Beyond the glade and over the fields, in a Beverly Hills mansion, you can hear the faint sound of a banjo and gunfire followed by the flight of coon hounds in the distance as we enter the simpler life of the Clampetts. Jed, Elly May, Granny, Jehtro and the whole clan brought us the timeless classic, The Beverly Hillbillies, a household name that lasted an incredible nine seasons from 1962 to 1971.
Let’s revisit the hilarious family of Clampetts — with some pretty notable guest stars to boot, including legendary actress and Manson murder victim Sharon Tate. Drop a comment below who your favorite star is from The Beverly Hillbillies. But right now we gotta go to California, it’s the place you oughta be.
Buddy Ebsen (Mr. Jed Clampett)
The head of the household and the very man who will happen upon their oily ticket to fortune. Ebsen lent dignity and integrity to Mr. Clampett, always remains true to himself and never changing the way he treats people. Buddy masterfully created a simple-minded, yet complex character. He really grounded the entire series. Buddy himself was a dancer, singer, actor, and comedian. Less known for lending his singing voice to the iconic Tin Man in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz — Buddy would have been the Tin Man if not for the dangerous aluminum dust used in the makeup collecting in his lungs, so when Buddy hit the hospital, the The role was recast with Jack Haley.
Buddy did alright, though. His career spanned seven decades from his first film role as a dancer alongside his sister, Velma Ebsen, in the 1936 Oscar-nominated Broadway Melody to his very last role in the 1993 film adaptation of The Beverly Hillbillies, making a cameo as his other lasting TV character Barnaby Jones (which in itself enjoyed eight successful seasons of private eye fun). The cameo will be his last time on the big screen. Ebsen passed away July 6, 2003 at age 95, after lending his voice one final time to the cartoon sitcom, King of the Hill.
Talking to the Battle Creek Enquirer of Battle Creek, Michigan in 1963, he described his role as Jed Clampett this way: “I’m a straight man in the series. Jed is essentially not a comedy character, so my job is to set up the situations and the lines. Occasionally Jed will make a droll observation and sometimes when the show is slanted toward him, I’ll play in a comedy scene. But for the most part, I feed lines to the others.
“At base,” he added, “Jed is a dignified man and an intelligent man, although he may not be long on education. I like him and I like Beverly Hillbillies and I think that even if I had the chance to do other things, I could play Jed for as long as it is palatable to the public.”
Irene Ryan (Granny)
Don’t let her old age fool you, she makes the meanest jar of moonshine in the county (aka her “tonic”) and is everyone’s favorite feisty Granny. Irene was also an established vaudeville, radio, and movie actress. Before playing everyone’s favorite spitfire, she was known for being “the girl that made Bob Hope laugh” all across America as she accompanied Hope on one of his many famous military tours.
Irene performed in a number of comedy sketches and shorts showcasing her many skills. Beyond her time on The Beverly Hillbillies, she also dabbled on Broadway, taking the big stage in Pippin which would be her last role before dying at age 70 in 1973, two years after The Beverly Hillbillies came to an end.
“How do I feel about all this?” she asked rhetorically in 1963 of The Beverly Hillbillies. “It’s like I have gone to heaven. Honestly, it’s so funny that I just sit and laugh. Six months ago no one cared whether I was alive or dead. Now everyone I meet asks, ‘How old are you, really, Granny?’ The show is just so simple; just good old-fashioned comedy. No one is neurotic, we solve no world problems and there’s no message about anything.” She was nominated for two Emmy Awards for her portrayal.
Getting the part, she related in 1972, wasn’t easy. “I had to fight for it,” she told the El Paso Times. “They told my agent I was too young. I had worked with the script writer, Paul Henning, before, on The Dennis Day Show, so I went up and read for him. It was the first time I had to close a script from laughing. I told ’em if they had anybody older, they’d never make it up at 5 a.m. for filming.” After a bit of a delay she was notified that she had the part.
Irene always seemed to have confidence in herself as a person and performer. As far back as 1953 she began sharing her “secret”: “Being true to myself. There was a time when I envied the most beautiful girl in my class, but I outgrew that and learned to make the most of my funny face. Being happy, successful, finding a pleasant form of expression, does not depend on having regular features. Don’t let anything stop you from getting everything you want out of life.
