22 Startling Facts about the Beverly Hillbillies!

Let’s rewind the clock and go back to 1962. It was this year that The Beverly Hillbillies would first air. We didn’t know it at the time but when this eccentric show first aired it would go on to become one of the most watched programs of all time. Though most people are familiar with the show thanks to its nine season run time, there are still many little facts that should interest you. Listed below are 22 hilarious and incredible facts about The Beverly Hillbillies.

Critically Panned

While fans around the world loved these Hillbillies it wasn’t always an easy sale with the critic audience. The Beverly Hillbillies took home seven Emmy nominations throughout its run but it was routinely panned by the people in charge of reviewing television shows. Oh well, looks like they missed out! We imagine that these critics are embarrassed to the point of having eating disorders for missing on this show.

Ratings Juggernaut

Still, despite how much the critics hated the series it would go on to score incredible ratings. From 1962 to 1964 the program averaged nearly 57 million viewers — incredible numbers. These numbers are even more incredible when you put them in perspective: in the ’60s America only had around 190 million people in the country. So nearly a third of the United States was tuning into the show.

Future Politicians

Nancy Kulp played Jane Hathaway for 246 episodes during the show’s run. Kulp would finish up her acting career and move into politics. Kulp would leave TV to run for the House of Representatives in Pennsylvania. If she had anxiety before we doubt that she had the power to stop smoking with that kind of stress!

Killer Theme Song

If the critics dipped their toes in bulimia over missing out on the show then they’ll go full on anorexia after hearing this fact: the theme song ended up as a #1 hit in the United States. yep that’s right, ‘The Ballad of Jed Clampett’ would climb the country-pop charts.

Affordable Filming

Hollywood was quite different back in the ’60s. Paul Henning, the creator of the show, only had to pay $500 to film in the Bel Air mansion that would become the main character’s home in the show. Not a bad deal, right?

Buddy Ebsen and Nancy Kulp Rivalry

While Jane Hathaway and Mr. Drysdale always were seen together in the show it wasn’t by request of the performers. Nancy Kulp hated Buddy Ebsen and the two routinely fought about politics on set. When Kulp ran for for office Buddy Ebsen actually campaigned against her out of spite.

Hillbilly Mansion

Did you know that the mansion on the show was truly as opulent as it appeared? The building was over 21,000 square feet and it featured waterfalls, swimming pools, piano organ rooms and more.

Sharon Tate as a Guest Star

Sharon Tate, the wife of filmmaker Roman Polanski, appeared in 15 different episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies. Tate often appeared in a brunette wig. Tate ended up dying while pregnant at age 26 as a victim to the Manson Family murders. It’s surreal to see her in the show nowadays.

Max Baer Jr’s Complicated Feelings

Max Baer Jr. may have risen to fame as the slightly dim Jethro Bodine but he claims that the gig essentially destroyed any potential acting career. Baer says that he had to stick to writing and producing as he was constantly getting typecast. Baer is the last living member of the show.

The Jalopy is in a Museum

The jalopy was the dusty and totally broken-down 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 Roadster that the cast used in the series. Well now it actually sits in the Ralph Foster Museum at Missouri’s College of the Ozarks. In 1976, Paul Henning, the creator of the show, gave it as a gift to the museum for its Bicentennial celebrations.

Inspired by the Civil War

Creator Paul Henning was inspired to write the show while touring the Southern Civil War sites back in 1959. He had a ‘fish out of water’ concept and it evolved into what we have today.

Levi-Strauss

Once the first season of the show had aired, a Levi-Strauss executive was quoted saying that “Donna Douglas had done more for the sale of blue jeans in one year than cowboys and done in a hundred.” Quite the statement.

A Beverly Hillbillies Casino

Max Baer Jr. has dreamed of getting a casino built that was dedicated. Baer opted for licensing rights for certain products and foods while he was working on the show and now he is dreaming and planning of establishing a casino to bank off of it.

Raymond Bailey’s Alzheimer’s

Raymond Bailey famously played the banker Mr. Drysdale throughout the run of the show. However, as the years progressed actor Bailey began to suffer very clear effects of Alzheimer’s Disease Bailey would retire from acting and lived as a recluse until he died in 1980.

Hey, Barbie Doll

There were three Barbies featured from Mattel in the Classic TV Collection which included “Elly May Clampett,” who was the character played by Donna Douglas. People absolutely loved her down to earth feeling and went wild for the product. But then in 2011, she decided to sue Mattel actually, for using her likeness without permission. She completely objected to the packaging which featured a black and white head shot of Donna Douglas as her character on the box plus it included a drawing of Elly May on the back. She would later settle the suit, but would pass away in 2015 at just 82.

The Rural Purge

The show famously was canceled during what TV execs now call ‘The Rural Purge’. Despite being a ratings juggernaut it was clear that audiences wanted more sophisticated and ‘adult’ entertainment. Shows like M*A*S*H became the golden standard going forward.

Baer Jr. Sued CBS

Man, it really seems like Max Baer Jr. was all over the place when it came to the television program, doesn’t it? Baer found out that CBS was using his character, Jethro, in a restaurant without paying him. So Baer filed a lawsuit to get back what was his.

John Wayne’s Cameo

Will there ever be anyone like John Wayne in Hollywood? Wayne appeared on an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies in 1986 (‘The Indians Are Coming’). As a payment Wayne requested a “fifth of bourbon” saying that the liquor would “square it”.

Buddy Ebsen Lands the Role

Did you know that we wouldn’t have our Jed Clampett if Buddy Ebsen hadn’t killed it in Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Ebsen was so effective in that film that the casting directors went to the man and offered him the part.

