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{{short description|Hungarian-American actress and socialite (1919–1995)}}{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}{{eastern name order|Gábor Éva}}

factoids

Budapest, Hungary>Budapest, Hungarian Republic199542|11}}| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.| known_for = Green Acres| resting_place = Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery| other_names = Gábor ÉvaActresssocialite}}| years_active = 1941–1994| mother = Jolie Gabor

• {{marriage|Eric Valdemar Drimmer |1937|1942|reason=div.}}
• {{marriage|Charles Isaacs |1943|1949|reason=div.}}
• {{marriage|John Elbert Williams |1956|1957|reason=div.}}
• {{marriage|Richard Brown|1959|1973|reason=div.}}
• {{marriage|Frank Gard Jameson Sr.|1973|1983|reason=div.}}

}}| relatives = Magda Gabor (sister)Zsa Zsa Gabor (sister)Francesca Hilton (niece)Tom Lantos (cousin)}}Eva Gabor ({{IPAc-en|ËŒ|eɪ|v|É™|_|É¡|É™|ˈ|b|É”r|,_|-|_|ˈ|É¡|ɑː|b|É”r}} {{respell|AY|vÉ™|_|gÉ™|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

Gabor was born in Budapest, Hungary, the youngest of three daughters of Vilmos Gábor, a soldier, and his wife, trained jeweler Jolie (born Janka Tilleman). Her parents were both from Hungarian Jewish families.WEB,www.newyorksocialdiary.com/social-diary/2010/reflecting-on-the-life-of-zsa-zsa-gabor, Reflecting on the life of Zsa Zsa Gabor, New York Social Diary, July 16, 2016,www.newyorksocialdiary.com/social-diary/2010/reflecting-on-the-life-of-zsa-zsa-gabor," title="web.archive.org/web/20161222121348www.newyorksocialdiary.com/social-diary/2010/reflecting-on-the-life-of-zsa-zsa-gabor,">web.archive.org/web/20161222121348www.newyorksocialdiary.com/social-diary/2010/reflecting-on-the-life-of-zsa-zsa-gabor, December 22, 2016, dead, WEB,www.jewishtampa.com/jews-in-the-news/jews-in-the-news-bonni-tischler-steven-spielberg-vilmos-gabor, Jews in the News: Bonni Tischler, Steven Spielberg and Vilmos Gabor | Tampa Jewish Federation, Jewishtampa.com, July 11, 2016, July 16, 2016, October 5, 2016,web.archive.org/web/20161005230829/https://www.jewishtampa.com/jews-in-the-news/jews-in-the-news-bonni-tischler-steven-spielberg-vilmos-gabor, live, WEB, Bennetts, Leslie,www.vanityfair.com/style/2007/10/zsazsa200710, It’s a Mad, Mad, Zsa Zsa World, Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair, September 6, 2007, July 16, 2016, February 6, 2015,www.vanityfair.com/style/2007/10/zsazsa200710," title="web.archive.org/web/20150206114244www.vanityfair.com/style/2007/10/zsazsa200710,">web.archive.org/web/20150206114244www.vanityfair.com/style/2007/10/zsazsa200710, live, 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.WEB,newspaperarchive.com/us/texas/san-antonio/san-antonio-light/1948/02-29/page-62?tag=sari+hilton&rtserp=tags%2F%3Fpep%3Dsari-hilton, Those Gabor Girls, San Antonio Light, February 29, 1948, May 28, 2016, Johnson, Irving, 62, June 10, 2016,newspaperarchive.com/us/texas/san-antonio/san-antonio-light/1948/02-29/page-62?tag=sari+hilton&rtserp=tags%2F%3Fpep%3Dsari-hilton," title="web.archive.org/web/20160610085509newspaperarchive.com/us/texas/san-antonio/san-antonio-light/1948/02-29/page-62?tag=sari+hilton&rtserp=tags%2F%3Fpep%3Dsari-hilton,">web.archive.org/web/20160610085509newspaperarchive.com/us/texas/san-antonio/san-antonio-light/1948/02-29/page-62?tag=sari+hilton&rtserp=tags%2F%3Fpep%3Dsari-hilton, live,

