Donna Douglas, best known as the less than bright Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, reportedly died today at the age of 81. The Louisiana native’s death was reported by a Baton Rogue TV station.
Before her big break in Hollywood, Douglas was Miss Baton Rouge, and then in 1957, Miss New Orleans.
She was quoted discussing the early careers of Buddy Ebsen‘s, Max Baer Jr.‘s, Irene Ryan‘s and herself, before co-starring on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), “It was the American Dream. But I think it had a lot of good things in it, too. We were all so grateful to be working, Buddy Ebsen–he had started out in vaudeville, and he had done many things, but his career wasn’t on an upswing or anything. Granny, [Irene Ryan] she wasn’t really doing anything. Max Baer and I, we were babies just starting out, so everybody was so grateful to be working.”
She was reportedly very close to the show’s star Buddy Ebsen. The two and other reprised their famous roles in the 1981 TV movie The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies.
The only remaining star of the show now appears to be Max Baer, Jr. who played Jethro.
Are you a fan of the show, who was your favorite character?
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