Why Was Irene Ryan Hated By The Beverly Hillbillies Cast

She was not hated at all...why on earth stir up fake shit?

She would pick fights with the crew and beat them up.

Because she had a tiny pair of vestigial balls?

One of the few shows where the entire cast actually liked each other. Raymond Bailey pissed them off occasionally but that was because he was very professional and didn't like dicking around on set.

She was not hated. Actually, the only actor who was disliked by all the other cast members was Raymond Bailey who played Mr. Drysdale. In his own mind he believed he was the reason for the success of the show.

Surprisingly, the most beloved performer by the cast and crew was Harriet MacGibbon who had the role of the very unlikeable Margaret Drysdale.

It's rumored that she always wanted to make vittles while dressed in just her granny panties.

Irene Ryan off the set.

There is nothing like those Bonnie Mace stories.

I knew Nancy Kulp when she was older and moved back to PA semi-retired. She had some disputes with her partner allegedly, which I did not personally observe. She was really a cordial and good person

In politics, she ran for a congressional seat, as a democrat. Buddy Ebsen, who played Uncle Jed, was not even a resident of the district or state, but did an endorsement and local ad for her shady opponent and GOP incumbent who won. Ebsen could have easily stayed out of it, but apparently his disdain for Kulp was intense.

^ Yeah, that was really shitty of Buddy Ebsen.

[quote] Ebsen could have easily stayed out of it, but apparently his disdain for Kulp was intense.

His disdain for Democrats was intense.

No, Ryan was disliked. She was alway going around that she was in the legitimate theatre, undoubtedly spelled "re" and the other cast members were just TV yokels. She thought she was better than them and her character Granny was the reason the show was a hit. She pointed out that the second she left the show would fail, so they'd better all just be nice to her.

It was typical power play by her. When she died during the run of Pippin, the cast celebrated.

His disdain for lesbian Democrats, I think you mean.

Save yer Confederate money! The South will rise agin'!

Harriet MacGibbon as Margaret Drysdale is a national treasure.

I hope she has a star on Hollywood Boulevard.

R12 is pulling shit out of his ass. Irene Ryan was a near-nobody and she knew it. She was a former vaudevillian who had been an infrequent performer on radio. She, Max Baer, and Donna Douglas were unknowns when they were hired for TBH and they signed on for very little money. When the show became a top hit, Baer and Douglas wanted Ryan to join them in demanding a fat pay raise from the producer. Ryan wished them luck but told them she had no intention of rocking the boat. At her age, she was afraid of being fired and replaced if she held out for more money. The work itself and the fame it brought meant more to her than a paycheck. Max Baer adored her and the cast of Pippin were shocked and saddened when she died a couple weeks after having a stroke only a few months into the show's run.

Should also note that Raymond Bailey was starting to get Dementia towards the end of the show and was having a lot of trouble remembering lines and cues. That coupled with the onset of Alzheimers would explain his personality change.

Irene had tons of credits prior to the BH. She was quite well known. She was never a star but you knew who she was. Kind of like Doris Roberts. She was in every other show in the 70s and 80s but no one really knew her till she hit paydirt with Everybody Loves Raymond.

[quote] She was quite well known.

That is absolutely not true. Ryan was pretty much a nobody as far as the public was concerned until BH.

R18, R19, I suspect you are both right. She seems to have worked a lot in very small roles- often uncredited.

When she died, didn't her estate fund theater scholarships?

She refused to give out bj's and crotch licking.

Where are the NYC theater queens when you need them?

She WAS the reason for the show's success.

The others were very good, but she was great.

Irene was already a wealthy woman before BHB from the residuals from the enduring song, GOODNIGHT IRENE.

Her estate also received residuals for the songs 'Fame,' 'What a Feeling,' and the theme to 'DC Cab'.

Granny's choreography for music video for the theme to DC Cab.

She WAS liked. The main 4 characters were very close. Ebsen was the star and the cast treated him with respect but he drank a lot during filming.

Can we talk a little bit more about Max Baer, Jr.? What a shame he never made other films or TV series. He was a fine specimen.

For r29.

Her pussy smelled of camphor and mold.

R13, R11 was correct.

The only nice one was Donna Mills.

The others were awful. Raymond was insane, Kulp was a hardened militant lesbian, Baer thought he was too good to play Jethro and used any excuse to get of out being on the show. Ebsen was still pissed he traded with Ray Bolger for the Tin Man and got kicked off of the Wizard of Oz. Between Ebsen's bitterness, Ryan's ego, Baer's overestimation of his own talent, and Kulp trying to look up every skirt, it's no small miracle the show was a hit.

There was nothing but resentment. Bea Benaderet left the show for a Petticoat Junction even though that show was much lower rated so she could get away from them. They tried to make out like it was a promotion cause she "starred" in it, but it wasn't.

