Gene Autry's Pal Pat Buttram, `Mr. Haney' On `Green Acres'

LOS ANGELES - Pat Buttram, singing cowboy Gene Autry's sidekick in the 1950s and the annoying Mr. Haney on the sitcom "Green Acres," died yesterday of kidney failure. He was 78.

"He was just a natural comedian," Autry said.

From 1965 to 1971 Mr. Buttram played Mr. Haney on CBS' "Green Acres." Haney was an irritating country con man who sold a tumbledown farm to Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert) and Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor).

Playing under his own name on "The Gene Autry Show" from 1950 to 1956 on CBS, Mr. Buttram helped Autry keep peace out West. They also appeared in about 40 feature movies as well as stage shows.

"He was great, off the film and on the film. If I was . . . doing a stage show, he would be sitting back there. If I needed a good one-liner right quick, he would give me a good routine," Autry said.

Mr. Buttram appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and on programs such as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."

He also was a comedy writer and had various radio shows. Most recently, he made appearances on Los Angeles radio station KMPC from 1990 to 1992.

Born in Alabama, Mr. Buttram was the son of a circuit-riding minister and studied theology at Birmingham Southern College. He got into show business when a local radio station hired him after seeing him in a college play.

His big break came when he went to the Chicago World's Fair in 1933 and was interviewed in the audience on "National Barn Dance." Everything he said got laughs, and he was signed as a comic.

After his stint with Autry ended, Mr. Buttram became a favorite of the Hollywood banquet circuit and often played benefits.

"I used to play a Friars dinner, and they'd put me on at the beginning of the speeches," Mr. Buttram said in a 1963 interview. "I could tell a few jokes and get off.

"Now they put me next to the closing, following guys like Jack Benny, George Burns, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Joey Bishop. I spend the evening crossing off my jokes because they've already been used."