Had an opportunity to have a nice 30-minute chat with Donna Douglas. This was around 2010. We were seatmates on an airplane flying to DFW. I didn't know who she was. A flight attendant stopped by our row and asked her, "Miss Douglas, would you please autograph this for my nephew?". So, I'm thinking, "Miss Douglas? Who is this?" I then watched her write: Donna "Ellie Mae" Douglas. Until we landed about 30 minutes later, with little else to do, we chatted about her current activities. I never mentioned The Beverly Hillbillies, which I watched every week as a kid. I figured she was always getting *those* questions. A very pleasant lady.
There is a quote from an Andy Griffith Show documentary where a producer of that era says "That was the year CBS cancelled everything with a TREE in it." Like the network was purposely targeting rural themed shows.
The best line from the whole series was in the first episode. The conversation between cousin Pearl and Jed. " your eight miles from your nearest neighbor. You cook on a wood cookstove summer and winter. You make your own moonshine. Your overrun with possums, skunks, coons, coyotes and bobcats, and you ask should you move" ? And Jeds reply, " yeah Pearl I reckon youre right! A man would be a dang fool to leave all this".
The show was cancelled unexpectedly, so I am sure they wanted to do much more with the series finale. Too bad that didn't happen. There is a quote from an Andy Griffith Show documentary where a producer of that era says "That was the year CBS cancelled everything with a TREE in it." Like the network was purposely targeting rural themed shows.
@@GentileMysteriesConspiracies CBS wanted to change its image and attract a different audience. So they said bye-bye to every rural sitcom. The Beverly Hillbillies, Mayberry RFD, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres. There may be more. Those are the ones I remember at the moment
@@cmm2145 - I agree, but look at the ratings of what they replaced them with compared to the previous ratings. Most Americans do not even live within city limit signs, they are in counties.
I was really proud that my childhood friend, Jim Varney, was cast to play Jed Clampett in the movie. I thought he did a fine job and my favorite scene was Jim and the young actress playing Elly May up in the tree. Jim was a lovely southern gentleman, who never thought of us as hillbillies, but Hill-Williams. I sure miss him. He and my cousin, who was his best friend from elementary school to adulthood, died just a month apart, from the same kind of cancer. I often wondered if it was due to something they had been exposed to in California.
I only vaguely recall seeing that episode. Max Baer Jr. was right. Paul Henning was running out of ideas. It probably confused some folks using a Petticoat Junction actor in a different role. But that wouldn't have been unusual back then. This plotline sounds bad like the ones with Shorty and the frogman. Parting episodes weren't that common at the time. But this series deserved a better ending. Did Max use a fake beard? He and Donna's real ages were more apparent in the color episodes.
Well, Bea Benaderet played both Cousin Pearl and Kate Bradley at the Shady Rest (which the Clampetts visited). And they also ran into the Douglasses from "Green Acres" on more than one occassion, but there was the episode where the Hooterville theatre put on a play about that great television show "The Beverly Hillbillies" (Lisa Douglass: "I really like the man who plays Jed Clampett, Buddy Epstein."). 🤣
Barely remember it but a lot of the set up sounds really familiar. A long, long time ago indeed. Slept since then, but it always seems to be that the best episodes are in the beginning of the series and the end is always, “ meh!” Hard to reconcile the two ends too.
According to a follow up shortly after this Jed lost his fortune because of drysdale’’s greed and reckless management. He still had enough left to return to the hills, granny passed away, Elle never married and jethro actually becomes a doctor and regrets never pursuing Ms Jane who went into hiding after the bank folded and she helped the state prosecute drysdale.
50+ years later and I'm still upset about the rural purge. Another show that was cancelled was Hogan's Heroes and it bothers me very much that HH didn't have a farewell episode. A BH farewell episode-Granny & Jed would have returned to Tennessee, but the young uns would have stayed in Caleeforniay.
