Donna Douglas, who played hillbilly bombshell Elly May Clampett on the baby-boomer-beloved 1960s sitcom ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ has died. She was 82.
Douglas lived in the Baton Rouge suburb of Zachary, had pancreatic cancer and died in a hospital, her niece Charlene Smith said. Though other sources listed her as 81, Ms. Smith said her aunt was 82.
“She was 82,” Smith said firmly, adding jokingly, “She’s going to haunt me for that.”
Douglas’ death leaves only one member of the show’s original cast still alive: Max Baer Jr., who played Elly May’s cousin, Jethro. He is 77.
“She was Elly May until the day she died,” Baer told the website RumorFix. “When I saw her for autograph signings or other gatherings, she always dressed the same with pink or blue” and of course those signature pigtails.”
Douglas appeared in various movie and television roles before and after ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ which ran on CBS for nine seasons. But she was destined to be forever remembered as Elly May Clampett, the lovely ingénue of the Ozarks.
She was chosen for the part from among hundreds of actresses, and in her view it was her small-town Southern upbringing that had made her a natural for the part. During her audition, she was asked to milk a goat.
“I had milked cows before,” she told The Associated Press in 2009. “I figured they were equipped the same, so I just went on over and did it.”
“The Beverly Hillbillies” burst upon the scene on the evening of Sept. 26, 1962. “In tonight’s fun-filled premiere, Buddy Ebsen stars as the head of a proud hillbilly clan that discovers an oil well at home that leads to a new home in Hollywood!” a CBS print advertisement proclaimed. Other cast members included Irene Ryan as the flinty matriarch Granny and Max Baer Jr., as the bumpkin cousin Jethro Bodine.
At its height, in the ’60s, “The Beverly Hillbillies” was a family favorite watched by millions. Many of the fans who grew up watching it, remained fond of the series.
To this day, many boomers can sing the theme song by heart and even some non-boomers. I know I can. She will be greatly missed.
