The Beverly Hillbillies and Donna Douglas

Bright-eyed, beautiful, sweet, and innocent; these are adjectives that describe the character Elly May Clampett in the TV sitcom Beverly Hillbillies. The show’s creator, Paul Henning, was inspired by characters from “Lil Abner”; Elly May mimicked the character Daisy Mae, and the fiery potion-making Granny Clampett resembled in actions, the corncob-smoking Mammy Yokum. It was not so far-fetched for Miss New Orleans of 1957, Donna Douglas, to be chosen, out of 500 ladies auditioning, to play the part of the pigtail-wearing, critter-loving Elly May. The popular TV show Beverly Hillbillies ran from 1962 to 1971 for nine seasons and 274 episodes.

The fictitious story begins with Jed Clampett, played by Buddy Ebsen, a poor widower in the Ozarks. While hunting for food, he discovers oil on his property and becomes a millionaire. Jed, along with his mother-in-law, his daughter, nephew, and Old Duke (played by a bloodhound named Stretch), load up their old truck (a 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 Roadster) and head for a new life.   With Granny, the undisputed matriarch, sitting high on the back of the truck, the family moves to a mansion in Beverly Hills.

Jed Clampett was the family philosopher and was quoted as saying, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat, but there ain’t no way to make the cat enjoy it.” Instead of Beverly Hills changing the Clampetts’ ways, they bring the backwoods life to California. References are made to the swimming pool as the cement pond, but my favorite “Beverly Hillbillyism” is when they use the pool table as their “fancy eating table” and notch the pool sticks to form “pot passers.” As Jed would say, “Welllll, doggies!”

Donna Douglas was born Doris Smith into an impoverished family in 1932 in Pride, Louisiana. She won several local and state beauty pageants, including Miss New Orleans. In 1949, she married Roland Bourgeois and had one son. In 1952, she had a tiny part in the film “Lil Abner.” Her marriage ended in divorce in 1954, the year their son was born. In 1960, Donna Douglas appeared briefly in a Twilight Zone episode, “The Eye of the Beholder.”

In 1962, she landed the part of TV’s Elly May, which lasted until 1971. During that time, in 1966, at the height of her career, she starred with Superstar Elvis Presley in the movie “Frankie and Johnny.” Because of the on-screen love connection, rumors spread that the two were having an affair; both denied the rumors. Elvis would marry Priscilla the following year. Donna Douglas married a second time to Robert Leeds in 1971. It ended in divorce in 1980.

Although Donna Douglas was a singer, all of the songs her character sang in the movie, “Frankie and Johnny,” were dubbed. But, in interviews, she proudly took credit for doing her own “whistling” in the Beverly Hillbillies. Donna Douglas left Hollywood after being chosen for a few bit parts; unfortunately, she found herself typecast as Elly May, and roles like that were few and far between. She earned her real estate license, pursued writing, began speaking to church groups, and continued singing professionally, mostly gospel music.

Forty years after the Beverly Hillbillies series on TV ended, Mattel made an Elly May Barbie doll with a cover picture of Donna Douglas in character from the show. Donna Douglas sued Mattel and CBS Consumer Products for a minimum of $75,000 for producing the doll and the cover art without her permission. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

In her later years, Donna Douglas moved back to Louisiana and gave inspirational talks to churches and Christian groups. She sang and recorded gospel music. She was a published writer until she died in 2015, from pancreatic cancer, at 82. She died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, not far from where she was born. The many magazine and news articles that announced her death all referenced her iconic character as the sweet Elly May Clampett. That’s how I will always remember her.

The Ozarks refer to Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

In 1939, Buddy Ebsen was cast in the role of tin man in the original Wizard of Oz. He became violently ill and was hospitalized in respiratory distress caused by the aluminum-based makeup. After trying several different silvery looks, his face was painted white and dusted with aluminum dust.   One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity; Jack Haley stepped into the part, and after all these years and many reruns, he was a perfect replacement.

The crew of the Beverly Hillbillies didn’t always get along. Nancy Culp, who played the part of Jane Hathaway and Buddy Epsen, Jed Clampett, did not like each other and, off camera, were known to have public disagreements. On camera, Jane Hathaway helped the Clampetts to acclimate a little to the affluent lifestyle they found themselves living. In 1984, Nancy Culp, a staunch Democrat, ran for the Ninth Congressional District seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Buddy Ebsen, a professed Republican, recorded campaign radio and television commercials for the incumbent, Rep. Schuster, saying about his former Beverly Hillbilly cast mate, “You’re too liberal for me — I’ve got to go with Bud Schuster.” Buddy Epsen was a lifelong resident of California, NOT Pennsylvania.   Nancy Culp lost the election and was reported to say she was speechless at such a betrayal and something so needless and cruel.

The most popular episode when the series was running and the most watched over the years was “The Giant Jackrabbit” from 1964. Granny Clampett mistakes a kangaroo for a giant jackrabbit. Irene Ryan was only 59, 6 years older than Buddy Ebsen when the Beverly Hillbillies series began. Heavy makeup and less-than-attractive clothes, including those awful worn-out work boots, sold the fact that Granny Clampett was as old as the hills.

Sharon Tate, whose young life ended violently, appeared a couple of times on the Beverly Hillbillies as Jethro’s first love. Jethro Bodine, Elly May’s cousin, was played by Max Baer, Jr., the last surviving cast member as of this writing.

The Beverly Hillbillies TV show was canceled, as were other shows with a rural theme, in the early 1970s when advertisers pushed to have more sophisticated programming. Actor Pat Buttram who played Mr. Haney on Green Acres, said, “It was the year CBS canceled everything with a tree — including Lassie,”; referring to what became known as the Rural Purge.

The following is a partial list (in no particular order) of Donna Douglas’ books; several were published after her death:

Miss Donna and Mulberry Acres Farm

The Nightingale Girls

The Nightingale Sisters

The Nightingale Nurses

A Nightingale Christmas Wish

Nightingales on Call

A Nightingale Christmas Carol

A Nightingale Christmas Promise

Nightingales At War

Nightingales Under the Mistletoe

The Nurses of Steeple Street

The Nightingale Christmas Show

Nightingale Wedding Bells

District Nurse on Call

A Daughter’s Hope (Sunday Times Best Seller)

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