“Hello, is Granny there?”
Some city-slickers might slight the Clampett family of The Beverly Hillbillies, writing them off as outrageous and impolite. However, avid watchers of the series understand the Clampetts for what they are; a family that loves and cares for one another, and isn’t ashamed of who they are and where they came from.
The cast of The Beverly Hillbillies were so proud of their characters that when filming wrapped on an episode, they didn’t necessarily rush to get back to reality.
According to an interview with The Napa Valley Register, the costars often referred to each other by their character’s name instead of their real one. Max Baer Jr., best known as Jethro, on the show, will often call Irene Ryan and refer to her as “Granny”.
“Granny, this is Jethro,” Baer said. “What time are we due at the studio.”
The article also mentions that when greeting one another at the start of each shoot, the actors liked to call each other by their character names.
Additionally, the cast also enjoyed staying in costume during their breaks on set and heading to lunch dressed as the Clampett family, much to the shock of their fellow restaurant patrons.
“I was decked out in a baggy burlap sack and shoes that looked like Army boots,” Ryan said. “Buddy Ebsen and Max Baer looked just as ridiculous in suits that were three sizes too small for them.”
It might have earned them a prompt ejection from the place, but the restaurant just so happened to be near the Hillbillies filming studio, which meant that management was well familiar with their work.
“Luckily the management knew we were rehearsing at the studio nearby,” Ryan said. “or they wouldn’t have let us in.”
Just as secure are the Clampetts with themselves, so was the cast as well, delighting in the shock and amusement they brought others who saw them.
“I don’t know what the other customers thought but we certainly had a lot of laughs doing it,” Ryan said.
