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Paul Henning wanted to do a ''hillbilly'' show for years before he created the Clampett Family
It wasn't until Henning clapped eyes on Beverly Hills that he knew he'd struck oil.
A show is nothing without its characters, but these characters are nothing without their setting. What makes The Beverly Hillbillies so funny? Is it the Clampett family's way of speaking or how they act?
Perhaps what is truly funny about the Clampett family isn't how they act but that they're doing it in a place like Beverly Hills. Sure plenty of the uppity socialites on the series might be the sort to laugh at Jed Clampett in real life, but the Clampett family's gruff and tumble ways do more than just make us laugh; they point out the absurdities of high society.
When we see Jed and Jethro placed against the Drysdale family, we see "fancy society" for what it truly is: a joke.
Watch The Beverly Hillbillies on MeTV!
Weeknights at 9 PM, Saturdays at 6 & 6:30 AM, Sundays at 2 & 2:30 PM
*available in most MeTV marketsIt's a masterful use of setting, and it can all be credited back to series creator Paul Henning.
Henning said he came up with the idea for The Clampetts long before the series took flight. However, it wasn't until he got a good look at California that his vision could truly be completed.
"It wasn't until years later, after I got a good look at Beverly Hills, that I knew I had found the right setting for the Clampetts," said Henning during an interview with The Lima News.
"Against this background, they are as alien as anything you might imagine. The contrast they create in trying to understand Beverly Hills, its citizens, and its way of life is not only funny - it's honestly funny."
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