The Beverly Hillbillies at 60

2,255 Views | 30 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by rynning
rynning
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Since M*A*S*H got a tribute thread, I figured we should honor another one of the greatest sitcoms to ever grace the small screen! The Beverly Hillbillies debuted on September 26,1962 and was an instance classic. Most of us are too young to have seen the original broadcasts, but I watched many of them in re-runs as a boy.

It may have been full of simple, low-brow humor and would have never been made today, but it didn't have an ounce of politics and very little social commentary. The good ol' days.

Do yourself a favor and watch the first episode that still holds up today:

Random cast trivia:
  • Max Baer (Jethro) is the last remaining cast member still alive at 84.
  • Buddy Ebsen (Jed) was about to retire when offered the role but said he'd only do it if the character wasn't foolish, just uneducated. They created the Jethro character for the dumb lines.
  • Irene Ryan (Granny) was only 5 and 1/2 years older than Ebsen.
  • Donna Douglas (Ellie Mae) became a gospel singer after the series because she was forever type-cast as a dumb blond.
  • Raymond Bailey (Milburn Drysdale) suffered from Alzheimer's disease towards the end of the series.
  • Nancy Kulp (Jane Hathaway) ran as a Democrat for the US House of Representatives after the series. Ebsen campaigned against her but later regretted it.
  • Bea Benaderet (Cousin Pearl) was originally cast as Granny before Ryan auditioned


tk for tu juan
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Sharon Tate appeared in 15 episodes
Earl Scruggs (as Himself) appeared in 3 episodes
C@LAg
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loved it as a kid but this is one show I could never rewatch as an adult as a guilty pleasure.
water turkey
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Such a classic.

Max Baer, Sr. Was a famous boxer. He is the guy that Russel Crow beats in Cinderella Man.
combat wombat™
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I'd seen it before, but rewatched it. I watched the Beverly Hillbillies so much when I was a kid. I don't think there's an episode that I haven't watched.
Carlo4
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water turkey said:

Such a classic.

Max Baer, Sr. Was a famous boxer. He is the guy that Russel Crow beats in Cinderella Man.


I remember the family sued the movie for making him the villain. He was nothing like that character in the movie.
rednecked
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Petticoat Junction was a spinoff from The Beverly Hillbillies.
TXAG 05
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Surprised the censors allowed Granny's line about why the buttons on Ellis shirts kept popping. Obviously tame by today's standards, but I'd assume that was pretty racy back then.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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Yes, I came along a few years after this debuted, but I watched this one every day on re-runs growing up. Was a great show.
#FJB
EclipseAg
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Great show. Still funny today.
rednecked
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I always liked the one with the hippies that wanted to smoke crawfish with granny! Granny was hip!
EclipseAg
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"Yeah ... I reckon you're right. A man'd be a danged fool to leave all this."
MAROON
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cement pond
What do you boys want for breakfast BBQ ?.....OK Chili.
Iowaggie
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EclipseAg said:

Great show. Still funny today.

It surprises me when my kids still enjoy watching these older shows.

We've started watching them more just because it is cleaner television (but not always)
EclipseAg
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The great John Wayne once made a brief cameo on "The Beverly Hillbillies." Legend is he agreed to appear for a fifth of Jack Daniels.

EclipseAg
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Iowaggie said:

EclipseAg said:

Great show. Still funny today.

It surprises me when my kids still enjoy watching these older shows.

We've started watching them more just because it is cleaner television (but not always)
They're a little stilted, and the humor is more basic, but if you can get past that, a lot of those shows hold up well.

"Green Acres" is another one that was really clever. And I love Marlo Thomas in "That Girl."
CE Lounge Lizzard
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tk for tu juan said:

Sharon Tate appeared in 15 episodes
Earl Scruggs (as Himself) appeared in 3 episodes


I believe Earl was of course accompanied by Lester Flatt in those appearances.
rednecked
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CE Lounge Lizzard said:

tk for tu juan said:

Sharon Tate appeared in 15 episodes
Earl Scruggs (as Himself) appeared in 3 episodes


I believe Earl was of course accompanied by Lester Flatt in those appearances.
also among my favorite episodes. A bit off topic but when talking bluegrass and old TV, I loved it when The Darlings (The Dillards IRL) would play on The Andy Griffith show. There Is a Time is a hauntingly beautiful song.