Jethrine was as convincing as Caitlin.

[R33] aka Miss Information, ummm, you are SO incorrect in every thing you've....oh never mind.

I've read that she loved the fact that no one ever recognized her without her Granny make-up on.

Bea Benederet was the inside pick for the role of Granny, Irene Ryan auditioned last for the part and blew everyone away with her audition.. Benederet got a recurring part as Jed's sister Pearl. Later, Paul Henning created Petticoat Junction for her.

Bailey was quite rude. Paul Henning invited the cast and crew to his hometown of Joplin Missouri when he was being honored with an award. Henning's sister, who lived in a restored Victorian mansion, invited the cast to her house for dinner. When Bailey was introduced to Henning's sister, he said "Are you the madam of this whorehouse?"

It is true that the cast got little more than union scale wages. After the series endedm Ryan did Pippin on Broadway where she received a Tony nomination. Yes, she created a scholarship fund for young performers funded by her estate.

Max Baer produced the film Macon County Line

"Ebsen was still pissed he traded with Ray Bolger for the Tin Man and got kicked off of the Wizard of Oz. "

My God, that was DECADES after the Wizard of Oz. And he wasn't "traded" with Ray Bolger. Ebsen was poisoned by aluminum dust that was put on his face as part of his Tin Man costume. He ended up in an iron lung and could have died. He wasn't in that movie because of illness, not being "traded."

I heard that Buddy Ebsen got mad at Nancy Kulp because Kulp's campaign claimed that ALL of her co-stars on The Beverly Hillbillies were supporting bid for election. He didn't like her using him as an endorsement without his consent, so he publicly supported her opponent. Big deal.

[quote] My God, that was DECADES after the Wizard of Oz. And he wasn't "traded" with Ray Bolger. Ebsen was poisoned by aluminum dust that was put on his face as part of his Tin Man costume. He ended up in an iron lung and could have died. He wasn't in that movie because of illness, not being "traded."

I think what he meant was that Bolger and Ebsen "traded" roles that Ebsen had been initially cast as the Scarecrow. I've never heard that story before, but I can't necessarily refute it.

Guys, Jack Haley replaced Buddy as Tin Man. Bolger played the scarecrow.

Yes R33 Donna Mills was very nice when the Beverly Hillbillies visited Knots Landing.

Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. Ebsen was a country boy and he looked it. He usually played hayseeds in the movies, so it was only natural to cast him as the Scarecrow. Ray Bolger, however, became a dancer because he was inspired by Fred Stone, who was the Scarecrow in the original Broadway operetta of 1904. Bolger was cast as the Tin Man, but he passionately wanted to play the Scarecrow. Ebsen didn't care which part he played, and it was agreed that they would switch roles. Bolger lucked out when the original Tin Man makeup nearly killed Ebsen.

Incidentally, Buddy Ebsen didn't hate Nancy Kulp, he simply disagreed with her politics. He felt that her celebrity might give her an unfair advantage over her opponent in the Congressional race. That's why he recorded an ad for the Republican. But Kulp almost certainly would have lost the election anyway. It was a conservative district and she lost by a wide margin.

Ryan had a continuing role, as a nurse, in the Dr. Kildare film series, starring Lew Ayres.

I wonder how Ryan would have been as Mamma, on the "Addams Family" TV series, instead of Blossom Rock(sister of Jeanette MacDonald, believe it or not)

Yeah I had heard that Buddy was a nasty Republican...too bad.

Mrs. Drysdale was a friggin hoot. They should have featured her more often. Funny woman.

Donna Douglas and her critters were a running joke that was always funny.

[quote]There was nothing but resentment. Bea Benaderet left the show for a Petticoat Junction even though that show was much lower rated so she could get away from them. They tried to make out like it was a promotion cause she "starred" in it, but it wasn't.

Ratings aside - how would not Petticoat Junction not been a promotion for her? She was a recurring character on Beverly Hillbillies and she was the lead on Petticoat Junction in a role that I think might has been said to be written with her in mind.

"Yeah I had heard that Buddy was a nasty Republican...too bad."

He may have been a Republican, but he wasn't "nasty." In fact, I've never heard anything bad about him. Some people were pissed that he didn't support Nancy Kulp in her election big (some rabid types think that meant he hated gays) and endorsed her opponent, but it was certainly his right to do so. I think he just didn't agree with her politics. And just what WERE her politics, anyway? That has always been a mystery.

BH Producer Paul Henning previously produced and wrote for Burns & Allen so he was well-acquainted with Bea Benadaret, who played neighbor Blanche Morton on the show. Henning was also a writer/producer on the Bob Cummings show Love That Bob.

