10 Facts About The Beverly Hillbillies Cast Only Real Fans Would Know

"The Beverly Hillbillies" ran from 1962 to 1971 and was a ratings juggernaut, helping CBS to become the biggest TV network in the United States by a long shot. Along with its sister shows, "Petticoat Junction" and "Green Acres," "The Beverly Hillbillies" helped define the rural sitcom for an entire generation.

Even after the show's cancellation, "The Beverly Hillbillies" never left our hearts. On top of that, the show's impact on popular culture is massive. It's been referenced in everything from "Weird Al" Yankovic's film "UHF" (1989) to "In Living Color" (1990 — 1994) to a 1993 film adaptation starring Cloris Leachman and Rob Schneider.

While the show is famous, the actors from "The Beverly Hillbillies" have been overshadowed by the characters they played. That's a real shame considering many members of the show's cast lived interesting lives. For example, one of the actors on the show was the son of a legendary boxer. Another nearly played a key role in "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) only for an unfortunate makeup choice to threaten his life. Another starred in a musical with the private Elvis Presley — and may have had a romantic relationship with him.

One of the most interesting facts about a member of the "Beverly Hillbillies" cast relates to one of the most famous movies of all time: "The Wizard of Oz." The 1939 classic was originally going to feature Buddy Ebsen — the future Jed Clampett — as the Tin Man. However, the aluminum powder in Ebsen's Tin Man makeup sent him to the hospital.

"So when they finally got the effect they wanted with my makeup, I took a deep breath of relief," Ebsen said (via People). "Unfortunately, two weeks later, I could hardly breathe at all. Production had been underway for 10 days when one night after dinner I took a breath and nothing happened. It felt like no air had reached my lungs. This was a most frightening moment. They called an ambulance and took me to Good Samaritan Hospital. My lungs felt as though someone had coated them with glue. My breathing was excruciatingly labored, no oxygen seemed to reach my lungs." After this incident, Jack Haley was cast as the Tin Man instead. The film's production team used a different formula for his makeup so he didn't inhale aluminum dust. Ebsen's casting in "The Wizard of Oz" remains one of the great roads not taken in Hollywood history. Ebsen died in 2003 at the age of 95.

Max Baer Jr. played Jethro Bodine and Jethrine Bodine on "The Beverly Hillbillies." During a 2017 interview with Fore Magazine, Baer summarized his life succinctly. "I was born Max Baer Jr., the son of a great boxer, and I'll die Jethro Bodine," he said. "Period. I never really got the chance to be me."

Baer discussed some of the ways his father influenced him. "I remember running into my house crying, telling my dad a kid had just beaten me up," he recalled. "My dad wanted to know if I had hit the kid back. I told him, no, so he told me to go knock on the kid's door and tell him it ain't over. I did, we got into it and I got the best of him." Baer said his father was his hero — not for his athleticism, but for his personal qualities.

While Jethro remains Baer's most famous role bar none, he was never fond of "The Beverly Hillbillies." He told "The Copley News Service" (via MeTV) that starring in "The Beverly Hillbillies" was one of the worst moments in his life. However, he was able to recalibrate his career by becoming a producer.

Through her role as Granny in "The Beverly Hillbillies," Irene Ryan gave the show a lot of its charm. Notably, while she played the matriarch of the Clampett family, Ryan was merely five years older than co-star Buddy Ebsen. In fact, she was only 59 when the show first premiered. She was initially rejected for the show because she was too young for the part, however, she told series creator Paul Henning that she was the right age to play Granny, as an older actor would be unable to handle the show's shooting schedule. "We're working 12 to 14 hours a day, shooting three days out of the week," Ryan told the El Paso Times in 1963. "We start in July and end up about the first of May. There are 36 episodes per season."

While "The Beverly Hillbillies" was a runaway success, it never did well with the critics. If that was the case, why was the show so successful? "It is really Americana," Ryan told the El Paso Times. "It is tradition, it is us. The show is very simple, very clean, and I think American audiences are getting pretty sick of the other. People love this hokey comedy." Ryan died in 1973 at the age of 70.

Despite playing Elly May Clampett for nine years, Donna Douglas had a life beyond "The Beverly Hillbillies." In the 1966 Western musical "Frankie and Johnny," Douglas starred opposite Elvis Presley. "Frankie and Johnny" was named after a traditional American ballad that Presley performs in the movie. The film is a typical Presley vehicle with music, comedy, and romance — but Douglas' presence makes it stand out.

Douglas and Presley were not just co-stars; they bonded intensely during the making of the film. The two were both interested in Eastern religions and analyzed books on the topic together. Whether Presley and Douglas' relationship was romantic is often disputed. 

In the book "Elvis Presley: A Southern Life," the authors claim that he and Douglas were briefly intimate, even though the "Heartbreak Hotel" singer was dating Priscilla Presley at the time. Supposedly, Douglas believed the King of Rock 'n' Roll was going to marry her and was surprised when their relationship ended shortly after filming concluded. Meanwhile, another book, "Elvis for Dummies," reports that, while the two discussed spiritual matters at length, they did not have an affair. Douglas died in 2015 at the age of 82.

In 1961, Buddy Ebsen's Doc Golightly appeared opposite Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." In the film, Ebsen played the role of Hepburn's rural husband. If you watch the film as a "Beverly Hillbillies" fan, it's striking how similar Doc Golightly is to Jed Clampett. That's no coincidence: Ebsen was cast in "The Beverly Hillbillies" entirely off the strength of his performance in "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

In his 1993 autobiography "The Other Side of Oz," Ebsen had plenty to say about working with Hepburn. "Playing a scene with Audrey Hepburn was like trying on an exquisitely tailored sports coat for the first time," Ebsen wrote. "There was a free-flowing instinct about her that filled the cracks of my own deficiencies." While "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is primarily remembered for Hepburn's performance, Ebsen's relatively small role in the film was also pivotal to its artistic success.

