Vilmos Gabor, a soldier, and his wife, trained
jeweler
Jolie
(born Janka Tilleman). Her parents were both from
Hungarian Jewish
families.
[1]
[2]
[3]
She was the first of the sisters to immigrate to the U.S., shortly after her first marriage to a Swedish
osteopath
, Dr. Eric Drimmer, whom she married in 1937 when she was 18 years old.
[4]
Early career
[
edit
]
Her first movie role was in the U.S. in 1941's
Forced Landing
at
Paramount Pictures
. During the 1950s, she appeared in several feature films, including
The Last Time I Saw Paris
, starring
Elizabeth Taylor
; and
Artists and Models
,
which featured
Dean Martin
and
Jerry Lewis
. These roles were
bit parts
. In 1953, she was given her own television talk show,
The Eva Gabor Show
, which ran for one season (1953?54). Through the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s she appeared on television and in movies. She appeared in one episode of the mystery series
Justice
and was on the game show
What's My Line?
as the "mystery challenger." Her film appearances during this era included a remake of
My Man Godfrey
,
Gigi
, and
It Started with a Kiss
.
Green Acres
[
edit
]
In 1965, Gabor got the role of
Lisa Douglas
, whose attorney husband
Oliver Wendell Douglas
(
Eddie Albert
) decides to leave the "
rat race
" of city life. He buys a farm in a rural community, forcing Lisa to leave her beloved big-city urban life. The
Paul Henning
sitcom
Green Acres
aired on
CBS
.
Green Acres
was set in
Hooterville
, the same backdrop for
Petticoat Junction
(1963?70), and would occasionally cross over with its
sister sitcom
. Despite proving to be a ratings hit, staying in the top 20 for its first four seasons,
Green Acres
, along with another sister show,
The Beverly Hillbillies
, was cancelled in 1971 in the CBS network's "
rural purge
" ? a policy to get rid of the network's rural-based television shows.
In 1966, Eva Gabor and
Johnny Carson
played
Twister
on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
.
[5]
[6]
[7]
Later career
[
edit
]
In 1972, Gabor launched her eponymous fashion collection with
Luis Estevez
, a Cuban-born American fashion designer.
[8]
[9]
[10]
Gabor later did voice-over work for
Disney
movies, providing the European-accented voices of Duchess in
The Aristocats
, and Miss Bianca in
The Rescuers
and
The Rescuers Down Under
, as well as the Queen of Time in the
Sanrio
film
Nutcracker Fantasy
. She was a panelist on the
Gene Rayburn
-hosted
Match Game
. From 1983 to 1984, she was on the
Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour
starring Gene Rayburn and Jon Bauman.
[11]
Eva appeared as Aunt Renee in the fourth season of “
Hart to Hart
”, and in 1983, she reunited with
Eddie Albert
on Broadway as the Grand Duchess Olga Katrina in
You Can't Take It with You
. In 1990, she attempted a TV series comeback in the CBS sitcom pilot
Close Encounters
; the pilot aired as a special that summer, but did not make it to series status. She toured post-communist Hungary after a 40-year absence on an episode of
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Eva Gabor was married five times. She had no children:
- Eric Valdemar Drimmer, a Swedish-born masseur turned
osteopath
and
psychologist
. They wed in London on June 3, 1937, and divorced in Los Angeles, California, on February 25, 1942 (the divorce was finalized on March 6); Gabor claimed cruelty, saying, "I wanted to have babies and lead a simple family life but my husband objected to my having children".
[12]
- Charles Isaacs, an American investment broker.
[13]
They married on September 27, 1943, and were divorced on April 2, 1949.
- John Elbert Williams, MD, a
plastic surgeon
. They married on April 8, 1956, and were divorced on March 20, 1957.
[14]
- Richard Brown, a
textile manufacturer
, who later became a writer and director.
[15]
[16]
They married at the
Flamingo Hotel
in
Las Vegas, Nevada
, on October 4, 1959, and divorced in
Santa Monica, California
, in June 1973.
[15]
[17]
[18]
- Frank Gard Jameson Sr., an aerospace executive and former vice president of
Rockwell International
.
[19]
They married in the Vivian Webb Chapel of
The Webb Schools, Claremont, California
on September 21, 1973. The couple divorced in 1983.
[20]
Gabor became a stepmother to Jameson's four children.
[19]
Gabor also had a long term on-and off affair with actor
Glenn Ford
which began during the filming of
Don't Go Near the Water
in 1957. They dated between their marriages and almost married in the early 1970s.
[21]
After her final marriage, Gabor was involved in a relationship with TV producer
Merv Griffin
until her death.
[22]
[23]
[24]
Reuters
reported that this was a platonic relationship to hide Griffin's suspected homosexuality.
[25]
Death
[
edit
]
Gabor died in Los Angeles on
Independence Day
1995, from respiratory failure and
pneumonia
, following a fall in a bathtub in Mexico,
[26]
where she had been on vacation.
[27]
Her funeral was held on July 11, 1995, at
Good Shepherd Catholic Church
in Beverly Hills.
[28]
The youngest sister, Eva predeceased her elder sisters and her mother. Eldest sister Magda and mother Jolie Gabor both died two years later, in 1997. Elder sister
Zsa Zsa
died from cardiac arrest on December 18, 2016.
