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Raymond Bailey worked as a banker before he became Mr. Drysdale in The Beverly Hillbillies
Bailey the banker!
While The Beverly Hillbillies is a definite wish-fulfillment show (who wouldn't want to strike oil and get rich quick?) certain elements and characters keep parts of it grounded in reality. One of those characters is Mr. Drysdale, who at least tries to keep one of the Clampett family's feet on the ground at all times.
While he is decidedly a bore, an actor like Raymond Bailey made a meal out of playing Mr. Drysdale, though it was a role he was familiar with upon being cast in the show, or at the very least, an occupation.
In a stunning display of an actor's dedication, Raymond Bailey revealed to The Charlotte News that before he played Mr. Drysdale of The Beverly Hillbillies, he spent some time working in an actual bank. Granted, Bailey wasn't working at the bank to prepare for a role, but he refuted claims that becoming an actor hadn't always been his primary goal. In fact, Bailey said that he had actually become a banker to support his acting dream.
"Hogwash," he said. "I always wanted to be an actor. I worked in the bank just to get enough money to take acting lessons." Luckily, not only did Bailey's occupation as a banker help him economically prepare for his career as an actor, but it also served as a sort of on-the-job training for playing Mr. Drysdale in The Beverly Hillbillies, even if Bailey didn't know it at the time.
Before Bailey's on-screen career took off, he still made a name for himself in the entertainment industry as a radio performer, where he showed off his singing skills.
"They put me on the radio," he said. "Paid me $1.50 a week. All I had to do was sing three times a week. It was a hit-or-miss way to do it, but remember I broke into the business in the depression."
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