Sonny Drysdale

Sonny was the child of Margaret Drysdale from a prior marriage, but we never actually learned his real last name in the show. It was later revealed that Sonny’s last name was… Adonis. Sonny Adonis, not a bad name.

Successful Producer

Outside of acting we have seen Max Baer Jr. turn into a prolific producer. Baer has a habit of turning low budget fare (Macon County Line) into big budget returns.

Buddy Ebsen Character Changes

The only way that Ebsen would agree to do the show is if his character, Jed Clampett, was re-written. He didn’t want the character to be just ‘a dumb hick’. Jethro was written as a result of Ebsen’s request.

Family Fortune

When the first episode aired we saw the Clampett’s had a fortune of $25 million. By the time the show ended, adjusted for inflation, the Clampett family fortune would have been worth $583 million. Talk about changing times!

Granny the Cook

Irene Ryan was an Emmy Award winning actress and one heck of a cook. Ryan leveraged her fame as ‘Granny’ in order to create a line of Beverly Hillbillies cookbooks. Her cookbooks would sell well, eventually inspiring other cooks to do something similar.

Ebsen’s Secret Cameo

When The Beverly Hillbillies movie released we saw Buddy Ebsen arrive for a cameo — as a different character than Jed. Ebsen would play one of his other famous characters, Barnaby Jones — a detective. Ebsen had played the detective from 1973 all the way until 1980. This was a strange meeting of the TV world.

Jed Clampett, the Tin Man

Most of us know that Buddy Ebsen was a successful actor and dancer who worked on Broadway and in films. Originally, he was cast as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, but later switched to play the Tin Man after Ray Bolger signed on. Sadly, he had a very serious reaction to the aluminum metallic makeup and had to drop out. He claimed after to have ongoing lung problems due to “that damned movie” even though he actually lived longer than of all the major cast members from the film.

Movie Flop

The Beverly Hillbillies movie came to life in 1993 when in actuality, it never should have been done in the first place. The film starred Jim Varney as Jed, Diedrich Bader as Jethro, Erika Eleniak as Elly Mae, Cloris Leachman as Granny, Lily Tomlin as Miss Jane Hathaway and Dabney Coleman as Milburn Drysdale. While all of that sounded great, it was such a huge flop. Mostly because it didn’t have the same charm as the show did. Roger Ebert called it “one of the worst movies of this or any year.” That’s gotta sting.

Wait, you’re how old?

There were many rumors swirling around that Irene Ryan was actually younger than Donna Douglas but wore extensive amounts makeup as Granny. Ryan was born in 1902 and Douglas was born in 1933. Meaning that in fact, Ryan was 31 years older than Douglas.

Everyone’s a Critic

The public became quick fans of the show however, the critics felt differently. They believed it was rather poor to be making fun of simple-minded, uneducated people. The New York Times even called it “strained and unfunny.” While Variety called it “painful to sit through.” Well the show proved those critics wrong as it ran for nine years and even got seven Emmy nominations.

Bel Air?

The Beverly Hills mansion was actually located in Bel Air because it was well, cheaper to rent. Fans found out the location of the mansion, 750 Bel Air Road, and used to stand outside it daily thus making it difficult to film the show on location.

Quick Rise

In 1962, when the show first aired, it only took three weeks for Beverly Hillbillies to hit the number one spot in TV ratings. Which is actually the fastest jump that has even occurred in the history of television.

Animals Welcome!

All the animals that were used on the show for Ella May Clampett all came from Frank Inn, who was an animal trainer.

Successful Writer

Buddy Ebsen decided to become a writer after his retirement and kudos to him. He wrote Kelly’s Quest and it was actually rejected by nine different publishers so he self-published. And his book actually became the No. 3 on the ‘Los Angeles Times’ paperback best-seller list in 2001. Crazy!

Double the Trouble

During the first season, Max Baer Jr. would sometimes play a double role of Jethro and his twin sister – Jethrine Bodine. Linda Henning, who was the daughter of the series creator, Paul Henning, is also an actress and voiced over Jethrine Bodine’s voice. Interesting!

Before Fame

Before Donna Douglas found fame on the big screen, she was a high school athlete who played softball and basketball. She was also both Miss New Orleans and Miss Baton Rouge in beauty contests.

Kellog’s Lover

Take a look at the end of the opening credits of the show and you’ll see that Jed is pointing something out towards the left camera. In the network broadcasts, the camera pivots to show that Jed is in fact pointing to a Kellogg’s Corn Flakes billboard, which was the sponsor of the show. As the car drives past it, the theme song continues but changes to the then current slogan “K-E-Double L-O-Double Good. Kellogg’s best to you”.

Bea Benaderet

The veteran character actress and voice artist Bea Benaderet was actually the first to be considered for the role of Granny. However, Benaderet was considered too large and “busty” to fit that image. It is rumored that Bea Benaderet, herself recommended Irene Ryan for the role, who came in and “blew everyone away” with an out of the park screen test.

Retirement Time

Buddy Ebsen seriously considered permanently retiring from show business, before he began filming and the production of The Beverly Hillbillies: The Clampetts Strike Oil (1962), in December of 1961.

The Chimps

How cute were Elly May Clampett’s two pet chimpanzees? I thought they were the cutest chimps ever! But did you know that their names were Skipper and Bessie? Adorable.

Name Change

Turns out that the original title of the show was actually supposed to be “The Hillbillies of Beverly Hills”. However, this title would only be seen in the original pilot episode “The Clampetts Strike Oil”. Later on, it would be changed to “The Beverly Hillbillies” in the second episode.

Give Country Music a Try

Buddy Ebsen is a jack of all trades and he continued to sing decades after his Broadway Melody debut. He was now firmly identifiable in the American consciousness as Jed Clampett and even Jed took a run at country tunes.