Early career

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“>

Green Acres

File: Eddie Albert Eva Gabor Green Acres 1965.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Gabor (right) on the set of Green Acres with Eddie AlbertEddie AlbertIn 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.WEB, Belvedere, Matthew J., 2016-05-04, The surprising story of how Johnny Carson saved Twister,www.cnbc.com/2016/05/04/the-surprising-story-of-how-johnny-carson-saved-twister.html, 2023-12-19, CNBC, en, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216081409/https://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/04/the-surprising-story-of-how-johnny-carson-saved-twister.html, live, WEB, 2023-06-01, How Johnny Carson Saved Twister,www.history.com/news/how-johnny-carson-saved-twister, 2023-12-19, HISTORY, en, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216081409/https://www.history.com/news/how-johnny-carson-saved-twister, live, WEB, Twister,www.museumofplay.org/toys/twister/, 2023-12-19, The Strong National Museum of Play, en-US, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216081409/https://www.museumofplay.org/toys/twister/, live,

Later career

(File:Eva Gabor.jpg|thumb|right|upright|)In 1972, Gabor launched her eponymous fashion collection with Luis Estévez, a Cuban-born American fashion designer.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)WEB,americanhistory.si.edu/collections/hispanicdesigners/estevez/section.htm, NMAH | Hispanic Designers, January 1, 2012, dead,americanhistory.si.edu/collections/hispanicdesigners/estevez/section.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120119192636americanhistory.si.edu/collections/hispanicdesigners/estevez/section.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20120119192636americanhistory.si.edu/collections/hispanicdesigners/estevez/section.htm, January 19, 2012, 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.WEB,pixiepranks-panstinkerbell.blogspot.com/2012/07/every-disney-hero-has-voice-eva-gabor.html, Pixie Pranks and Disney Fun: Every Disney Hero Has a Voice ~ Eva Gabor Duchess & Bianca, Pixie, Pranking, July 4, 2012, Pixie Pranks and Disney Fun, February 9, 2018, February 10, 2018,pixiepranks-panstinkerbell.blogspot.com/2012/07/every-disney-hero-has-voice-eva-gabor.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20180210002259pixiepranks-panstinkerbell.blogspot.com/2012/07/every-disney-hero-has-voice-eva-gabor.html,">web.archive.org/web/20180210002259pixiepranks-panstinkerbell.blogspot.com/2012/07/every-disney-hero-has-voice-eva-gabor.html, live, 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

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”.“Eva Gabor Obtains Divorce”, The New York Times, February 25, 1945
• Charles Isaacs, an American investment broker.“Eva Gabor in Hospital”, The New York Times, December 2, 1946 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.“Eva Gabor Wed to Surgeon”, The New York Times, April 9, 1956
• Richard Brown, a textile manufacturer, who later became a writer and director.Eva Gabor Wed in Las Vegas”, The New York Times, October 5, 1959Brown’s later career was described in “Notes on People”, The New York Times, June 26, 1973 They married at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 4, 1959, and divorced in Santa Monica, California, in June 1973.“Notes on People”, The New York Times, June 26, 1973WEB, 2015-08-21, Palm Springs History - Gabor Family Zsa Zsa Magda Jolie Eva,www.palmspringslife.com/the-most-wives-club/, 2023-12-19, Palm Springs Life, en-US, May 29, 2016,www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/December-1996/The-Most-Wives-Club/," title="web.archive.org/web/20160529222934www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/December-1996/The-Most-Wives-Club/,">web.archive.org/web/20160529222934www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/December-1996/The-Most-Wives-Club/, live,
• Frank Gard Jameson Sr., an aerospace executive and former vice president of Rockwell International.WEB,articles.latimes.com/1993-05-18/local/me-36581_1_aerospace, Aeronautics Executive Jameson Dies, Articles.latimes.com, May 18, 1993, July 16, 2016, March 6, 2016,articles.latimes.com/1993-05-18/local/me-36581_1_aerospace," title="web.archive.org/web/20160306052637articles.latimes.com/1993-05-18/local/me-36581_1_aerospace,">web.archive.org/web/20160306052637articles.latimes.com/1993-05-18/local/me-36581_1_aerospace, live, They married in the Vivian Webb Chapel of The Webb Schools, Claremont, California on September 21, 1973. The couple divorced in 1983.“Notes on People”, The New York Times, September 22, 1973 Gabor became a stepmother to Jameson’s four children.

