Mr. Haney
Encyclopedia
Mr. Haney was a local farmer turned sales
man and con man in the rural
Hooterville
community who was a supporting antagonist character on the 1960s CBS
television series Green Acres
.
Haney, portrayed by veteran character actor
and longtime Western film sidekick
Pat Buttram
with the odd, yodeling voice, sold his family's ancient, dilapidated farm
to Oliver
when he and Lisa Douglas
left New York City
for rural
Hooterville
and their new life as farmers. In the process of the sale, Haney stripped the farm of everything of value down to the plumbing.
Haney had cheated the Douglases by charging them several times what the property was worth and saddling them with a dysfunctional farm. He continued to cheat them by initially selling the movable property associated with the farm to them one piece at a time. Douglas bought Haney's cow, tractor and plow, all of which were as useless as the farm.
He continued to come back with his farm truck converted into a peddler's truck stocked with worthless versions of items that Oliver had need of. He almost invariably succeeded in unloading the items on Oliver at inflated prices despite his past shady dealings with them. He often took a piece of junk and called it by some outlandish name, suggesting that it has some use that it clearly does not and that it's in some way valuable.
Haney would often turn up in his truck at the Douglas farm, minutes after they've realized they needed something, selling exactly that (even if it were very odd), complete with a pull-down sign on his truck advertising it. If turned down by Douglas, Haney would offer a variety of equally useless alternatives. Oliver once said "How come you always show up with exactly what I need?" And Haney turned it on him by saying "Well let me put it to you another way...how come you always need what I show up with?"
In one episode, Haney's "Grabwell" washer, basically a barrel with an outboard motor in it, wrecks the Ziffel's house. Oliver successfully sues Haney. But Haney, of course, profits because the sale he holds to raise money to pay the settlement brings him in more than if he had peddled the stuff in his normal fashion. Further, Lisa buys some of it. In another episode, Haney examines what he believes is a dead cow (actually a plastic promotional item that fell off a meat truck), hoping to parlay the find into a profit, and refers to it as the “corpus delicious”.
Another time, Haney had what seemed to be an entire company in the back of his truck. One person comes out to speak to him. He then yells into the door for everyone to take lunch, and it sounds as if several dozen employees are contained in the small area.
Haney was married in the series and often talked about his wife. However, in one episode, Haney and Joe Carson from Petticoat Junction
compete to see who will date Lisa's mother. Since this doesn't bother Lisa and Oliver in the least bit, we can assume Haney's wife was no longer in the picture by that episode.
He is mentioned in an episode of the prime time TV series ALF
.
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
man and con man in the rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Hooterville
Hooterville
Hooterville was a fictional town that was the setting of the American television sitcoms Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.-Citizens:The town of Hooterville was founded in 1868 by Horace Hooter...
community who was a supporting antagonist character on the 1960s CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television series Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
.
Haney, portrayed by veteran character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
and longtime Western film sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
Pat Buttram
Pat Buttram
Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram was an American actor, known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the TV series Green Acres. He had a distinctive voice which, in his own words, "... never quite made it through puberty"...
with the odd, yodeling voice, sold his family's ancient, dilapidated farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
to Oliver
Oliver Wendell Douglas
Oliver Wendell Douglas was the major character in the 1960s CBS situation comedy Green Acres. The character's name was inspired by famed Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and possibly also by then-Supreme Court justice William Orville Douglas....
when he and Lisa Douglas
Lisa Douglas
Lisa Douglas was the leading female character in the 1960s CBS situation comedy Green Acres.Lisa , a glamorous Hungarian immigrant, was the wife of...
left New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Hooterville
Hooterville
Hooterville was a fictional town that was the setting of the American television sitcoms Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.-Citizens:The town of Hooterville was founded in 1868 by Horace Hooter...
and their new life as farmers. In the process of the sale, Haney stripped the farm of everything of value down to the plumbing.
Haney had cheated the Douglases by charging them several times what the property was worth and saddling them with a dysfunctional farm. He continued to cheat them by initially selling the movable property associated with the farm to them one piece at a time. Douglas bought Haney's cow, tractor and plow, all of which were as useless as the farm.
He continued to come back with his farm truck converted into a peddler's truck stocked with worthless versions of items that Oliver had need of. He almost invariably succeeded in unloading the items on Oliver at inflated prices despite his past shady dealings with them. He often took a piece of junk and called it by some outlandish name, suggesting that it has some use that it clearly does not and that it's in some way valuable.
Haney would often turn up in his truck at the Douglas farm, minutes after they've realized they needed something, selling exactly that (even if it were very odd), complete with a pull-down sign on his truck advertising it. If turned down by Douglas, Haney would offer a variety of equally useless alternatives. Oliver once said "How come you always show up with exactly what I need?" And Haney turned it on him by saying "Well let me put it to you another way...how come you always need what I show up with?"
In one episode, Haney's "Grabwell" washer, basically a barrel with an outboard motor in it, wrecks the Ziffel's house. Oliver successfully sues Haney. But Haney, of course, profits because the sale he holds to raise money to pay the settlement brings him in more than if he had peddled the stuff in his normal fashion. Further, Lisa buys some of it. In another episode, Haney examines what he believes is a dead cow (actually a plastic promotional item that fell off a meat truck), hoping to parlay the find into a profit, and refers to it as the “corpus delicious”.
Another time, Haney had what seemed to be an entire company in the back of his truck. One person comes out to speak to him. He then yells into the door for everyone to take lunch, and it sounds as if several dozen employees are contained in the small area.
Haney was married in the series and often talked about his wife. However, in one episode, Haney and Joe Carson from Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...
compete to see who will date Lisa's mother. Since this doesn't bother Lisa and Oliver in the least bit, we can assume Haney's wife was no longer in the picture by that episode.
He is mentioned in an episode of the prime time TV series ALF
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
.