‘The Beverly Hillbillies’: Donna Douglas Reflected On How Fans Respond To Seeing Her in Public
The classic TV sitcom, “The Beverly Hillbillies” aired for nine successful seasons between 1962 and 1971, despite the harsh commentary of industry critics. At the center of “The Beverly Hillbillies” family was Donna Douglas’s character, Elly May Clampett. Douglas had a successful run on the CBS series and afterward found herself in real estate, before seeing success as a singer, speaker, and author. Before her death in 2015, Donna Douglas revealed some of the realities of her role as well as her life outside of “The Beverly Hillbillies.”
The above interview, which aired on Entertainment Tonight in 1989, saw Donna Douglas outside of her onscreen role. While speaking with the outlet, she revealed how fans responded to her while seeing her in public.
“All sizes, ages, whatever, little kids, little babies’ll come up to me, [and] they’ll just sorta hug ya and everything, just love ya, [they] just still love the show.”
Footage during the interview shows the Elly May Clampett actress bonding with some of her fans as she made appearances in character and without all over the country.
Additionally, while she explained how critics, especially in New York City or Los Angeles, didn’t exactly love the show, she and the rest of “The Beverly Hillbillies” were beloved by the people. And as one of the show’s longtime stars, the actress, 56 at the time of the interview, was content with that.
Just One ‘Beverly Hillbillies’ Star Lives On Today
As beloved as “The Beverly Hillbillies” was, just one of the show’s stars remains alive today. As mentioned above, Donna Douglas passed away in 2015, so which of “The Beverly Hillbillies” stars lives on?
That’s Jethro Bodine actor Max Baer Jr. Baer Jr. gained footing in the acting industry in his twenties, and after his success besides “The Beverly Hillbillies” stars, including Donna Douglas and Buddy Ebsen, he went on to have a few prominent movie and TV roles.
Then later, when the stars of “The Beverly Hillbillies” came together in 1981 for “Return of the Beverly Hillbillies,” Baer Jr. wanted no part. He revealed that he felt as though he’d been typecast as Jethro Bodine which, as an actor, made him wary of returning to the role. MSN states Baer Jr. felt as though his role on “The Beverly Hillbillies” had undermined the rest of his career.
“I thought I had a fat face, and I didn’t think I was ever any good or good looking,” he said.
Sadly, it seems as though “The Beverly Hillbillies” destroyed his confidence.
Now, the Jethro Bodine actor is 84 years old, and after playing in the hit TV sitcom, he went on to become a movie director and businessman. Some of his other roles include “Fantasy Island,” “Murder, She Wrote,” and “Matt Houston.” The actor’s final role came in 1991.
