Inside “The Beverly Hillbillies” Cast's Lives After the Show Ended
Inside “The Beverly Hillbillies” Cast's Lives After the Show Ended
John Russell, Carson BlackwelderSun, March 22, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
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From left: Max Baer Jr. as Jethro Bodine, Irene Ryan as Daisy 'Granny' Moses, Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett and Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett on 'The Beverly Hillbillies'Credit: CBS/Getty -
The Beverly Hillbillies premiered on Sept. 26, 1962, with 274 episodes airing across nine seasons on CBS
The sitcom was led by Buddy Ebsen and featured costars Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, Max Baer Jr., Raymond Bailey and Nancy Kulp
The Beverly Hillbillies aired its series finale 55 years ago on March 23, 1971
It's one of television's most iconic rags-to-riches stories: The Beverly Hillbillies.
Premiering on Sept. 26, 1962, the series followed Buddy Ebsen's Jed Clampett, who, after discovering oil on his Ozark Mountains swamp, relocated with his family to California — specifically the wealthy Beverly Hills neighborhood.
The sitcom centered mostly around the family's fish-out-of-water antics as they adjusted to their new lives after striking it rich. The Beverly Hillbillies ran for 274 episodes, 106 in black and white and 168 in color, on CBS. The series ended on March 23, 1971, after nine seasons.
Aside from Ebsen, other cast members included Irene Ryan as "Granny," Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett and Max Baer Jr. as Jethro Bodine to round out the beloved Clampett family. Raymond Bailey and Nancy Kulp also starred as Milburn Drysdale and Jane Hathaway, respectively, who worked at the Commerce Bank where Jed's fortune is held.
The show earned a total of seven Emmy nominations, spawning the 1981 TV movie Return of the Beverly Hillbillies, the 1993 retrospective special The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies and the 1993 feature film aptly titled The Beverly Hillbillies. While the show remains in syndication, the first two seasons are also available to stream on platforms like Tubi, Amazon Prime Video and Peacock.
In honor of the 55th anniversary of The Beverly Hillbillies' series finale, explore the lives and careers of its cast — most of whom have died.
01 of 06
Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett
Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett on 'The Beverly Hillbillies'; Buddy Ebsen attends Disney's California Adventure Park grand opening celebration in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 8, 2001Credit: CBS/Getty; Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Before he struck black gold (a.k.a. oil) as Jed Clampett, Ebsen got his start as a Broadway dancer in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He soon signed a contract with MGM, appearing in films opposite Shirley Temple and Judy Garland.
He was famously originally cast as the Scarecrow in 1939's The Wizard of Oz. However, after swapping roles with Ray Bolger to play the Tin Man, Ebsen was hospitalized after inhaling the aluminum dust of his silver makeup and forced to drop out of the film.
After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, Ebsen returned to acting, landing several film and TV roles. One of his most famous came in 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's, in which he played Doc Golightly, the estranged husband of Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly.
The Beverly Hillbillies premiered the following year, with Ebsen starring as the patriarch of the Clampett family, a role he played on all nine seasons. After the sitcom ended, Ebsen took on guest roles on Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O and Bonanza, before starring as the titular detective on Barnaby Jones from 1973 to 1980.
The following year, he reprised the role of Jed Clampett in the TV movie Return of the Beverly Hillbillies. He also appeared as Barnaby Jones in the 1993 comedy adaptation Beverly Hillbillies — his final film role. Ebsen's final TV role came in 1999, when he voiced a character on the animated sitcom King of the Hill.
In addition to acting, Ebsen published four books and released three albums throughout his career. He married three times, sharing two daughters with his first wife, Ruth Cambridge, as well as a son and four daughters with second wife Nancy Wolcott. The actor wed his third wife, Dorothy "Dotti" Knott, in 1985.
Ebsen died of respiratory failure in July 2003 at the age of 95, according to The New York Times.
02 of 06
Irene Ryan as "Granny"
Irene Ryan as Daisy Moses (a.k.a. 'Granny') on 'The Beverly Hillbillies'Credit: CBS via Getty
Born in 1902, Irene's long career took off in the 1920s when she appeared on the vaudeville stage as part of a double act with her first husband, Tim Ryan.
