Buddy Ebsen: 8 Facts About ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ and ‘Barnaby Jones’ Actor

You know him as Jed Clampett, but he was also an artist, author, star of stage and screen and so much more

Actor Buddy Ebsen, without realizing at the time, found himself at the center of the TV sitcoms landscape of the 1960s when he agreed to portray Jed Clampett in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies. That show, of course, focused on the Clampett family, a group of hillbillies who suddenly find themselves wealthy beyond imagination and decide to leave their roots behind and travel to California, a place where they’ll never fit in — which gives the show its comic charm.

1. Dancing became his passion
As noted, Buddy’s father ran a dance studio when the family moved to Florida, and, at the age of 10, he and his four sisters began learning how to dance, lessons that would help him throughout much of his career.

2. Buddy Ebsen actually intended to be a doctor
Upon his graduation from high school in 1926, Buddy encouraged to pursue a career in medicine, attending the University of Florida and then Rollins College from 1926 to 1928. Unfortunately, financial challenges resulted in his dropping out at the age of 20. Next on his agenda was the idea of professional dancing.

3. Meet ‘The Baby Astaires’
Buddy Ebsen and his sister Vilma made the journey to New York, forming a vaudeville act they called “The Baby Astaires.” They were successful enough that the act led them to Broadway, where they appeared in such musicals as Ziegfeld Follies of 1934, Flying Colors and Whoopee. This, in turn, led them back to vaudeville, playing at New York’s more prestigious Palace Theater.

4. For a time, he had a flourishing movie career

In 1935 MGM signed Buddy and Vilma to a contract and they will appear in 1935’s Broadway Melody of 1936, after which she decided to go back home, where she began running her own dance studio. For his part, Buddy continued to act and appeared in both dramas and musicals (with stars like Judy Garland). As he explained it in a 1964 interview, he had read an ad looking for dancers for a Broadway show, which they auditioned and were hired for. He laughed, “I had taken dance lessons from my father when I was a kid, but quit when I was 12, because I felt dancing was sissified. Later I was mighty glad I had taken those lessons.”

5. Buddy Ebsen has a very specific Disney connection
His dance style, which was considered unique, caught the attention of Walt Disney, who arranged to film Ebsen dancing so that his movements could be incorporated into early versions of animatronics that Disney was developing. In 1993, the actor was named a “Disney Legend.”

5. He was the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz … briefly
When MGM was putting together the elements of The Wizard of Oz, Buddy Ebsen had originally been cast as the Scarecrow, but there was some sort of behind the scenes shift and Ray Bolger ended up in the part (“He must have been a pretty good salesman,” mused the actor). Instead, he was offered the role of the Tin Man, which he accepted. Unfortunately developed, 10 days into production he an allegorical reaction to the aluminum dust utilized for the character’s makeup and was forced to depart, with Jack Haley coming aboard.

6. Buddy Ebsen returned from World War II and found it difficult to get movie work
Following his time in the war, the actor went to New York to star in a Broadway revival of Show Boat, but upon returning to California in 1946 couldn’t find much in the way of film work. As a result, he turned to television, making guest appearances and starring in anthology productions. Then, Walt Disney, always a fan, cast him alongside Fess Parker in the 1954 to 1955 miniseries Davy Crockett. After that, he starred in the 1958 to 1959 Western series Northwest Passage.

7. Thanks to Davy Crockett, he once again began getting movie parts
Due to the impact of Davy Crockett, some producers began to take notice of Buddy Ebsen again and he appeared in Attack (1956), Between Heaven and Hell (1956), Mission of Danger (1959), Frontier Rangers (1959) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), appearing alongside Audrey Hepburn.

8. His greatest success came with The Beverly Hillbillies
There’s never been a better fish out of water (or should that be out of a cement pond?) television series than The Beverly Hillbillies. Created by Paul Henning (later to expand that show’s world with the spin-offs Petticoat Junction and Green Acres), it begins with a family of hillbillies known as the Clampetts striking oil on their land and becoming mega rich as a result. They decided to move to Beverly Hills, where a huge culture clash plays out between them and pretty much everyone else.