IMHO, Burns & Allen, Love That Bob and The Beverly Hillbillies are the only early sitcoms, besides I Love Lucy, that still hold up and are genuinely funny. As a little kid I loved watching endless reruns of them but also My Little Margie, Our Miss Brooks, I Married Joan, Private Secretary and December Bride, which are all excrutiatingly unfunny to me now.

Paul Henning was doing something right.

R37, "are you the madam of this whorehouse" is something straight out of DL. Bailey would have fit in here nicely.

She kept using the execrable and rotten-souled Buddy Ebsen's brass spittoon as a chamberpot.

But that made her loved by the cast and crew, not hated.

And Kulp was loved, too. Ebsen was the only person who disliked her, for being a "lesberal."

I had heard the story as Bailey said to Henning when they pulled up, "you didn't tell me your sister lived in a whorehouse." After meeting the sister, he said to her, "oh that explains it, you aren't one of the girls, you're the madam." Rude as it is, I'm sorry but that's funny.

The black and white episodes had a different feel to them compared to later episodes. I think it might have been more dumbed down later on where the earlier episodes might have had a more subversive (not sure that is quite the right word) feel to them. In a way the same thing could be said for Bewitched, the black and white episodes were more of an adult (for the time) comedy that relied on better writing where the later episodes were more of a cartoon that relied on the gimmick.

Was Sonny Drysdale openly gay?

Irene Ryan was wonderfully supportive to young talent, as her scholarship fund showed. She also was very honest and up-front about herself, even the fact that she was a hermaphrodite (functionally a woman but with vestigial testicles by her clitoris, known because she had no qualms about using her status as a morale booster when others were whining about their problems).

Paul Henning loved Bea Benaderet. He seriously considered her for the role of Granny, but he had always visualized Granny as a spry and wiry woman. Bea was too plump and busty to run around in a mad fury the way he intended. It was Benaderet herself who suggested he audition Irene Ryan.

Henning felt so bad passing over Bea that he created the role of Cousin Pearl expressly for her. He later felt that both Pearl and Bea were too good at pulling focus away from the Hillbillies the show was supposed to be about. So he created Petticoat Junction a year later, promoting Bea from supporting actress to star, in part to get rid of Cousin Pearl.

Wait. So did Irene Ryan really drop dead right after singing that song about "It's Time To Start Living?"

She didn't drop dead, she had a stroke. She was transport d back to California and died there.

R15, agreed! I loved that fast-guitar theme (reminiscent of silent-movie villain music) they used to play when Mrs. Drysdale was on the rampage against the Clampetts

"And Kulp was loved, too. Ebsen was the only person who disliked her, for being a "lesberal."

Kulp was "loved?" Sez who? She didn't seem very loveable to me. Maybe you love her because she was a lesbian, but you have no idea what kind of person she was. She may have been a real cunt.

Bea Benaderet was also the first choice for Ethel Mertz, since she'd played the corresponding sidekick role in "My Favorite Husband," the radio precursor to "ILL." But she was starring in "The Jack Benny Program" at the time and was unavailable.

Bea was also the mother of Jack Bannon, who was a regular on "Lou Grant" and did several bit parts on the Henning shows. Bannon is now John Travolta's brother-in-law, as he's married to Ellen Travolta.

I'm not a theatre hag and was thrilled to discover "No Time at All" on YouTube a few years ago. She could really sell a song!

Fred Clark and then Larry Keating played Harry Morton, Blanche's fussbudget husband on Burns & Allen. Personally, I found them both sexy in a funny daddy bear way. And then there was Ronnie Burns!

Was Paul Henning gay?

Did anyone watch the terrible reunion movie they did in the 80s? Half the cast had to be replaced because the actors were dead (or refused to return - Max Baer Jr.) The rest of the cast looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. Imogene Coca was a poor substitute for Irene Ryan. Depressing.

Bea Benaderat was a complicated woman, that's all I'll say on that. I find it hard to believe that Buddy Ebsen was ever seriously considered for Scarecrow and Mrs. King, as he would've been much too old for the part, add to that, nobody in their right mind would willingly choose to work with Kate Jackson AND Martha Smith at the same time on the same set.

I remember it was esp. painful to see Ellie play the same character in her 50's. I guess she did that in real life as well until she died. Never got rid of the pig tails etc.

Mirielle Enos (THE KILLING), gay Dan Butler (FRASIER), and maybe gay Kevin Rahm (MAD MEN) were all recipients of Irene Ryan acting scholarships.

R5

That's what I've always heard too !

R9

BUDDY EBSEN was a real shit for doing that and frankly I'm surprised at how KULP eventually forgave him.

The Irene Ryan Award is a highly competitive award, presented by the ATCF (American Theatre Festival). It funds post-bachelors conservatory training (i.e. MFAs etc.). While it is ironic that such a big-prestige award is named after Irene Ryna, best known as Granny, it continues to be the highest national scholarship in acting given to undergraduate acting students.