Growing up in upper East Tennessee in the 60s, about 20 minutes North of Davy Crockett’s place of birth, my family really found the program funny and quite ironic given it’s little bits of true Appalachian culture. My grandfather was quite the possum connoisseur.
As a kid we would take trips to Silver Dollar City, they film five episodes there, and the Cast would make vists there after and one such times I met Granny and Jed, they were the nicest people, I told Granny I would love to try her cooking because it was just like soul food.
Nice presentation. My wife and I just finished watching all available episodes---including the last episode to air in its first run---within the past week. I was around to watch the original espisodes each and every week with my family during its first run on television. I was 14 when the show first started. Now I'm 75. I still consider the Beverly Hillbillies one of the finest television shows of all-time. My wife and I watched The Beverly Hillbillies movie from 1993 just last night. This was only the second time I'd ever seen the movie. I liked it vastly better than the first time I saw it while The Beverly Hillbillies (1993 movie) first became available as a VHS tape. (We watched it last night on a DVD.) You have a wonderful presentation here! Keep up the great work for this fabulous television show! Andy McKane, 26 June 2023, Molokai, Hawaii.
I was in the Navy in 1971` Saw this years later on various nostalgia channels. CBS dumped all cornpone type shows & made a BIG mistake doing so. Jethro as a Double Naught spy & Granny cures the common cold were my favorites.
I meet Ellie May once. Several years before she pasted, on of our men in town paid her to come to Henderson, KY. She gave her testimony at one of local baptist churches. She could still whistle. She talked bout how she came to be in the show.
Alvy Moore (aka Hank Kimball from Green Acres TV), would attend a Baptist church, as well. I was able to ask him that personally in 1994, just three years before he left this life. it's great that you were able to hear her testimony about being in TV.
@@hermittaono it just concluded. The young actor wanted to stop acting and go to high school normally. They concluded the series with Wally's last days of HS, and a clip show of the family looking through a photoalbum
Love this show as kid, still do. I particularly loved the Jeffro career days episodes where he would try to decide his future employment options. The double 00 spy was my favorite when he shot Granny over the mansion's roof with his homemade ejector seat he had rigged up in the truck. Hilarious!
The end of the show wasn't good. There was no real ending. Only to find out that Jed finally took out all his millions and divided equally to Elle Mae and Jethro. While he returned to the hills after granny went to her reward on the 1981 movie.
Well done Uncle Bob!! CBS canceled everything with a tree, but Paul Henning got the last laugh! With The Beverly Hillbillies being SOOO popular, it ran one season longer than the also popular Green Acres and Petticoat Junction, which had pretty much run its course. (Especially considering the death of Bea Benaderet, and other cast members.) He got the last laugh by hiring people from Petticoat Junction to work on The Beverly Hillbillies! Not only keeping them on CBS, whether the network liked it or not, but letting them continue to earn a paycheck!! Mr. Henning was so worried about nepotism that he made his daughter change her name from Linda Kay Henning to Linda Kaye! It must not have mattered so much with in-laws! The proof of that being one of the people he hired was as you already mentioned, Uncle Bob, his son-in-law Mike Minor! He also put Lori Saunders to work, and even his old friend Dick Wesson as producer and director!!🇺🇲📺🎬🐵🐕🚂🚜🏦💲🎶🎻🪕🎙🪗🎶✖️6️⃣9️⃣✖️
There is a quote from an Andy Griffith Show documentary where a producer of that era says "That was the year CBS cancelled everything with a TREE in it." Like the network was purposely targeting rural themed shows.
I loved watching Beverly Hillbillies along with Green Acres I grew up in farmland and could relate to some of the portrayals but also understood it was a parody that is what made these shows so funny. Too bad they don't have good clean humor anymore. I have often wondered how many takes some of the scenes took because how could you not laugh playing those rolls.
According to a follow up show in the 90s at some point in the 70s jed lost almost all his money because of drysdale mishandling it. Ms Jane reported him to the police and he went to prison and she went into hiding. Jed barely had enough left to go back to the hills and buy a new cabin. By that point granny passed away, Elle never married and jethro somehow managed to become a doctor and regretted never pursuing ms jane.
