Buddy Ebsen said he'd stay on The Beverly Hillbillies as long as Paul Henning was writing for the show

Henning was responsible for the series, and so much more.

CBS Television Distribution

A cast is only as good as its series creator, and luckily for The Beverly Hillbillies, they had one of the best creators in all of television standing at the helm of their ship.

Paul Henning is responsible for hit television shows like Petticoat Junction and The Beverly Hillbillies. These rural shows were incredibly popular with viewers and were often times a reflection of Henning's childhood memories of rural country.

Buddy Ebsen was a veteran actor by the time he signed on to play Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies. But despite his lengthy experience in the entertainment industry, Ebsen demonstrated complete loyalty to Henning during an interview with The Manhattan Mercury. In the article, Ebsen equated the series as a whole to Henning himself, arguing that none of it would be possible without him. Ebsen even said that as long as Henning worked on the show, so would Ebsen.

"Beverly Hillbillies is Paul Henning," said Ebsen. "He's putting everyone on. And, really, there's so much to lampoon."

The only issue Henning couldn't find a solution for, in the opinion of Ebsen, was deciding who exactly Cousin Jethro would settle down with. Still, a stalling love life does still make for good television. "He's always looking for the right girls for Jethro," said Ebsen of Henning during an interview with The Charlotte News. "He'll never get married but just keep on looking. But Ellie Mae just might. She may have a big wedding sometime."

Ultimately, Ebsen was pleased to be working on a show like The Beverly Hillbillies. "Who's happy with everything?" said Ebsen. "I'm happy with a show that's going good. If I'm working I'm happy...We don't even know what we'll be doing next week. But I can tell you this. Those door chimes will keep on chiming and Jed, Jethro, Ellie Mae, and Granny will be trying to find out where the music is."

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5 Comments

top_cat_james_1 4 months ago
Ever wonder why the "middle years" of TBH simply aren't all that good? Not only because the premise was beginning to wear thin, but because Henning, suffering from burnout, decreased his workload --Co-writing only 17 of 30 episodes in the fifth and sixth seasons, and 13 of 26 in season seven. The final two years (seasons eight and nine), he returned to the series full time (although some would say the damage was already done).
Runeshaper 4 months ago
It’s cool 😎 that Ebsen thought so much of Henning. You can tell that he really appreciated him.
MrsPhilHarris 4 months ago
Love the black & white episodes best.
McGillahooala 4 months ago
Such a great show. Classic. Plus the critics hated it which is always great because they have no taste.
Instead of bashing critics, who are doing their job which they know how to do, did you ever consider that you're the one with no taste?
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