Jed and Granny had the power in the Clampett household, but Ebsen and Ryan were just ecstatic to be there.
Jed Clampett was once a poor mountaineer who could barely keep his family fed before becoming a millionaire and relocating to Beverly Hills. He was the main character of The Beverly Hillbillies, but there was another character who was more vocal and had more authority in the Clampett household than him: Granny.
The roles played by Buddy Ebsen and Irene Ryan turned the rural comedy into a classic. Although critics felt everything from the plot to the clothing was degrading, it was still a massive hit among viewers, skyrocketing the stardom of Ebsen and Ryan.
Both actors were versatile and talented, but the show made them even more loved. Between the two, who “ran the set” of The Beverly Hillbilles? According to Buddy Ebsen, it was neither.
During an interview with The Columbia Record in 1969, television writer Ray Benson asked the actor that question. The writer also asked Ebsen if he knew Ryan’s real age.
The article said, “Who runs the set, you or ‘Granny’? Does age come before beauty, or vice-versa? How much adlibbing do the four of you do? How old is Irene Ryan?”
That’s a lot of questions to answer at once, but Ebsen did a perfect job with his response. “The director runs it…and Henning. He’s there… he runs it. Irene and I are just delighted to be working. We take orders from those two. They are in charge. We do no adlibbing… none of. We respect our writers,” he said.
Have there ever been script changes? Yes, but Paul Henning always gave the “OK” before they happened. Ebsen added, “He dreams it up, and we have no reason to doubt his judgment. Irene’s age? I never had the guts to ask her.”
There’s a popular saying that “you never ask a woman her age,” that’s probably why Ebsen chose not to. It’s always refreshing to hear when prominent actors in classic shows never overstepped their boundaries and tried to force their creative ideas on the producer.
Jed and Granny had the power in the Clampett household, but Ebsen and Ryan were just ecstatic to be there.
