The Beverly Hillbillies

The Beverly Hillbillies was a TV sitcom about a hillbilly who strikes oil, becomes a millionaire and moves with his family to Beverly Hills, California. It appeared on the CBS network from September 26, 1962 to September 7, 1971. Soon after its debut episode, it shot to the top of the Nielsen Ratings and remained a top-rated series through most of its run.

The show starred Buddy Ebsen as patriarch Jed Clampett, Irene Ryan as Clampett's mother-in-law Daisy Moses ("Granny"), Max Baer as Clampett's nephew Jethro Bodine (sometimes playing Jethro's twin sister, Jethrene), Donna Douglas as Clampett's daughter Elly May, Raymond Bailey as banker Milburn Drysdale, Harriet E. MacGibbon as Mr. Drysdale's snobbish wife, Margaret Drysdale, and Nancy Kulp as Drysdale's secretary, Miss Jane Hathaway. The theme song was written and performed by Bluegrass artists Flatt and Scruggs. It was #44 on the charts in 1962.

Most storylines on the show were about the differences between hillbilly culture and modern American culture in the big city. The comedy revolved around how they persisted in living their exaggerated countrified lifestyle even in a large, elegant mansion in Beverly Hills, and how others reacted to the things they did and said. Although Jed had pretty good sense, in his hillbilly way, Granny, Elly May, and especially Jethro, were incredibly ignorant. On the other hand, Mr. and Mrs. Drysdale were pretty foolish themselves. He wanted to keep them living in the mansion next door to his, regardless of what happened, while she, with elaborate histrionics, led an outlandish campaign to rid her cultured city of the vile, beastly hillbillies! Nothing was ever too serious; it was high camp with a lot of slapstick.

The Beverly Hillbillies was still a popular show when it was canceled because CBS decided to change its image as a "rural network." Other "rural shows," including Green Acres and Petticoat Junction, were also canceled.

Movie adaption

In 1993, a movie adaptation, The Beverly Hillbillies, was released by 20th Century Fox starring Jim Varney (of the Ernest movies) as Jed Clampett, Diedrich Bader as Jethro Bodine/Jethrene Bodine, Erika Eleniak as Elly May Clampett, Cloris Leachman as Granny, Lily Tomlin as Miss Jane, Dabney Coleman as Mr. Drysdale and Penny Fuller as Mrs. Drysdale. It featured cameo appearances by Buddy Ebsen as Barnaby Jones and Dolly Parton as herself.