Sam Drucker
Encyclopedia
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
in 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...
in the fictional world of the 1960s American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sitcoms
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
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...
and 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...
and made several guest appearances on The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, created by Paul Henning
Paul Henning
Paul William Henning was an American producer and writer. Most famous for the successful TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, he was crucial in the development of several "rural" comedies for CBS.-Early life:...
. Drucker was also the town's postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
and additionally the editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, publisher, and apparently sole employee of the town's weekly newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, the Hooterville World-Guardian. In one episode of 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...
Drucker was also a Town constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
. In another episode he mentions being Justice of the Peace and Superintendent of Schools as well.
Drucker was a supporting character in Petticoat Junction but somewhat more prominent in Green Acres, where he seemed to be perhaps the only truly sane character (other than perhaps the leading character Oliver Douglas
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....
) in the cast; he was provincial but fairly intelligent. However, like other Hootervillians, he saw nothing unusual in the fact that the Ziffel's "son" Arnold
Arnold Ziffel
Arnold Ziffel was a pig featured in Green Acres, an American situation comedy that was produced by Filmways, Inc., and originally aired on the CBS network from 1965 to 1971...
was a pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
. One of his personality quirks was his finding the necessity to put on his official postal worker hat
Hat
A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
and stand behind a small regulation post office grille next to the register, whenever his role switched from storekeeper to that of postmaster. Drucker took great pride in his association with the Post Office Department
United States Post Office Department
The Post Office Department was the name of the United States Postal Service when it was a Cabinet department. It was headed by the Postmaster General....
, but was very pleased that his patrons had to come into his store to get their mail. In the era during which the shows aired, post offices were often situated in stores in 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...
areas, and some still exist even today. There was no "R.F.D." in Hooterville; when Douglas petitioned his Congressman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for it to be initiated, Drucker was shocked to learn that an obscure (and fictitious) postal regulation required him to carry the entire route himself — by bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
. (This situation was, obviously, soon corrected.) In a few episodes it was also said that Drucker operated a bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
; this proved to be merely a cash box kept under a counter in his store.
Much was made of the character's baldness
Baldness
Baldness implies partial or complete lack of hair and can be understood as part of the wider topic of "hair thinning". The degree and pattern of baldness can vary greatly, but its most common cause is male and female pattern baldness, also known as androgenic alopecia, alopecia androgenetica or...
; in one episode he dons a toupee when having a photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
made and notes that it marked the first time that he had worn it since he was in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. In another episode, he states, "We Druckers skin out early." In the episode "The Agricultural Student", Sam quickly throws on his toupé and says he is, "Young Sam Drucker," when a young blonde co-ed, Terry Harper, needs a date for the barn dance.
Drucker and his bank were featured in later episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
.