Know Your Enemy
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I've realized that my favorite sitcom episodes from my childhood almost all are music related. The Darlings on Andy Griffith, Stevie Wonder on Cosby, The Doobies on What's Happening, and so on.
rynning
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All of the shows mentioned above were on CBS and part of the "rural purge" in 1970/1971 when the network decided it didn't want to be known as the Country Broadcast Network and got rid of The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, and Mayberry R.F.D (renamed after Andy Griffith left). That made way for other great, but more progressive, shows like M*A*S*H, All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, etc.
rednecked
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Know Your Enemy said:

I've realized that my favorite sitcom episodes from my childhood almost all are music related. The Darlings on Andy Griffith, Stevie Wonder on Cosby, The Doobies on What's Happening, and so on.
the Cosby's had numerous great musicians on. Dizzy Gillespie, BB King, Lena Horne,
The Debt
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This is the only Ellie May I remember

LCE
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Know Your Enemy said:

I've realized that my favorite sitcom episodes from my childhood almost all are music related. The Darlings on Andy Griffith, Stevie Wonder on Cosby, The Doobies on What's Happening, and so on.


Roy Clark on The Odd Couple
Hubert J. Farnsworth
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I always thought it was funny that Granny had a bunch of confederate money and thought it was still legal tender. If I remember right, she thought the South had won the Civil War.

Also laughed when they thought smog was "a small hog".
Cromagnum
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The 1993 movie wasn't as bad as critics made out. Erica Eleniak and her bigole cans was a smoke show as Elly May too.
Ribeye-Rare
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I think my favorite Hillbillies episode was 'The Hired Gun' from 1969 which guest starred the "King of Mean" Charles Lane as Homer Bedloe.

Drysdale brings him in to scare the Clampetts out of the bank building, where they were 'tenants'.

I know you'll remember his face:



Lane, a great character actor for decades, played the part of a despicable bad guy so very well.

Here's my favorite Homer Bedloe line from this episode:
Quote:

A bank offers wonderful opportunities. You get to foreclose on mortgages, repossess cars and furniture. I'll bet it's a great kick to go and get a television set just when the kids are watching their favorite show.

{For the sticklers -- I couldn't find any images of Lane from my favorite episode. Instead, this is one of Lane from a 1963 episode where Lane plays Milburn Drysdale's rival banker Billy Hacker.}
Trajan88
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Swimming in the "cement pond."
Aust Ag
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CE Lounge Lizzard said:

tk for tu juan said:

Sharon Tate appeared in 15 episodes
Earl Scruggs (as Himself) appeared in 3 episodes


I believe Earl was of course accompanied by Lester Flatt in those appearances.
Metal head kid when I was watching this back in the day, but always dug when Flatt and Scruggs came on. Dudes could friggin play! Gave me an appreciation for bluegrass and it's superiority to standard Country.
EclipseAg
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Ribeye-Rare said:

I think my favorite Hillbillies episode was 'The Hired Gun' from 1969 which guest starred the "King of Mean" Charles Lane as Homer Bedloe.

Drysdale brings him in to scare the Clampetts out of the bank building, where they were 'tenants'.

I know you'll remember his face:



Lane, a great character actor for decades, played the part of a despicable bad guy so very well.

Here's my favorite Homer Bedloe line from this episode:
Quote:

A bank offers wonderful opportunities. You get to foreclose on mortgages, repossess cars and furniture. I'll bet it's a great kick to go and get a television set just when the kids are watching their favorite show.

{For the sticklers -- I couldn't find any images of Lane from my favorite episode. Instead, this is one of Lane from a 1963 episode where Lane plays Milburn Drysdale's rival banker Billy Hacker.}
Instantly recognizable. That guy had quite a career ... his filmography is amazing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lane_(actor,_born_1905)
GoAgs92
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Know Your Enemy said:

I've realized that my favorite sitcom episodes from my childhood almost all are music related. The Darlings on Andy Griffith, Stevie Wonder on Cosby, The Doobies on What's Happening, and so on.
Which doobie, you be?
[img]http://readthetruth.com/images/dinosaur.gif[/img]
rynning
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Bumping since today marks the 60th anniversary. Nothing in entertainment news…
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