1971 was a sad year. My dad hated loosing Hee Haw. He was country all the way. And I liked it to with the Beverly Hillbillies. But not so much with Green Acars.
This was 1 of the best shows on TV at that time. Donna Douglas had competition with at least 1,000 other girls for that spot of Ellie Mae Clampett. She was a natural animal lover & could do a lot of the things the others couldn't, she was a natural (Tom Boy) & that increased her chances & she had previous acting ability & she looked good in all the clothes they tried her in. She was finally chosen to be Ellie Mae Clampett & after the show ended, she ended in Real Estate & became successful in that, wrote children books & put some Christian albums out too, but along the way she lost her beautiful figure. She passed away at 81 & is buried in Buff Creek, Ind.
Enjoyed that installment Bob, never recall seeing it. Always enjoyed the show, such a shame they made a train wreck of the storyline with the movie....
@@gj4578 Dash Riprock AKA Homer Noodleman of Peoria IL , played by the beefy and brawny Larry Pennell seemed to be a good choice if Mr Henning had gone that way . He and Ellie seemed to really like each other desprite of the money and stardom jazz .
The secret to a lot of these old shows was--Vaudeville. A lot of the writers and actors worked in Vaudeville before going into TV and their skill at comic writing and delivery came from that experience. When Hollywood tried to reproduce the comedy on the big screen, it failed because by then the writers and actors used had no contact with Vaudeville and didn't know how to reproduce the comic rhythm. All they could do was produce a bad parody of a good comedy which no one really wants to see.
Love the way you can escape paying Royaltys, by putting the pictures' images in backwards, and playing a Slightly different banjo solo! Would the lawyers REALLY be that petty, after ALL These Years ?? DON'T answer that ! I know SHYSTERS!
This is the way all shows should end. No cheesy, shark-jumping "series finale" that ruins everything and puts a stop to our imaginations. Instead, the final episode reruns on Tuesday and loops back to the first episode on Wednesday. TV immortality!
Interesting. I saw an episode that i thought was the final one. Here on RU-vid. Granny had passed, Jethro and Ellie were doing there thing. Uncle Jed is talking to a reporter back in Bug-tussle, he was telling the story how Drysdale had squandered the Clampett fortune, and was in prison for it. Music starts and Jed says they gotta go listen and dance, throws his whittling knife in the ground and strikes oil again. Hmm it was Buddy Ebsen dances to the ballad of Jed Clampett. so maybe it wasn't the last episode....
I don't even remember the show leaving the first-run schedule in 1971, it was already in heavy syndication rotation. And it wasn't cutting edge television in the age of All in the Family.
I meet Donna Douglas at a church in Decatur Alabama 1993 she was a minister. It was so funny at the begging of her sermon she said I know God says make a joyful noise!!!! She did her famous whistle! LOL everyone died laughing and I got her autograph :)
Oftentimes, episodes are aired out of order, so maybe one of the other episodes is the true ending. Most of the time, it is noticeable in the final season.
Frist time watching your show. Thank you very much, for talk about " The Bevery Hillbilies. I have learned so much from hearing you talk about the show. I grew all as many and still watch this classic. Thank you very much. And have a blessed day.
Years ago while Working at my Dads service station, a 65 Cadillac Coupe Deville pulled in for gas. The driver said to fill it up and after he handed me his credit card which is when I realized it was Max Baer at the wheel. Nice person but not over the top like some actors. He was a very handsome sturdy looking guy!!
They packed a lot in the last episode...maybe hoping the suits would reconsider and re-plant the trees 🌲🌲Well, little did they know that TBHB was a perennial, and will be with us forever.