Lucy was the first choice for Granny, but Gary Morton talked her out of it.

They were talking about the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz R64, not The Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Good lord...

As a child, I saw Ninotchka on the late movies and was certain Ina Claire was the same woman who played Mrs Drysdale. It wasn't until I was grown that I knew about Harriet MacGibbon.

She should have been more famous. The funniest parts IMO were Granny v Mrs Drysdale .

I did put Mrs. Drysdale in the best bitches of TV and film a week or so back. It has been awhile since I have watched the series, but I think she might have been used more earlier in the show.

I think the funniest feuds were Granny and Pearl.

Harriet MacGibbon was brilliant as Mrs. Drysdale. She created a completely believable Beverly Hills bigot. Unlike Lovely Howell, there was never anything even vaguely charming or attractive about her. When Mr. Drysdale was watching Pro Wrestling, she said "Milburn, how can a man of your culture watch such trash?" He said he was watching a girl beat up on a hillbilly, she said "oh, educational TV."

One of my favorite episodes was when Mr Drysdale convinces Granny that his wife is fighting viciously--including a doctored radio interview insulting Granny--to be Possum Queen.

The clips have been pulled off YouTube but here are the lyrics of Granny's campaign song:

"Here's your choice for Possum Queen Granny, Granny! She don't ride no limousine. Granny all the way! Vote her in to stay, come election day. The finest Queen you've ever seen, Granny all the way!"

[quote] Wait. So did Irene Ryan really drop dead right after singing that song about "It's Time To Start Living?"

I found this on Broadwayworld.com, credited to John Rubinstein, who was starring in PIPPIN along with ben Vereen, Jill Clayburgh, and Irene Ryan:

Dear Irene Ryan did NOT die during a performance. Nor did she finish her contract. Here's the true story:

Irene was lonely in New York City. She missed her life and her friends in LA where she had lived for many years, and the cold winter and the eight-show schedule undermined her spirit somewhat. But, trouper that she was, she never missed a performance.

However, I started to notice that she was beginning to look weak, or listless. I sat and watched her big number on stage every night, and I saw that she began to cut down on her moves, and to generally diminish the amazing energy that she would normally put out every time (on opening night, she stopped the show cold, and I had to stand there for about eight minutes waiting for the applause to die down before I could go on!).

One Saturday matinee, she looked particularly drained, and I got worried that she might be sick. I was having dinner with Fosse at my house between shows; so I went to Ben Vereen and asked him to contact Stuart Ostrow (the producer) and have him come to the evening show, and I would ask Bob to do the same. I told Bob that I thought perhaps Irene needed a vacation, even though contractually she didn't have one coming for some months; it might do her good to go to California for a while, and then finish up her contract when the weather was warmer. Bob said he'd take a look at her in the next day or two.

When I returned to the Imperial for the evening show, the call had just come through from Kennedy airport: Irene was on a plane to Los Angeles. She had had her bags packed before the matinee, and right after the show, with the help of Walter Willison, my friend and standby, she had left for the airport right after the afternoon performance. Her standby, Lucie Lancaster, went on that night, and then continued to play the part until Dorothy Stickney took over some weeks later.

Irene, upon landing in LA, was taken right to the hospital, diagnosed with malnutrition!! We all called and sent her cards and love and wishes to get better fast, but she basically wasted away over the next few days. I believe she actually died about three days later of some kind of heart failure.

I have always I thought that her behavior was like that of an old cat, who curls up under the bed and goes to sleep and just doesn't wake up. Irene knew (either consciously or not) that it was her "time". She stuck with her job as long as she could, and then, without fanfare, went home to die.

There was nothing "shitty" about Buddy Ebsen supporting another political candidate. I don't think I would have been too pleased either if somebody was running a political campaign that falsely claimed I was a supporter. No doubt it made him pissed.

Kulp wouldn't have won the election anyway, so it's stupid to say that her election chances were ruined by evil Buddy Ebsen.

Loved Pippin as a college kid and saw the show several times, just as gaylings today see Wicked. Knew every moment, every song, every costume, every every!

But I never heard that true story about Irene Ryan's death. Thanks for posting r75.

If memory serves me correct, Irene Ryan was up for the Eileen Brennan part in Scarecrow, not the Ann Wedgeworth part, but I could be wrong...I know Gene Hackman was a big fan of hers and I think they had done some off-Broadway stuff together in the late 50s.

My gay stepbrother and I saw Pippin with Della Street's son, William Katt in the title role and Martha Raye in Irene Ryan's part. She was really good. Like R77, I knew every song by heart.

I watched the William Katt version through Netflix (DVD) a few years back. He made a nice looking Pippin.

Irene was always full of herself and let the entire cast know. Of the main cast only Donna Douglas was ever grateful for the role.

