"The Beverly Hillbillies" debuted on CBS in September 1962. It ranked high in the Nielsen ratings for nine seasons. Production on the series certainly would have lasted longer, had CBS not decided to pull the plug on all of its rural comedy programming at the start of the 1970s. Its last prime time network telecast was in September 1971.
The series centered around a simple family from the Ozarks who struck it rich when Jed (Buddy Ebsen) was out hunting near his tumble-down cabin and missed, the bullet drilling a hole in the ground out of which flowed oil. If you have seen the show even once, you know how the rest of the opening themesong goes: "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" by Flatt & Scruggs (a national hit in 1963, recently redone by Weird Al to the tune of "Money For Nothing"). The pilot episode and 1st season starred Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan (Granny), Donna Douglas (Elly May), Max Baer, Jr (Jethro), Raymond Bailey (Mr. Drysdale), Nancy Kulp (his long-suffering secretary Jane Hathaway), and Cousin Pearl (Bea Benadaret of Petticoat Junction).
The series was such an immediate hit, CBS gave Bea her own spinoff series the following September, Petticoat Junction (the rest of the cast remained unchanged to the end). Though Bea had a different name, there were crossover episodes in which the Beverly Hillbillies visited Hooterville. In 1965, this spin-off series itself spun-off another series, "Green Acres," which also took place near Hooterville. For the following five seasons, the latter two shows would interact with each other on a regular basis, with cast members from one series making guest appearances on the other. One character, Sam Drucker (who ran the general store), was a series regular on both spinoffs.
The Beverly Hillbillies Go To Hooterville - A Classic Christmas
Beverly Hillbillies: V. 7 (1965)
Beverly Hillbillies: V. 2 (1963)
Beverly Hillbillies: V. 1 (1962)
Beverly Hillbillies (episodes available on DVD)
No episodes of Petticoat Junction or Green Acres are currently available on video, but they are on DVD. Return to Petticoat Junction Page
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