The Beverly Hillbillies

The "Hillbillies" has vaudville like gags. Nothing but pure comedy. Just plain great. It's stood the test of time.

The casting was perfect. Buddy Ebsen is a favorite. Donna Douglas is the most beautiful woman I've seen. Could be my favorite TV show of all time.

In 1971, when "The Beverly Hillbillies" was canceled, "All in the Family" premiered. While "All in the Family" is praised as the first "socially relevant" sitcom, "The Beverly Hillbillies" was the first to satire our society - "The Beverly Hillbillies" did it with screwball comedy. "The Beverly Hillbillies" changed the face of television - to date, it still holds the record for some of the highest-rated single half-hours of television. And, the performance of Irene Ryan in this series is right up there with the likes of Lucille Ball and Mary Tyler Moore on their respective series. It is a shame Ryan never won an Emmy for perhaps one of the most endearing, energetic performances in the history of television. While the first five seasons of the series were undeniably the best, and the writing suffered by the late 1960s, "The Beverly Hillbillies" changed the face of television. It opened the door for creativity, wild plot lines and colorful characters that dominated television in the world of sitcoms of the 1960s. It is the era of the 1960s that produced some of the most beloved sitcoms in history, and all of it was due to a little groundbreaking sitcom about a man named Jed.

The original series THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES was probably the most genuinely funny sitcom ever made with the possible exception of I LOVE LUCY. This endearingly wacky comedy is both audaciously cutting edge and family-friendly wholesome, no mean feat. I would put some of the finest Hillbillies episodes up against the best films of Preston Sturges for sheer pandemonium glee. Most of the episodes are excellent, several are brilliant. The cast is superb, especially Irene Ryan as the hot-tempered yet sentimental Granny, a five-foot elderly spitfire who was afraid of no one - and had no reason to be. Miss Ryan was twice nominated for the Best Actress Emmy award for Granny - she should have WON at least four times! Buddy Ebsen is excellent as Jed but Donna Douglas and Max Baer were equally fine as the "young uns". Donna's free-spirited, tomboy with curves Elly May is a total joy while Max is hilarious as the dim-witted Jethro (and quite wonderful in drag as his twin sister Jetherine, playing the character seriously as an over-sized female, not going for cheap "man-in-a-dress" laughs.) Raymond Bailey and Nancy Kulp are fine as their city friends and I cherish the episodes in which Harriet MacGibbon (as Mr. Drysdale's snooty socially prominent wife) and Bea Benaderet (as Cousin Pearl) appear - Mrs. Drysdale and Pearl often had to go head-on against Granny and both actresses rose to the challenge beautifully.

The Beverly Hillbillies are often closer to the classic comedy shorts of the 1930's and 1940's than a conventional sitcom. Their importance on television history can not be overstated - not only for the "country comedies" that came along after them but for opening the door to an "alternative universe" on television where 'real life' was thrown out the window and fantasy prevailed. THE MUNSTERS, BEWITCHED, I DREAM OF JEANNIE, STAR TREK, GREEN ACRES, WILD WILD WEST, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, etc. - all the shows of the 1960's that pushed the reality envelope owe a debt to the Hillbillies and they probably wouldn't have been around with out the pioneering work done on this series.

Normally I don't critique sitcoms because, frankly, it's not worth the effort and are so crassly superficial that they don't require any serious attention. But in the case of "The Beverly Hillbillies" I will make an exception. This is because of one character: Jed Clampett, played by Buddy Ebsen. Jed Clampett is one of the most endearing yet complex characters ever created by the television industry. Superficially, Jed Clamptett doesn't seem to be the type of character that warrants much serious attention. After all he's just a simple, uneducated backwoodsman from the hills who's lived in a shack all of his life, and by pure dumb luck comes into a pile of money which doesn't seem to change him one bit. Which is what makes Jed Clampett such a wonderful character. For Jed Clampett has dignity and integrity and nothing will divert Mr. Clampett from remaining true to himself or altering the way he treats everyone - with openness, honesty and a real desire to be hospitable. Further, Jed Clampett commands respect, and is respected, not only by his immediate family who are utterly devoted to him, but even by that crass and conniving banker who, despite his air of superiority, reveals, episode after episode, what a buffoon he is compared to the calm and self-assured Mr. Clampett. Also, it should be noted the Jed Clampett protects and cares for not only his daughter, but his nephew and mother-in-law, the latter two a constant challenge to Jed's patience, which he never loses. If there were more Jed Clampetts in this world, then maybe we'd all be living in shacks, but at least we'd be getting along with each other and treating each other better.

The Hillbillies was the funniest show of the 60's. In fact, I'm in my 20's and I prefer the classics to the sitcom wasteland of today. I catch them atleast twice a day on TV Land and they always make me laugh hard. The best episodes were the ones where somebody (or some critter) drank Granny's moonshine by accident. Then the fun would really begin. I didn't see anyone mention Harriet MacGibbon as Mrs. Drysdale and that's a shame because she was hilarious, always getting into fights with Granny and fainting. The comedy team of Raymond Bailey and Nancy Kulp had some of the best chemistry in TV history. Their reactions as they played off each other (and off the Clampetts) were side-splitting. Drysdale and Hathaway were a major factor in the show's success. I agree with someone else who commented that Irene Ryan should be up there in the same class with Lucille Ball. It's tragic that her name is all but forgotten today. But Granny lives on in the hearts of her fans.