Max Baer was written out of a lot of shows because he thought Jethro was beneath him. Ebson couldn't stand the role and waited for it to be cancelled. and Ryan was constantly making trouble with her haughty ways. You don't hear more about it, because of the other three, Ebson and Baer were hoping the show would end quickly.

Nancy Kulp was a disliked lesbian throughout Hollywood.

Does anyone remember Nancy Culp as the voracious man-eating bird-watcher Pamela Livingstone, throwing herself at playboy cheesecake photographer Bob Collins, played by Bob Cummings (was he gay in spite of all his progeny?)??

Culp was really outrageous in that role; Jane Hathaway was a much toned down version. of that man-eater type.

R81, why do you keep posting? Shouldn't you be off somewhere drinking gasoline?

R81= Mary Wickes

I have never heard or read of any dissension on the set of the show. As mentioned above, the only cast member that didn't get along with everyone was Raymond Bailey who played Mr. Drysdale. Everyone else was happy to be working steadily. Baer, Jr, didn't like his role and he talked about Ryan kicking him in the ass with her big boots when he stood in her light, but other than that, nothing.

They worked together for 10 years. One story talked about their own amazement when the show hit Number One in the ratings within a few weeks of its premiere. The cast celebrated by doing a conga line around the CEE-ment pond: "We are Number One....We are Number One....."

I am sure the three other top-billed cast members (as the nominal star, Ebsen would always be paid the most) had favored nations clauses so that they all had to get similar or same salaries if someone got a raise.

I liked Miss Jane in her majorette outfit twirling a possum like a baton in the Possum Day Parade and Doctor Granny trying to figure out how to cure Mizz Drysdale's ailing hibisicus

Or hibiscus - if you will......

Hibisci?

It was really sad that Donna Douglas continued to be "Ellie Mae" even after the series ended. She kept the same Ellie Mae pigtails hairstyle year after year decade after decade. It was kind of scary. She never seemed to let go of Ellie Mae. What a shame. She was so gorgeous; it's too bad that the only thing she'd known for is playing a retarded little country girl who only cared about one thing: critters.

Hibachi?

Please don't barbecue our egg!

R12 et al are much more entertaining than the supposed truth.

[quote]Fred Clark and then Larry Keating played Harry Morton, Blanche's fussbudget husband on Burns & Allen.

I was first, bitch!

I would hardly blame Max for being discontent playing as one dimensional a character as Jethro year after year but I wonder how hard he tried getting other roles to prove his range. It doesn't appear he ever played another role at all.

Gilbert Gottfried interviewed Max Baer Jr. this year on his podcast. This was after Douglas' death in January. You should definitely check it out.

Max Baer was built. So was Dash Riprock and Roger Torrey who played Matthew and Mark Templeton.

Max Baer Jr may have had a decent build but he also had an unattractive moon face. His dad the boxer was slightly better looking. Dad also had an affair with Jean Harlow.

Different standards today - but I am not even sure I would consider Baer built. He was big not really that muscular.

Well no one will be talking about me 40 some years after I die. God bless them all. They gave me a lot of laughs when I was a kid.

[quote]It doesn't appear he ever played another role at all.

His low-paid stint as a hillbilly convinced Baer that the real money was in production, not acting. He spent his free time on the set learning about filmmaking. When the show ended, Max took the small pot of money he had saved and produced an indie thriller called Macon County Line. He played the lead role of the vengeful sheriff, a radical departure from Jethro. He wrote the screenplay, based on a true story, on the back of TV scripts on the set of The Beverly Hilbillies. Macon County Line was a smash hit on the Drive-in circuit in 1974. It netted Baer millions.

I think he also produced ODE TO BILLY JOE starring Robbie Benson and Glynis Johns.

I think he also did a movie called "The Wild McCullochs" with Forrest Tucker, another hillbilly drive in circuit movie circa 1974. Producer and co-star.

Max was pretty much a one dimensional character in real life. I was in "Home Town USA" (not telling which role). He was generally nice (though there was a real ass-hole side) , but there wasn't much there. There is a reason he only directed three films. One of the actresses had an affair with him during shooting. She said that his place was like a stereotypical bachelor's pad with a bear skin rug and fake fur bedspread.

There is a well known locker room photo of boxer Max Baer Sr., Heavyweight Champion of the World in the 1930s, with his dick hanging out of the leg of his boxer shorts. I have a copy in in a magazine of famous male nudes published in the 1970s and it used to be online so I was surprised I couldn't find it with a Google image search to link it.

"Jethro Clampett" is one of the best names ever invented.

..........................

I love the way Ebson, Ryan, Douglas and Baer played their roles so unselfconsciously.

Today comedy actors always seem to be indicating that they're in on the joke.

