The Beverly Hillbillies was the type of series that people either loved or hated. While it had incredible viewership and quickly became a ratings powerhouse, the show didn’t win over everyone at first.

Within just three weeks, it soared to the number one spot in the Nielsen ratings— a feat that remains unmatched in television history.

While fans loved it, critics and TV executives often found it too "uneducated" or not "sophisticated" enough for television.

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One person who fell in love with the show was Nancy Kulp, who played secretary Jane Hathaway. She loved the series not only for its success, but because it helped her discover a side of herself she didn't know existed.

Kulp was a serious-minded woman who found herself flung into comedy stardom with The Beverly Hillbillies. In a 1964 interview with the Daily Breeze, Kulp said her character got plenty of laughs—a talent she never thought she was capable of.

"When I’m being serious, people think I’m being funny," Kulp said. "It used to bother me, but I’m getting used to it. Now, when I say something witty like 'Hello,' I’m really hurt if I don’t get a laugh."

Her lines were written by producer Paul Henning, but they were tailor-made for Kulp’s unique brand of humor, which she said Henning helped her develop. The Beverly Hillbillies helped her realize that humor is a gift. She began to enjoy her built-in ability to make people laugh.

"I never realized I was funny until I did a bit part in my senior class play in high school," Kulp said. "I was supposed to be the prim and proper wife of a nutty professor, but it didn’t turn out that way. The audience was hysterical laughing at me, and I went backstage and cried."

Fortunately, she learned not to take herself too seriously. She added: "A sense of humor is the greatest saving grace any human can have."

According to a 1962 interview with the Minneapolis Star, the funny actress became serious when discussing critics of The Beverly Hillbillies. 

"They ask, 'What is the world coming to?'" Kulp said. "And I ask them, since when is it wrong to laugh?"

Kulp said she didn’t understand those who felt that The Beverly Hillbillies didn't belong on TV. All comedy belonged on TV, and it was the one thing that helped many people through tough times.

"I suspect many of these same people sit at home with the curtains drawn watching the show," Kulp said. "They’re afraid to admit they like it because it isn’t intellectual. We do it for laughs, that’s all. There’s no message."

Even in the world of television critics, Kulp found a way to turn a laugh into a legacy.