Die-hard fans of “The Beverly Hillbillies” may remember crooner Pat Boone’s appearance on the show. The pop singer played himself in one special episode. Boone happily agreed to be on the show, and had only one condition, he wanted to be from the same part of the country as Jed, Granny, and the other hillbillies.
What an enjoyable thing to see, famous singer Pat Boone Hillbilling it up with the Clampetts in front of the whole darn world. As if we needed another reason to love him.
Hillbilly Barbie
Elly May was Jed Clampett’s beautiful daughter. Despite her beauty, she preferred playing with critters to doing her nails and other girly pursuits. Mattel still decided to make her into one of three Barbie dolls as part of their Classic TV Collection.
Although actress Donna Douglas felt flattered by the doll, she decided to sue the company for not getting her consent to produce it. The greatest issue was the use of an old black-and-white photo of her on the packaging. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court.
Street Smarts
If you have somehow missed this fact, the term ‘hillbilly’ is not very complementary and usually refers to someone who is backward or not very smart. Although this was never really discussed on the show, Jed Clampett barely had any formal education.
Because he couldn’t attend many schools, he is not very book-smart. Fortunately, when he strikes oil, Jed Clampett uses his common sense and makes sound decisions about his newfound fortune.
Read The Fine Print
Showbiz is a tough industry, which is the reason actors, producers and even network executives need to know how to read legal documents or find someone who does. When “The Beverly Hillbillies” was canceled after nine seasons, CBS bought the rights to the show, but somehow the network didn’t renew the rights for the first 33 episodes.
Their ownership is unclear, and these episodes are now available in the public domain. That didn’t stop random people from releasing the first seasons on both DVD and VHS over the years.
JFK
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. America as a whole was both stunned and inconsolable after his passing. Strangely enough, the eight episodes of “The Beverly Hillbillies” that were aired after the assassination are the highest-rated episodes in television history.
It could just be a funny coincidence, but we believe that the country needed to escape the harsh reality for some simple laughs. There’s a reason it was one of the most popular shows of the decade.