I is a Bodine, like Ma and my sister Jethrene.

Baer has been trying to get his casino going for years. It's a disaster, but he keeps trying:

R104 Thanks. I meant to write: "Jethro Bodine" is one of the best names ever invented. I saw my mistake...but there's no editing function.

Does anyone remember that as it drew its last gasps of air, Beverly Hillbillies was poised to marry Elly Mae off to a marine biologist named Mark Templeton?

He often wore a frogman suit and Granny mistakenly assumed that he was part frog. This is indicative of the cartoonishness that took hold of the series once it went to color, and especially during the last couple of seasons.

I thought Roger Torrey, who played the frogman (as well as the character's brother) looked rather fine, but I need to watch his episodes again to confirm.

I don't know, I think the notion that Granny thought the frogman was actually part frog is pretty hilarious (imagining Irene Ryan handling that schtick) and not much different than the humor of the show from the very beginning.

I seem to remember Granny reaching a stage of acceptance with Elly Mae's suitor and having a heart-to-heart with an actual bullfrog at the edge of the cement pond.

Why are there no more photos of the frogman? I want to see him in his frog suit.

"Would you like to see your bedroom suite?" "Sure........darlin'."

"Grandma Moses was famous for painting primitives." "Well....I've whitewashed a few myself."

"Howdy, Miss Jane. How's Mr. Drysdale?" "I am happy to say I have terminated my tenure of employment with that cretin." "Oh. Still at the bank, huh?"

Roger Torrey, who played Elly May's "frogman" boyfriend was originally cast as Jethro. Producer Henning had a devil of a time finding a "Li'l Abner" type who could play comedy. Casting directors sent him several bodybuilders, but none of them could act for shit. Torrey was bigger than Baer but much less adept at comedy. Max Baer turned up at the last minute and walked away with the part, being the only actor Henning saw who had both the right look and the skill to carry the part.

What was Jed's full name? They always called him "J.D. Clampett." So was "Jed" short for Jedediah or a nickname based on his initials? And what was his middle name?

Max definitely brought an effortless sweetness and naivete to Jethro that is, no doubt, harder for a hunky grown man to achieve than most people would appreciate.

Max was good in small doses, but when he tried to carry the episode he took it way over the top. The Jethro becomes a Hippy or Jethro joins the Army kind of stuff hasn't aged well.

None of the female cast or crew wanted to use the bathroom after Irene got through in there.

ODE TO BILLIE JOE with Glynis Johns trilling around the Mississippi Delta must have been something to see! All these years, I thought I remembered starring in it!

Even as a kid, I hated that Frogman storyline. It seemed to go on for a whole season, and it was fucking stupid. Just show us the guy's cock and then bring in the next side of beef.

Granny was most concerned with the fact that Ellie Mae wasn't married. She considered it an embarrassment. I loved the line she said to Jed when she talked of how urgent it was to get Ellie Mae a husband: "I can't keep telling people she's thirteen forever!"

If they had been real people, they'd have their own reality series today.

[quote]Max was good in small doses, but when he tried to carry the episode he took it way over the top. The Jethro becomes a Hippy or Jethro joins the Army kind of stuff hasn't aged well.

Jethro and Ellie Mae had a nice fresh, naive charm when the show first started and they portraying young adult entering this new world. By the time the show ended, and the characters had been in the city close to ten years and the characters were just as naive (maybe even more so) and the actors were starting to look middle-aged (Donna Douglas was approaching 40), the wide-eyed naive act started to get a little cringe-worthy (not to mention a little stale)..

"they were hired for TBH and they signed on for very little money. When the show became a top hit, Baer and Douglas wanted Ryan to join them in demanding a fat pay raise from the producer. Ryan wished them luck but told them she had no intention of rocking the boat. "

That may be partly due to the fact Henning in lieu of a higher salary gave them free rein to cash in on their characters by way of personal appearances. County fairs, parades, etc. Ryan, Baer, and Douglas worked up an act (some singing, hillbilly dancing, and snappy patter) they did in character on the road and they didn't have to split the take with the copyright owner. Ebsen sat this out mostly. I vaguely recall seeing somewhere they pocketed more this way then they did with their regular salaries.

"Max Baer, Jr.? What a shame he never made other films or TV series."

Some time catch a Glen Ford cavalry movie A Time for Killing (1967). Max plays his supporting role as big dumb Confederate army Sargent "Jethro" with the twist the war has warped his mind until he has become a total kill-crazy psycho. As a bonus, it's Harrison Ford's first screen credit.

[quote]They were talking about the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz R64, not The Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Good lord...

Found the Asspie!

I myself have often used Granny's odee cologne tip she gave to Ellie Mae.

Just a little dab around the ears, R123, just a dab.

