Eddie Albert likened television to onstage show business
Albert was no stranger to performing.
Remember the saying "There's no business like show business?" Well, for Eddie Albert, there was one business that was at least similar to show business: Television.
Eddie Albert spoke with The Journal Herald about his upcoming series, Green Acres. Ever heard of it? Albert, who had experience on Broadway, revealed that he was content with his transition into television, and was prepared to give the medium more credit than others who had turned up their nose in favor of what they deemed to be higher-class art forms.
Albert stated, "I guess my favorite medium at the moment is television. It's the show business of our day." He granted, "Of course, every medium is different. There isn't anything quite like the atmosphere in a Broadway play." He also added, "Television is very lucrative."
While Albert did love the industry as a whole, he was willing to admit that television had an advantage to it that other means simply did not. He said, "I have no particular qualms about doing a series. Outside of the series, show business has become so disjointed and sporadic. There just aren't enough good parts to go around." On television, he said, "This has become the number one form."
It certainly helped that Albert was able to grace the screen with such wonderful fellow actors like Eva Gabor. He acknowledged this, and said, "There's a good group on this show. They have a real track record. And I knew I could just do my job and not have to worry about it."
While we can spend ages debating the pros and cons of television, Albert maintained that it was always important as an actor to live in the moment, and not get bogged down by long-term considerations. He said, "The most important thing, I think, is to enjoy life from day to day. You'll be a hell of a lot better actor in the future if you have a ball today."