Nancy Kulp had roles in a number of famous Hollywood movies, including "Shane," "A Star Is Born," "The Three Faces of Eve," "The Parent Trap," and "The Aristocats." Her most prominent role, though, was as Miss Hathaway, Mr. Drysdale's assistant, on "The Beverly Hillbillies." Kulp played a relatively down-to-earth character in a show that thrived on over-the-top comedy.

Interestingly, Kulp had a second career as a politician. In 1984, she ran for Congress as a Democrat in Pennsylvania. Her campaign was a long shot, as she ran against Republican Bud Shuster in a red district. Kulp was endorsed by fellow sitcom star Ed Asner, who is known for his role in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Buddy Ebsen, Jed Clampett himself, played his own role in the race. According to The New York Times, Ebsen recorded ads where he said "Hey Nancy, I love you dearly but you're too liberal for me — I've got to go with Bud Shuster." Kulp lost the race, garnering 59,449 votes to Shuster's 117,203. Ebsen's decision to record ads for Kulp's opponent drove a wedge between the two actors, but they eventually reconciled. She died in 1991 at the age of 69.

Raymond Bailey had an interesting life. Initially, he played uncredited roles on the silver screen. In the 1950s, his career as an actor started gaining momentum, and he appeared in a number of notable films, such as the giant monster film "Tarantula," the romantic drama "Picnic," the science fiction classic "The Incredible Shrinking Man," Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo," and the Elvis Presley musical "King Creole." However, Bailey will always be most remembered for playing the frazzled banker Mr. Drysdale on "The Beverly Hillbillies." His cultural clashes with the Clampett family provided the show with a lot of its humor.

Bailey was so convincing in the role that fans reached out to him as if he were a real banker. He received requests for bank loans and financial advice. "Answering these letters takes time, but I don't complain," Bailey told the Lansing State Journal in 1967 (via MeTV). "It's all part of the job. After all, I'm getting paid for what I like to do best. And here's one actor who counts his blessings." Following the show's cancellation, Bailey appeared in films "Herbie Rides Again" and "The Strongest Man in the World." Bailey died in 1980 at the age of 75.

On "The Beverly Hillbillies," Harriet E. MacGibbon played Margaret Drysdale, the high-strung wife of the banker Mr. Drysdale. The character was a proud member of high society obsessed with determining the lineage of the people around her. Notably, MacGibbon had an interesting heritage of her own. She descended from Dr. Elizur Deming, an outspoken abolitionist from Indiana who was involved with the Underground Railroad.

Unlike her character on "The Beverly Hillbillies," MacGibbon was not very interested in old money. "I don't care what my neighbor's lineage is," MacGibbon told the Hartford Courant (via MeTV). "If I like her, I have her over to taste some of my old-fashioned cooking."

Unlike Drysdale, MacGibbon had no particular desire to be part of the upper class. "I'm not a Hillbilly Clampett by any means," MacGibbon added. "But neither do I aspire to the other extreme, high society. To be accepted in high society, one has to have wealth and the willingness to conform to some pretty rigid and undemocratic rules. Well, I don't have wealth, but even if I did, I'm not a conformist; I do what I think is right, not what any social group dictates." MacGibbon died in 1987 at the age of 81.

Outside of his role as Jethro Bodine in "The Beverly Hillbillies," Max Baer Jr. had an interesting career as a film producer. Baer produced the 1976 film "Ode to Billy Joe," which was based on Bobbie Gentry's hit single of the same name, making it the first movie ever based on a song. The film grossed $27 million at the box office.

Baer also wanted to make a movie out of Madonna's hit song "Like a Virgin." He negotiated a deal with the song's writers, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. However, ABC threatened to sue, claiming the songwriters promised them the first right to any "Like a Virgin" film.

Baer countersued, saying ABC could not prevent him from getting the rights to "Like a Virgin." A Los Angeles Superior Court jury ruled in Baer's favor, and he was granted $2 million in the suit. "It's the point of winning even more so than the money," he said in 1991 (via the Los Angeles Times). "People can't continue to do these things in the entertainment industry." Around that time, Baer became involved with the gambling industry and stopped making movies. Ultimately, a film titled "Like a Virgin" was released in 2006, but it had nothing to do with Baer.

Donna Douglas, who played Elly May Clampett on "The Beverly Hillbillies," was involved in some high-profile lawsuits. Notably, she went to war with the 1992 Disney film "Sister Act." Douglas owned the rights to a children's book titled "A Nun in the Closet" and had it adapted into a screenplay. She said she submitted the story to Walt Disney Pictures three times between 1987 and 1988. Douglas claimed the studio offered to buy the script, though no purchase was made.

Douglas claimed that "Sister Act" was derived from "A Nun in the Closet." She sued Walt Disney Pictures along with Whoopi Goldberg, Bette Midler, and their respective production companies, for $200 million. Disney won the suit. Producer Scott Rudin dismissed the idea that "Sister Act" was derived from "A Nun in the Closet." "Yes, they also had a nun," he said in 1998 (via Byliner). "But a nun is not a story or a character. A nun is a noun."

Later, Douglas sued another iconic brand: Barbie. In 2010, Mattel began selling a Barbie doll of Elly May Clampett, and a photograph of Douglas was on the package. She said the use of her likeness was unauthorized. Douglas sought at least $75,000 from CBS Consumer Products Inc. and Mattel Inc. Douglas reached a settlement with the companies. She was satisfied with the result, though the exact terms of the settlement were not made public.