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.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}}After her final marriage, Gabor was involved in a relationship with TV producer Merv Griffin until her death.WEB, Jacobs, Jody, 1985-07-12, Merv Griffin’s Birthday Party, Anyone?,www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-12-vw-9029-story.html, 2023-12-19, Los Angeles Times, en-US, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216044224/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-12-vw-9029-story.html, live, WEB, 1988-06-06, GRIFFIN, EVA GABOR MAY MARRY SOON, ZSA ZSA SAYS,www.deseret.com/1988/6/6/18767882/griffin-eva-gabor-may-marry-soon-zsa-zsa-says, 2023-12-19, Deseret News, en, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216044225/https://www.deseret.com/1988/6/6/18767882/griffin-eva-gabor-may-marry-soon-zsa-zsa-says, live, WEB, Eva Gabor Merv Griffin Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images,www.gettyimages.com/photos/eva-gabor-merv-griffin, 2023-12-19, www.gettyimages.com, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216044224/https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/eva-gabor-merv-griffin, live, Reuters reported that this was a platonic relationship to hide Griffin’s suspected homosexuality.NEWS,uk.reuters.com/article/people-griffin-dc-idUKN1639738120070817, Merv Griffin died a closeted homosexual, Richmond, Ray, ReutersU.K., August 10, 2018, en-GB, August 10, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180810235458/https://uk.reuters.com/article/people-griffin-dc-idUKN1639738120070817, live,

Death

Gabor died in Los Angeles on Independence Day 1995, from respiratory failure and pneumonia, following a fall in a bathtub in Mexico,WEB, Eva Gabor dies at 74 - UPI Archives,www.upi.com/Archives/1995/07/04/Eva-Gabor-dies-at-74/1186804830400/, 2023-12-19, UPI, en, where she had been on vacation.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/1995/07/05/obituaries/eva-gabor-74-the-actress-youngest-of-celebrated-sisters.html, Eva Gabor, 74, the Actress; Youngest of Celebrated Sisters, July 5, 1995, Associated Press, The New York Times, February 16, 2017, November 25, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181125115736/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/05/obituaries/eva-gabor-74-the-actress-youngest-of-celebrated-sisters.html, live, Her funeral was held on July 11, 1995, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills.WEB, Gary Wayne,www.seeing-stars.com/Churches/GoodShepherd.shtml, Church of the Good Shepherd, Seeing-stars.com, May 20, 1998, July 16, 2016, May 18, 2016,www.seeing-stars.com/Churches/GoodShepherd.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20160518000326www.seeing-stars.com/Churches/GoodShepherd.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20160518000326www.seeing-stars.com/Churches/GoodShepherd.shtml, live, 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.WEB,tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/1227-zsa-zsa-gabor-death-certificate-02.pdf, Zsa Zsa Gabor Death Certificate, April 24, 2021, March 4, 2023,tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/1227-zsa-zsa-gabor-death-certificate-02.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20230304040900tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/1227-zsa-zsa-gabor-death-certificate-02.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20230304040900tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/1227-zsa-zsa-gabor-death-certificate-02.pdf, dead, NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2016/12/18/movies/zsa-zsa-gabor-often-married-actress-known-for-glamour-dies.html, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Actress Famous for Her Glamour (and Her Marriages), Dies at 99, McFadden, Robert D., December 18, 2016, The New York Times, December 14, 2017, en-US, 0362-4331, December 13, 2017,web.archive.org/web/20171213114910/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/18/movies/zsa-zsa-gabor-often-married-actress-known-for-glamour-dies.html, live, (File:Eva Gabor grave at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Brentwood, California.JPG|thumb|Gabor’s grave)

Theatre roles{| class“wikitable”

!Opening date!Closing date!Title!Role!Theatre|January 24, 1950|July 14, 1951The Happy Time (musical)>The Happy Time|MignonetteGerald Schoenfeld Theatre>Plymouth|March 26, 1956|March 31, 1956|Little Glass Clock|GabrielleJohn Golden Theatre>John Golden|January 31, 1958|February 8, 1958|Present Laughter|Joanna LyppiattBelasco Theatre>Belasco|March 18, 1963|November 9, 1963Tovarich (musical)>Tovarich|Tatiana(succeeded Vivien Leigh October 21)Winter Garden Theatre>Winter Garden|April 4, 1983|January 1, 1984You Can’t Take It with You (play)>You Can’t Take It with You|The Grand Duchess Olga Katrina(succeeded Colleen Dewhurst)Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre>PlymouthRoyale“>

Film roles{|class“wikitable sortable”