[29]
[30]
Theatre roles
[
edit
]
Opening date
|
Closing date
|
Title
|
Role
|
Theatre
|
January 24, 1950
|
July 14, 1951
|
The Happy Time
|
Mignonette
|
Plymouth
|
March 26, 1956
|
March 31, 1956
|
Little Glass Clock
|
Gabrielle
|
John Golden
|
January 31, 1958
|
February 8, 1958
|
Present Laughter
|
Joanna Lyppiatt
|
Belasco
|
March 18, 1963
|
November 9, 1963
|
Tovarich
|
Tatiana
(succeeded
Vivien Leigh
October 21)
|
Winter Garden
|
April 4, 1983
|
January 1, 1984
|
You Can't Take It with You
|
The Grand Duchess Olga Katrina
(succeeded
Colleen Dewhurst
)
|
Plymouth
Royale
|
Film roles
[
edit
]
Television roles
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Reflecting on the life of Zsa Zsa Gabor"
.
New York Social Diary
. Archived from
the original
on December 22, 2016
. Retrieved
July 16,
2016
.
- ^
"Jews in the News: Bonni Tischler, Steven Spielberg and Vilmos Gabor | Tampa Jewish Federation"
.
Jewishtampa.com
. July 11, 2016.
Archived
from the original on October 5, 2016
. Retrieved
July 16,
2016
.
- ^
Bennetts, Leslie (September 6, 2007).
"It's a Mad, Mad, Zsa Zsa World"
.
Vanity Fair
.
Archived
from the original on February 6, 2015
. Retrieved
July 16,
2016
.
- ^
Johnson, Irving (February 29, 1948).
"Those Gabor Girls"
. San Antonio Light. p. 62.
Archived
from the original on June 10, 2016
. Retrieved
May 28,
2016
.
- ^
Belvedere, Matthew J. (May 4, 2016).
"The surprising story of how Johnny Carson saved Twister"
.
CNBC
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
"How Johnny Carson Saved Twister"
.
HISTORY
. June 1, 2023.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
"Twister"
.
The Strong National Museum of Play
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
Marian Christy, "Mama Gabor: Ageless Mother of 3",
Newport Daily News
, February 17, 1975.
- ^
Launch date cited in
McDowell's Directory of Twentieth Century Fashion
by Colin McDowell (F. Muller, 1984)
- ^
"NMAH | Hispanic Designers"
. Archived from
the original
on January 19, 2012
. Retrieved
January 1,
2012
.
- ^
Pixie, Pranking (July 4, 2012).
"Pixie Pranks and Disney Fun: Every Disney Hero Has a Voice ~ Eva Gabor Duchess & Bianca"
.
Pixie Pranks and Disney Fun
.
Archived
from the original on February 10, 2018
. Retrieved
February 9,
2018
.
- ^
"Eva Gabor Obtains Divorce",
The New York Times
, February 25, 1945
- ^
"Eva Gabor in Hospital",
The New York Times
, December 2, 1946
- ^
"Eva Gabor Wed to Surgeon",
The New York Times
, April 9, 1956
- ^
a
b
Eva Gabor Wed in Las Vegas",
The New York Times
, October 5, 1959
- ^
Brown's later career was described in "Notes on People",
The New York Times
, June 26, 1973
- ^
"Notes on People",
The New York Times
, June 26, 1973
- ^
"Palm Springs History - Gabor Family Zsa Zsa Magda Jolie Eva"
.
Palm Springs Life
. August 21, 2015.
Archived
from the original on May 29, 2016
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Aeronautics Executive Jameson Dies"
.
Articles.latimes.com
. May 18, 1993.
Archived
from the original on March 6, 2016
. Retrieved
July 16,
2016
.
- ^
"Notes on People",
The New York Times
, September 22, 1973
- ^
Ford, Peter. Glenn Ford: A Life (Wisconsin Film Studies). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011. p.177, p.189 and p.256
ISBN
978-0-29928-154-0
- ^
Jacobs, Jody (July 12, 1985).
"Merv Griffin's Birthday Party, Anyone?"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
"GRIFFIN, EVA GABOR MAY MARRY SOON, ZSA ZSA SAYS"
.
Deseret News
. June 6, 1988.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
"Eva Gabor Merv Griffin Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images"
.
www.gettyimages.com
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
Richmond, Ray.
"Merv Griffin died a closeted homosexual"
.
Reuters
U.K
.
Archived
from the original on August 10, 2018
. Retrieved
August 10,
2018
.
- ^
"Eva Gabor dies at 74 - UPI Archives"
.
UPI
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
"Eva Gabor, 74, the Actress; Youngest of Celebrated Sisters"
.
The New York Times
. Associated Press. July 5, 1995.
Archived
from the original on November 25, 2018
. Retrieved
February 16,
2017
.
- ^
Gary Wayne (May 20, 1998).
"Church of the Good Shepherd"
.
Seeing-stars.com
.
Archived
from the original on May 18, 2016
. Retrieved
July 16,
2016
.
- ^
"Zsa Zsa Gabor Death Certificate"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on March 4, 2023
. Retrieved
April 24,
2021
.
- ^
McFadden, Robert D. (December 18, 2016).
"Zsa Zsa Gabor, Actress Famous for Her Glamour (and Her Marriages), Dies at 99"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
.
Archived
from the original on December 13, 2017
. Retrieved
December 14,
2017
.
- ^
"Archived copy"
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 16,
2023
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
Gabor, Eva (1954).
Orchids and Salami
. W.H. Allen.
Archived
from the original on February 12, 2024
. Retrieved
December 26,
2023
.
- ^
"Orchids & Salami ? Eva Gabor's Autobiography"
.
The Gaboratory
. January 15, 2018.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
"Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction"
.
Kirkus Reviews
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
- ^
Millstein, Gilbert (January 24, 1954).
"The Clan Gabor; ORCHIDS AND SALAMI. By Eva Gabor. Foreword by Lawrence Langner. 219 pp. New York: Doubleday & Co. $2.75"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 19,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Eva Gabor
.
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