I think they should make a modern-day Beverly hillbillies series I mean if they work hard at it they can become a success again just got to find the right actors and actress
The show was cancelled unexpectedly, so I am sure they wanted to do much more with the series finale. Too bad that didn't happen. There is a quote from an Andy Griffith Show documentary where a producer of that era says "That was the year CBS cancelled everything with a TREE in it." Like the network was purposely targeting rural themed shows.
Thanks for this fun video and update on them Hillbillies :) new subscriber here for sure...wish they had some new shows that were as fairly harmless as this... seems ALL new shows have hidden agendas hidden in them...thanks again and may God bless you and family i pray...
It seems like you're still working without an outer mic. And that's a good thing. Now between the opening and closing and your commentary your videos have a nice consistency.
Yeah I always thought they just ended it as a normal episode, I dont need to see anymore, thanks. I hated that period TV shows Hogan's Heroes, Mission Impossible, Get Smart, on and on and on, Gilligan's Island, etc etc etc. One reason though why you can watch the episodes in random order, it doesn't matter.
@@NJP76 they started to run out of ideas. The Beverly Hillbillies never truly blended in. Jethro remained incredibly stupid, Ellie May never married and in reality was 39 by the time the show ended and yet they portrayed her as a woman much younger and still behaving the way she did at the show’s beginning.
You seem to have forgotten about the regular cast monie. Irene Ryan already past away so they added granny s ma. Max bear was replaced also. Jed moved back to the hills. Drysdale stole money and went away
Apparently what happened shortly after this is Jed and everyone else who banked at or invested in the commerce bank went broke because of Drysdale mishandling their money. Ma Jane reported him to the police and he went to prison and she went into hiding. Jed had just enough money left to buy another cabin in the hills. Granny passed away, Elle refused to ever marry preferring the company of animals and jethro actually became a doctor with numerous children.
This was very informative. I am not a big BH fan but like the other "rural" comedies. Bob, ever think of doing a Green Acres or Petticoat Junction channel or a combined Hooverville channel? I really enjoy your TAGS channel.
I grew up watching the show, bieng from those mountains of Kentucky I felt offended by the sterio types. People were not like that. Not at all. We were hard working coal miners, teachers, policemen nurses, doctors lawyers and some of the best soldiers.the army ever had.
Actually your mistaken, with there hints of Eureka Springs Arkansas and episodes of their relationship with southern Missouri where 'silver dollar city 'is Iwould say they from Arkansas or maybe southern MO but I get your point on the 'hick' reference.
The network canceled all rural comedies at the same time even though they all still had good ratings. The next season had MASH, The Bob Newhart Show and other now classic CBS shows.
I could see them all going back to the hills. I could also see something like Elly Mae meeting a fellow. Miss Jane has a nephew or a younger cousin named Robert Lee Hathaway, they call him Bobby. He works at a Zoo. He moves to Beverly Hills from out of state. He is introduced to Elly and of course Granny loves that his name is Robert Lee. They date for about Episodes and are married. Jed buys a local Zoo, in which Bobby and Elly spend their lives working with many critters. Miss Jane also meets a guy and leaves the bank to be a world explorer. I also thought of the possibility that Mr. Drysdale retires and Miss Jane becomes the new president of the bank. Not sure that would work. Jed and Granny turn the Mansion into a boarding house for the poor and needy in Beverly Hills. Jed Finally has that long talk with Jethro!
Once they concluded the second trip to England the Henning staff writers were completely out of ideas. The Navy Frog Man gag went on too long and even Granny couldn't be believed in her stupidity anymore. There was only one fresh and funny episode toward the end involving the gorilla cage. A ery pretty black secretary decided to have fun in Ellie's clothes doing chores in back of the mansion by the shack cabin. Hanging out with Ellie was Mr Drysdale's idea. Her famous and BIG football player brothers found her there....assumed Drysdale of trying to put her to slave chores...and locked him in the cage. A bit of a controversial plot even at the time. Only Chapelle would get away with it today.
I don't know about the rest of yoù but I liked the hillbilly's movie. I know it did not have any of the originals in it but I thought it was still good.