The duo divorced in 1942, but Irene continued to perform, touring with Bob Hope and later reuniting with Tim for a string of films in the 1940s. Irene married her second husband, Harold E. Knox, in 1946; however, the couple divorced in 1961.
She made her TV sitcom debut in 1955 on an episode of The Danny Thomas Show and continued to appear in recurring and guest roles on the small screen throughout the late '50s and early '60s.
In 1962, she landed her best-known role playing Jed Clampett's scrappy, gun-toting, feisty mother-in-law Daisy Moses — affectionately known as "Granny" — on The Beverly Hillbillies. The performance earned her Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1963 and 1964. She also made a cameo as Granny in the 1966 film Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title.
After The Beverly Hillbillies ended in 1971, Irene starred as Berthe in the original 1972 Broadway production of Pippin, directed by Bob Fosse. The role earned her a 1973 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She was unable to attend the March 1973 ceremony, however, having suffered a stroke during a performance of Pippen earlier that month.
Irene died the following month in April at the age of 70, per The New York Times.
03 of 06
Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett
Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett on 'The Beverly Hillbillies'; Donna Douglas participates in The Hollywood Show at Westin Los Angeles Airport on Jan. 13, 2013Credit: Bettmann Archive; Albert L. Ortega/WireImage
Model, actress, singer, author, speaker and licensed real estate agent — Douglas did it all.
Best known for her role as Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, Douglas' early start as a model led to small roles on The Perry Como Show and The Steve Allen Show, as well as in films like 1959's Career (opposite Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine) and 1961's Lover Come Back (with Rock Hudson and Doris Day).
She married her first husband, Roland Bourgeois Jr., in 1951. The couple divorced in 1954, the same year their only child, Danny Bourgeois, was born.
In 1960, she appeared on the all-time classic The Twilight Zone episode "Eye of the Beholder," playing a traditionally gorgeous woman who (spoiler alert) happens to live in a world where everyone else has pig-like snouts.
Her only leading role in a film came in 1966. While starring on The Beverly Hillbillies, Douglas was cast opposite Elvis Presley in Frankie and Johnny. She married Hillbillies director Robert M. Leeds in 1971. They later divorced in 1980.
After The Beverly Hillbillies ended in 1971, Douglas briefly worked as a real estate agent before shifting her focus to gospel and country music. She went on to record four albums between 1982 and 1989. Along with a smattering of guest appearances on TV shows in the 1970s, Douglas reprised the role of Elly May in 1981's Return of the Beverly Hillbillies alongside Ebsen and Kulp. Her final TV role came in 1999, when she appeared as herself on an episode of The Nanny.
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Douglas was also active in the faith community, performing and speaking before church groups around the U.S.
Douglas died at the age of 82 on New Year's Day 2015, as reported by The New York Times.
04 of 06
Max Baer Jr. as Jethro Bodine
Max Baer Jr. as Jethro Bodine on 'The Beverly Hillbillies'; Max Baer Jr. attends the Chiller Theater Expo at Parsippany Hilton in Parsippany, N.J., on April 23, 2016Credit: CBS via Getty; Bobby Bank/WireImage
The son of a world heavyweight boxing champion, Baer Jr.'s professional acting career began just two years before the premiere of The Beverly Hillbillies. From 1960 to 1962, he appeared in guest and recurring roles on the shows Maverick, Cheyenne and 77 Sunset Strip.
During The Beverly Hillbillies' nine-season run, Baer Jr. starred as dim-witted Clampett cousin Jethro Bodine, as well as making several appearances in drag as his character's twin sister, Jethrine.
In 1967, he made his big screen debut in A Time for Killing and also appeared as a "Bachelor Judge" on the series Dream Girl of '67.
Following Hillbillies, Baer Jr. moved into writing and producing, while also appearing in guest roles on Love, American Style and Fantasy Island in the 1970s. He made his directorial debut with 1975's The Wild McCulloch, in which he also starred, followed by 1976's Ode to Billy Joe and 1979's Hometown U.S.A. During the 1980s, he appeared on a handful of TV movies and series, with a 1991 episode of Murder, She Wrote serving as his final acting role.