[quote]That may be partly due to the fact Henning in lieu of a higher salary gave them free rein to cash in on their characters by way of personal appearances.

Thanks, that explains Douglas's behavior.

You mean her "behavior" in the sense that she proceeded to dress as Elly Mae Clampitt everywhere she went for the rest of her life? I can assure you she wasn't getting paid when she would make her appearance at the local mental health clinic.

She was an absolute doll.

R127, sorry to be pedantic, but that doll is a knock off and is not a licensed Elly Mae doll.

She sends us her best!

Barbie is completely wrong for Elly Mae.

Donna was the star of that infamous "Eye of the Beholder" Twilight Zone episode, but they dubbed all of her dialogue.

[R131] OMG Really? I was going to mention that episode and how unlike Elly Mae she was in it. Huh. I wonder who dubbed her voice. OH! And wasn't the hunk in it Edson Stroll, or am I wrong? Yep, Edson Stroll. Found a pic of him and Donna, but I liked this one better.

Here they are. Great episode.

Did Glenn Close dub her voice, too?

I think it was Marni Nixon.

"Donna was the star of that infamous "Eye of the Beholder" Twilight Zone episode, but they dubbed all of her dialogue."

The woman in the bandages was played by Maxine Stuart. That's her voice you hear. Donna Douglas played the woman after the bandages were taken off. She had one line; they thought they'd have to dub in Maxine Stuart's voice, but she did such a good imitation of it that they didn't have to do that.

Great thread. Thanks DL

We went to see Donna Douglas when she appeared at a local car dealership for a radio station promotion. She had the Elly May hair and white Kabuki-like makeup, but she was very funny and friendly.

She got freaked out when an Elvis impersonator showed up and gave her flowers and wanted to take a picture with her, she did it, but she didn't say two words to the man....it was creepy.

She signed all of her pictures with a Bible verse. She was small and not overweight or anything. She was just having a good time, and everyone loved her. She was scheduled to be there for an hour, but she stayed until she talked to everyone and signed everything anyone wanted her to.

Why was a college acting award named for her? I won one, and I never understood why Granny Clampett's award was so prestigious.

r138 - That is almost precisely the story, minus the Elvis impersonator, that a friend told me after a similar encounter with Donna Douglas. He said that she was very Christian, very warm, and quite likable.

Because it's only given to TALENTED people.....and it's named for her because the money comes from her estate.

Did Irene establish the award in her will or did her heirs do that? Did she have children, heirs or survivors?

And she was wearing a nice white silk blouse and black slacks - no hillbilly drag at all. When I asked her about Nancy Kulp, she dropped her accent and said: "Bless her heart. She was a sweet soul."

She started the Award a year before she passed away. It's tied to a national theatre competition and the Kennedy Center. Administered through the Irene Ryan Trust.

Verificatia of Max Baer Jr/Jethro Bodine size-meat?

In spite of all the early posts that Ryan (and Baer and Douglas) made minimum wages for BH, she must have amassed quite a fortune from the show to establish that trust.

Thanks for finding John Rubinstein's remembrance of Irene Ryan!

How John could see that she was getting tired and could use a break. She really was the original trouper. And so unlike her character in real life. It's kind of sad as she really had to psyche herself each night to sing "No Time At All." But I guess it's as good a song as any actress could hope to go out on:

"Here is a secret I never have told Maybe you'll understand why I believe if I refuse to grow old I can stay young till I die."

Donna Douglas came to my town for a parade and the grand opening of a business in the late 1970s. She was exactly as the previous posters have said - gracious, delightful, tireless in taking photos and signing autographs. She actually made friends with some of our neighbors and came back to visit from time to time.

Underneath it all, she was Doris from Louisiana, who had gotten extremely lucky to be on one of the most successful sitcoms of the second half of the 20th Century - but she knew she'd never have another role like TBH. I only heard Donna speak about Irene Ryan and it was with great fondness and reverence. Irene was a maternal figure, who had been through Vaudeville and all the horrible places show business could take a woman trying to make a career during that time. By the time TBH came along, Irene was divorced, older, and mostly alone (except for a few friends and a sister who predeceased her). Irene could be tough - but she was mostly professional and a warm-hearted doll who knew how lucky she was to get the TBH break so late in her career. And she was determined to give back - which she did through the Irene Ryan Trust and the acting scholarship, which continues to be prestigious and coveted to this day.

The only challenge or trouble Donna Douglas ever had on the set of TBH (apart from her limited acting abilities and her aging out of the role, later in the series) came in the 1966 season. Over the Summer Hiatus, Donna made the feature film "Frankie and Johnny" with Elvis Presley. And she fell hard for Elvis.