! Year! Title! Role! Notes 1941 ‘’Forced Landing (1941 film)’’ >|New York Town >| UncreditedPacific Blackout >|Star Spangled Rhythm > UncreditedA Royal Scandal (1945 film)>A Royal Scandal Countess DemidowThe Wife of Monte Cristo >|Song of Surrender >|Love Island (1952 film)>Love Island Sarna Paris Model >| 1954 The Mad Magician Claire Ormond Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl >|The Last Time I Saw Paris >|Artists and Models >| 1957 The Truth About Women Louise Tiere My Man Godfrey (1957 film)>My Man Godfrey Francesca Gray Don’t Go Near the Water (film)>Don’t Go Near the Water Deborah Aldrich Gigi (1958 film)>Gigi Liane d’Exelmans It Started with a Kiss (film)>It Started with a Kiss Marquesa Marion de la Rey A New Kind of Love >|Youngblood Hawke (film)>Youngblood Hawke Fannie Prince The Aristocats > VoiceThe Rescuers >| Miss BiancaNutcracker Fantasy >| Queen of TimeThe Princess Academy >| Countess Von Pupsin The Rescuers Down Under >| Miss Bianca “>

Television roles {| class“wikitable sortable”

! Year! Title! Role! NotesTales of Tomorrow >| Episode: “The Invader”, an American anthology SciFi series performed and broadcast liveThe Eva Gabor Show >| HostJustice >| 2 episodes: “The Blackmailer”, and “The Intruder”What’s My Line? >| Season No. 9, episode No. 12, overall episode No. 389Five Fingers (American TV series)>Five Fingers Maria Vodnay Episode: “Station Break”Harrigan and Son >| Two appearancesGreen Acres >| Lead roleHere’s Lucy >| Episode: “Lucy and Eva Gabor”Wake Me When the War Is Over >|Match Game >| 1975 Tattletales With husband Frank JamesonEllery Queen (TV series)>Ellery Queen Magda Szomony Episode: “The Adventure of the Blunt Instrument”The Love Boat >| Episode No. 10: “Dear Beverly/The Strike/Special Delivery”Fantasy Island >| Episode: “My Late Lover/Sanctuary” 1982 Hart to Hart Renee Episode: “With This Hart I Thee Wed” Madame’s Place Herself Episode: “Everyone Has Their Dream Role”The Edge of Night >| Cast member 1990 Return to Green Acres Lisa Douglas Close Encounters >|The Beverly Hillbillies>The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies Herself This Is Your Life (UK TV series)>This Is Your Life Herself

See also

• Gabor sisters
• Eva Gabor portrait by Americo Makk

Further reading

• Orchids & Salami: A Gay and Impudent Memoir’’, by Eva Gabor, Doubleday, 1954 (Foreword by Lawrence Langner)WEB,www.biblio.com/book/orchids-salami-gay-impudent-memoir-gabor/d/1278807802, Archived copy, December 16, 2023, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216075016/https://www.biblio.com/book/orchids-salami-gay-impudent-memoir-gabor/d/1278807802, live, BOOK, Gabor, Eva,books.google.com/books?id=YSp5swEACAAJ, Orchids and Salami, 1954, W.H. Allen, en, December 26, 2023, February 12, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240212023429/https://books.google.com/books?id=YSp5swEACAAJ, live, WEB, 2018-01-15, Orchids & Salami – Eva Gabor’s Autobiography,thegaboratory.com/2018/01/14/orchids-salami-eva-gabors-autobiography/, 2023-12-19, The Gaboratory, en-US, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216075018/https://thegaboratory.com/2018/01/14/orchids-salami-eva-gabors-autobiography/, live, WEB, Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction,www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/eva-gabor/orchids-and-salami/, 2023-12-19, Kirkus Reviews, en, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216075016/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/eva-gabor/orchids-and-salami/, live, NEWS, Millstein, Gilbert, 1954-01-24, The Clan Gabor; ORCHIDS AND SALAMI. By Eva Gabor. Foreword by Lawrence Langner. 219 pp. New York: Doubleday & Co. $2.75., en-US, The New York Times,www.nytimes.com/1954/01/24/archives/the-clan-gabor-orchids-and-salami-by-eva-gabor-foreword-by-lawrence.html, 2023-12-19, 0362-4331, December 16, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231216075016/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/01/24/archives/the-clan-gabor-orchids-and-salami-by-eva-gabor-foreword-by-lawrence.html, live,
• Gaborabilia, by Anthony Turtu and Donald F. Reuter, Three Rivers Press, 2001; {{ISBN|0-609-80759-5}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

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• {{IMDb name|0001247}}
• {{tcmdb name|id=67242}}
• {{IBDB name}}
• {{iobdb name|45625}} walkoffame.com/eva-gabor/
• “Eva Gabor and New York stockbroker, Richard Brown wed”, tcm.turner.com

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