50 Fun Facts About The Beverly Hillbillies

On which network did The Beverly Hillbillies air from 1962 to 1971?

Executives William Paley and Frank Stanton disliked it, but it made CBS the dominant network of the decade.

The Clampetts come from which mountain range?

They strike oil on their swampy land and move to Beverly Hills.

Who created The Beverly Hillbillies, as well as Petticoat Junction and Green Acres?

He grew up on a farm in Independence, Missouri, and had written for Burns and Allen.

How many episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies were made?

Jed, Granny and Elly May appear in every one; Jethro misses only the last two.

In the opening credits, Jed discovers oil while doing what?

In the first episode itself the oil is actually found by a surveyor for the OK Oil Company.

Who played Jed Clampett?

Ebsen was only five years older than Irene Ryan, who played his mother-in-law.

Granny is Jed's what?

In the pilot Drysdale calls her Jed's mother, an idea Paul Henning dropped because it would change the show's dynamic.

What is Granny's real name?

Her clan, the Moses family, feuded with the Bodkins, ancestors of Mr. Drysdale.

Granny calls herself an 'M.D.', meaning what?

She uses her 'white lightning' as anaesthesia for tooth-pulling and leeching.

Which actress played Elly May?

She had been Miss New Orleans in 1957 and starred opposite Elvis in Frankie and Johnny.

What is the name of the Clampett family's old bloodhound?

Elly May's love of animals fills the estate with 'critters'.

Granny usually gives Elly May's age as what, though she is clearly in her twenties?

An unmarried mountain woman of Elly May's real age would be considered an old maid.

Who played Jethro Bodine?

He is the son of heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer.

The family boasts about Jethro's education reaching which grade?

He spent three years in fourth grade and two in first, and prides himself on 'cipherin' and 'gazintas'.

Max Baer Jr. also played Jethro's twin sister, whose voice was dubbed by whom?

Jethrine's voice came from the creator's daughter, who later starred as Betty Jo in Petticoat Junction.

Jethro's mother, Cousin Pearl, was played by which actress who went on to star in Petticoat Junction?

Pearl is the one who pushes Jed to move to California and take Jethro along.

What is the name of the Clampetts' banker and next-door neighbour?

He is obsessed with keeping the Clampetts' fortune in his Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills.

By 1969, how much was the Clampett fortune said to be worth?

That is roughly $630 million in 2024 money.

Miss Jane Hathaway, Drysdale's secretary, has a degree from which college?

She speaks French, knows Latin, and has a crush on Jethro he never notices.

Who played Jane Hathaway?

TV Guide ranked the character 38th on its 1999 list of the 50 greatest TV characters.

Mrs. Drysdale describes herself as a blue-blooded native of which city?

Margaret Drysdale spends the series trying and failing to drive the Clampetts out.

Which future star of Valley of the Dolls played bank secretary Janet Trego in 15 episodes?

Her character was often the target of Jethro's romantic overtures.

Which comedian played the recurring con man Shifty Shaffer, alias Honest John?

The Clampetts kept running into him over six episodes.

Who wrote the theme song 'The Ballad of Jed Clampett'?

Jerry Scoggins sang it over the credits, backed by Flatt and Scruggs.

Flatt and Scruggs' single of the theme song reached what position on the Billboard country chart?

It was their only country chart-topper, and the first bluegrass record ever to top that chart.

Early episodes sometimes added extra verses of the theme song plugging which two sponsors?

Woven-in sponsor bumpers were standard practice in the early 1960s.

Irene Ryan's 1966 novelty single was titled what?

Ebsen, Ryan and Douglas all made solo records after the show took off.

How many seasons in a row was The Beverly Hillbillies the number-one show in America?

It stayed in the top 20 for eight of its nine seasons.

Which season-two episode remains the most-watched half-hour sitcom episode in US history?

Granny mistakes an escaped kangaroo for a giant jackrabbit.

How many Primetime Emmy nominations did the series receive?

Irene Ryan and Nancy Kulp were among the nominees; critics at the time called it 'strained and unfunny'.

The show's 1971 cancellation was part of what CBS clear-out of country-flavoured programming?

Green Acres' Pat Buttram said it was 'the year CBS canceled everything with a tree—including Lassie'.

Which incoming CBS president instigated the 1971 clear-out of rural shows?

He replaced programming chief Michael Dann with Fred Silverman after research showed advertisers wanted young urban viewers.

The actor who played Jed Clampett was originally cast as which Wizard of Oz character before an allergic reaction?

He had first been cast as the Scarecrow, then switched to the Tin Man, whose aluminium-dust makeup made him seriously ill.

After the Hillbillies, the actor who played Jed starred as which TV detective?

He played the character again in a cameo in the 1993 Hillbillies film, his final movie appearance.

Before the Hillbillies, the actor who played Jed was known as the sidekick to which Disney frontier hero?

He played George Russell in the 1953-54 miniseries.

Irene Ryan's last role, in 1972, was Berthe in which Bob Fosse Broadway musical?

She sang 'No Time at All' and died in 1973.

Granny's character name honoured which artist, who had died at 101 the year before the show began?

Hence Daisy Moses.

Elly May actress Donna Douglas appeared in which Twilight Zone episode about beauty in a world of the disfigured?

She played the unbandaged Janet Tyler in 1960.

Max Baer Jr. produced and directed a 1976 film based on which hit song?

He is credited as one of the first to build a film around a song title; his Macon County Line was a huge earner two years earlier.

Nancy Kulp (Miss Jane) ran for Congress in 1984. Which co-star made a radio ad calling her 'too liberal'?

She lost to Republican Bud Shuster.

Raymond Bailey played a doctor in which Alfred Hitchcock film?

He also played the San Quentin warden in I Want to Live!

In the 1981 reunion movie, who played Granny's 100-year-old mother after Irene Ryan's death?

Max Baer refused to return, so Jethro was recast with Ray Young.

In the 1981 reunion movie, Jane Hathaway works for which government department, seeking Granny's moonshine recipe?

The energy crisis was the pretext; Paul Henning blamed the poor script on the writers' strike.

Who played Jed Clampett in the 1993 feature film?

Penelope Spheeris directed; the film grossed $57 million and was panned.

Which two celebrities made cameos in the 1993 film alongside the original Jed?

Ebsen appeared not as Jed but as his other TV character, Barnaby Jones.

How many episodes fell into the public domain because Filmways' successor forgot to renew the copyrights?

All 36 season-one episodes and 19 from season two, often shown with generic music replacing the theme.

Which Bel Air house stood in for the Clampett home in exterior shots?

By 1981 it had become too expensive to use for the reunion film.

Which Hollywood gossip columnist featured in the season-three episode ranked 62 by TV Guide?

The 1997 list was a rare bit of critical respect for a show reviewers had savaged.

Which 'Weird Al' Yankovic parody mashed up the show's theme with a Dire Straits hit?

It featured in his 1989 film UHF.

Conceited movie star Dash Riprock, who keeps chasing Elly May, is employed by which studio?

Larry Pennell played the macho star across 10 episodes, and his advances toward Elly May went nowhere every time.