Elvis famously said that he missed sleeping with only two of his female movie co-stars (Mary Tyler Moore from a "Change of Habit" and I forget the second). By the time, filming began on Season 5 (I think), Elvis was distancing himself from Donna Douglas and she was deeply depressed - too depressed to work. She wanted to leave the series. Irene Ryan was one of the people who was instrumental in seeing Douglas through that time dark time. Ryan (perhaps more than any of her co-stars) could see what a gift TBH was to the ensemble of actors - it was TV "lightning in a bottle", the equivalent of a "Seinfeld" in its day. She was kind and gentle with Douglas. She encouraged her to feel the pain of her lost romance but to keep working. And Douglas came through it. Irene Ryan was no saint - but she was generous, talented, and wise - no one who knew her during that time will ever forget what a presence and complete professional she was.

Mrs. Drysdale and I were the preeminent sorority sisters on campus while at Swarthmore together. She was an absolute, raving cunt.

One of the great talents of all times.

[quote]Guys, Jack Haley replaced Buddy as Tin Man.

Buddy would never have NEEDED a heart.

Sharon Tate as Janet Trego.. was the best character on the show

Did the series ever have a final episode? Did any of the four characters ever get married?

Two observations: In the first few seasons, Mr. Drysdale was calm reasonable banker. It was only in the later seasons they turned him into a money-grubbing banker out to bilk the Clampetts and be deliberately cruel to Miss Hathaway. Also, Dash Riprock was the absolute best of Elly's beaus...and unbelievably handsome AND funny.

I joyously discovered that every episode of TBH is on Youtube!

I have sat and watched 4-5 episodes in a row. I still find it hilarious!

Wow, quite a geyser of information...

Oil that is, Teaxas Tea...

r76 But Ebsen supported her opponent Bud Shuster, a crook whose ties with disgraced politico Ann Eppard were well-known. Ebsen, contacted the Shuster campaign and volunteered to record radio spots declaring, "Hey Nancy, I love you dearly but you're too liberal for me – I've got to go with Bud Shuster. " Ebsen was a colossal jerk.

Ryan let her popularity go to her head. Like so many others she was basically the Estelle Getty of her day, except Ryan was totally needed in the BH and Getty wasn't needed at all

I once ruined Buddy Ebsen's credit rating.

He knows why!

That always happens when the one character you think won't be much breaks out, like Sofia on the Fact of Life.

I'm watching the frogman episodes right now on MeTV and while it is draggIng on a bit too long, it's still laugh-out-loud funny at times...

Loved Mrs. Drysdale. What a hoot. Wished she was in more episodes.

Best character name: the TV hunk of all time, Dash Riprock.

Irene never did any promo for the show and I think that's why the rest of the cast resented her. They felt that she had an "above it all" attitude.

R149 , the only co stars Elvis never slept with were MTM and Sister Dolores Hart .

Those frogman episodes were UNBEARABLE to me as a 7-year-old watching the reruns. I enjoyed the show, but when the rotation came back to these eps, I was not having it. Same as the episodes when they went to Silver City, and all the ones with Shorty Kellum.

Agree with R162 -- needed more Mrs. Drysdale.

I always heard that the cast got along great, with the exception of the guy who played Mr. Drysdale, who was kind of a dick, apparently.

Just posting to say that R42 is correct. Don't know why he's been crossed out. But the truth is that Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Scarecrow and Ray Bolger as the Tin Man. But Bolger coveted the Scarecrow part so much that Ebsen let him have it. LIke R42 said, he really didn't care which part he played. Unfortunately, the first makeup for the Tin Man ended up being toxic for Ebsen and he spent a long time in the hospital. That's when Jack Haley replaced him.

Max Baer Jr. once said he and Irene spent a lot of time together off the set in cocktail bars knockin' 'em back. He said she could drink like a sailor.

Donna Mills was loved because she showed all the other actors how to apply glamorous eye makeup. This especially pleased Buddy Ebsen.

What does Donna Mills have to do with any of this? Do you mean Donna Douglas?

[quote]If they had been real people, they'd have their own reality series today.

The Beverly Hillbillies were the prelude to Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

It's interesting to see Irene Ryan as a sweet, demure, intelligent lady on Password reruns, and then watch her all hepped up as Granny...

Nancy Kulp loved bitches.

I have read that Roger Torrey was originally casting for the Jethro role. Raymond Bailey was THE speaker for banker's conventions, Paul Henning often accompanied him. Mrs. Henning says Donna Douglas was a mess after Frankie and Johnny. She had to explain about "Hollywood romances", Donna actually thought Elvis was gonna marry her. Max Bear says the same thing, don't mention Elvis to her. Jethrene was a funny character, but Max didn't like acting in drag, and when Bea left for Petticoat Junction, they were phased out. That's Linda Henning voicing Jethrene. The first season is public domain, minus the opening copyrighted music. A lot of gems there.

Max Baer still makes a yearly pilgrimage to spit on her grave.