"COME AND LISTEN TO A STORY ABOUT A

MAN NAMED JED":  REMEMBERING BUDDY EBSEN

My friends and I play a very morbid and twisted game every New Years. In the middle of our drunken haze, usually near the end of the night when the sun is coming up we pick three celebrities who we think will die by the end of the year. If one of the celebrities does die within the twelve months the guys have to buy the winner a round of drinks. Now considering I gave up drinking a while back all I want is a free breakfast. There is only one stipulation to choosing an actor - you can't pick anyone who is in the news that is known to be ailing. Bob Hope and Ronald Reagan, for instance, are not eligible for selections.

Anyhow, yesterday I won a free meal. Two of the people I select every year is Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster from "The Munsters") and Buddy Ebsen (Jed Clampett from "The Beverly Hillbillies"). Sadly, Buddy Ebsen died the other night.

Of course the world will always remember Buddy Ebsen as the wise, yet naive Jed Clampett from "The Beverly Hillbillies".  However what may not be known by most, is that Buddy Ebsen had a very long and illustrious career.  Buddy started his show business career in the 1920's as a song and dance man.  He and his sister Velma worked both the vaudeville circuit and Broadway as a successful dance team.  It was this way that they were signed by MGM studios as a pair of dancers for "The Broadway Melody of 1936."  Afterwards Velma retired but Buddy was back for "The Broadway Melody of 1938" dancing with a very young Judy Garland.  Buddy's big break came when he was cast along side Shirley Temple in "Captain January".  However, soon afterwards Ebsen would lose an important role that would have been a major step toward solidifying his place in pop culture history.

Ebsen was cast as the original Tin Woodsman in the "Wizard of Oz".  However, as a result of an allergic reaction to the aluminum powder used in the makeup, Ebsen was hospitalized for weeks.  Due to this hospitalization, Ebsen's scenes were scrapped and the role was recast with Jack Haley in the part.  Scenes with Ebsen as the Tin Man still exist and were featured in the special features section of the current release of the Wizard of Oz DVD.  Furthermore, some parts of the soundtrack still feature Ebsen's vocals, and not Haley's, such as on the "We're Off to See the Wizard" number.

Ebsen's career floundered after the "Wizard of Oz" disaster for nearly twenty years due to being blackballed by Louis B. Mayer over a contract dispute.  However, in 1954 Walt Disney cast Ebsen as Fess Parker's sidekick Georgie Russell in his  hugely successful Davy Crockett movies.  Ebsen made two Davy Crockett pictures as Russell.  The role of rustic Georgie Russell was what introduced the world to the Appalachian roles that Buddy Ebsen would become most connected with in the years to come.

Ebsen's next big break was probably the way I most like to remember him -  playing the heartbroken and sympathetic Doc in "Breakfast at Tiffanies". Ebsen played a country veterinarian with a shocking connection to Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly.  From his first line to George Peppard, "Son, I need a friend," he brings a certain amount of raw heartbreak to the screen.  Almost every moment he appears in the film you feel like your heart is being ripped from your chest.  It really is Ebsen at his very best.

Now if the character of Doc and the character of Jed Clampett seem similar it should be of no surprise. It was through that role that Buddy Ebsen was approached to play Jed in "The Beverly Hillbillies" - the hillbilly who struck oil (black gold, Texas tea) and moved his family to Beverly Hills.  What Ebsen provided was the calm voice of reason through the insanity of the series. While he usually didn't understand the world around him, Jed Clampett's clear and simple thinking usually made more sense than any of the other characters around him. But those were the kind of roles Buddy Ebsen played - soft spoken and genuine characters. The irony is that Ebsen had considered retiring from show business before the offer came along but Ebsen played the role for eleven years thus sealing his position in pop culture history.

After the end of "The Beverly Hillbillies" Buddy Ebsen was back for another long term series, but this time something like he had never done before.  In 1973 Ebsen teamed up with Lee Merriweather for the crime drama "Barnaby Jones".  Ebsen played Jones, a retired PI who comes out of retirement to avenge his son's murder and take over the detective agency.  Barnaby Jones was a detective with the same laid back sensibility that Ebsen brought to all his previous roles.  Barnaby Jones would last seven years.  Oddly enough, Ebsen's last screen appearance was playing Barnaby Jones, at the age of 85, as a cameo in the ill fated "The Beverly Hillbillies" movie in 1993.

Throughout the eighties Ebsen stayed active in Hollywood, most notably becoming a regular in the crime drama "Matt Houston" in the mid 1980's.  He finally retired from show business in 1990.  By then he was well into his eighties.

Buddy Ebsen was a very talented character actor who lived a long and rich life.  He died last night in Torrence, California from pneumonia at age 96.  Whether playing a hillbilly or a cop, a veterinarian or a dancer, Buddy Ebsen will be remembered for his humble smile and the gleam in his bright eyes. Thanks for the great and long career Mr. Ebsen, and I hope you don't mind if I have breakfast on you.

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