During the '80s, Baer Jr. also began investing in the gambling and hotel industries, obtaining the rights to license the Beverly Hillbillies characters for themed slot machines in 1991, according to the Los Angeles Times. From 2003 to 2012, he was involved in the development of a Beverly Hillbillies-themed hotel and casino, but the project was ultimately suspended due to ongoing litigation.
Baer Jr. was married to Joanne Kathleen Hill from 1966 until their divorce in 1971. In January 2008, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the actor's girlfriend, 30-year-old former Penthouse model Chere Rhodes, died by suicide at the couple's Lake Tahoe home.
As of 2026, Baer Jr. is the only surviving member of The Beverly Hillbillies' primary cast.
05 of 06
Raymond Bailey as Milburn Drysdale
Raymond Bailey as Milburn Drysdale on 'The Beverly Hillbillies'Credit: CBS via Getty
After an unsuccessful attempt to get into show business as a teenager in the early 1920s and a stint as a merchant seaman, Bailey found success appearing on Broadway and in small (often uncredited) roles in Hollywood films and movie serials, such as The Green Hornet (1940) and Sabrina (1954).
He landed more substantial supporting roles in the mid-1950s, including Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958). Like his former costars Ebsen and Douglas, Bailey made guest appearances on Gunsmoke and The Twilight Zone.
Then, his big break came in 1962 with his most well-known role as Milburn Drysdale, the president of Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills and the Clampetts' next-door neighbor.
Around the time of the sitcom's cancellation in 1971, Bailey began experiencing the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Before retiring, he appeared in two additional films, Disney's Herbie Rides Again (1974) and The Strongest Man in the World (1975).
Five years after his last feature film, Bailey died of a heart attack in 1980 at the age of 75. He was survived by his wife, Gaby Aida George, who died in 1985.
06 of 06
Nancy Kulp as Jane Hathaway
Nancy Kulp as Jane Hathaway on 'The Beverly Hillbillies'; Nancy Kulp poses for a photo during her run for Congress in 1984Credit: CBS Photo Archive/Getty; Bettmann Archive
Before becoming an actress, Kulp worked as a journalist in the 1940s and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II. Upon moving to Hollywood in the early 1950s to work in MGM's publicity department, she was convinced to try performing.
She had small roles in Shane (1953), Sabrina (1954), A Star is Born (1954), The Three Faces of Eve (1957) and The Parent Trap (1961). During the '50s and early '60s, she also took guest roles on dozens of classic TV shows, including The Bob Cummings Show, I Love Lucy, The Real McCoys, Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, Mr. Ed and My Three Sons.
Kulp's role as Jane Hathaway, the long-suffering secretary of banker Milton Drysdale, on The Beverly Hillbillies earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1967. She appeared as the character on a 1968 episode of Petticoat Junction and reprised the role in the 1981 TV movie Return of the Beverly Hillbillies.
Following the sitcom's cancellation, Kulp appeared in recurring and guest roles on Sanford and Son, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island and Quantum Leap throughout the '70s and '80s. She also appeared on Broadway in the '80s production of Morning's at Seven.
In 1984, she ran as the Democratic nominee to represent her home state of Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her campaign furthered the rift between Kulp and Hillbillies costar Ebsen, with whom she'd clashed over politics on set.
Ebsen campaigned for Kulp's Republican opponent, Bud Shuster, and she lost the election. The two eventually reconciled, according to Screen Rant. Kulp later worked as an artist-in-residence and taught acting at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa.
Kulp was married to Charles Malcolm Dacus from 1951 until their divorce in 1953.
However, in a 1989 interview with LGBTQ+ activist Boze Hadleigh, published in his 1994 book Hollywood Lesbians, Kulp hinted that she was queer.
"As long as you reproduce my reply word for word, and the question, you may use it," Kulp reportedly said (via Advocate). "I'd appreciate it if you'd let me phrase the question. There is more than one way."
She continued, per Hadleigh's book, "Here's how I would ask it: 'Do you think that opposites attract?' My own reply would be that I'm the other sort — I find that birds of a feather flock together. That answers your question."
Kulp died of cancer in 1991 at the age of 69, The New York Times reported.
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