Eva Gabor made sure her frocks were designer on the set of Green Acres
Lisa needed to look fabulous, "dahling."
As a lady of luxury, Eva Gabor wasn't willing to compromise on the finer points of her lifestyle. Fortunately for Gabor, Paul Henning, the executive producer of Green Acres, wanted her in his television show specifically because of her expensive and luxurious taste.
Gabor's explanation of her character, Lisa Douglas, was explored in Darwin Porter's book, Those Glamorous Gabors: Bombshells from Budapest. "My character was inane, but popular," she said. "I was more Marie Antoinette than Lisa Douglas, but who's counting?"
Gabor wasn't unaware of her character's cluelessness; rather, she was aware and embraced it. "I was supposed to be a complete idiot in some scenes," she said. Of course, Gabor knew that beyond her absentmindedness, Lisa Douglas was still an entertaining character, so long as she was grounded in the qualities that made Eva Gabor so special.
The book claimed that before taking on the role of Lisa, she and Paul Henning agreed that her character would only appear in Jean Louis designer frocks. "I was a dazzler in my silk, organza, and chiffon, along with my ostrich feathers, sequins, and rhinestones," she said. "On some episodes, I appeared in seven different outfits."
Of course, this grandeur came at a cost. "Every morning, I had to get up before dawn and go to the studio in a chauffeur-driven limousine to face my hairdresser," said Gabor. "My hair was teased and tormented. My character Lisa preferred a skyscraper hairdo on top of my head...I virtually had to give up my life to maintain this 4:30 am to 9 pm regime five days a week. No more partying for me. I almost never went out."