TV Land running a "Beverly Hillbillies" marathon got me thinking about a couple of rare appearances of the actors, in character, apart from the actual series.....
-- In a documentary I saw a few years back (might have been about Buddy Ebsen right after he died), they showed a clip I'd never seen before. Apparently, during one of the first couple seasons of the series, they had Ebsen, Irene Ryan, and Max Baer, Jr. (in costume and character as Jed, Granny, and Jethro!) appear on the Emmy Awards to present the award for Best Comedy Series. I remember they were introduced by Joey Bishop (obviously referring to the show's incredible ratings early on) by saying "There are three words that strike fear in the hearts of ABC and NBC: "The...Beverly...Hillbillies." The clip was from a black and white videotape, so I'm assuming this was '63 or '64 (I would think by '65 or so the Emmys were in color). The ironic thing was that "The Beverly Hillbillies" was nominated in that category, so they get the show's stars to appear in character for their own show's category, only to end up having to give the award to another show ("The Dick Van dyke Show")! And does anyone familiar with this clip know why Donna Douglas didn't participate?
-- This one is a vaguer memory, from when I saw the program's probably one and only telecast. Sometime in the 60's, at the height of "Hillbilly-mania," CBS did a color videotaped special from Marineland, and the BH actors again appeared as their characters, in comic relief sketches between the aquatic segments. (I remember there was some running gag about Granny not being allowed in the park for some reason, and at one point she tries pole vaulting over the wall!) Anyone have more details about this special?
And is it just me, or is it a little weird when you see characters from a filmed series in full costume and character, but live or on tape instead of film? Kind of like how "Newhart" ran so long on film that the first (videotaped) season seems so strange when you see it now.
-- In a documentary I saw a few years back (might have been about Buddy Ebsen right after he died), they showed a clip I'd never seen before. Apparently, during one of the first couple seasons of the series, they had Ebsen, Irene Ryan, and Max Baer, Jr. (in costume and character as Jed, Granny, and Jethro!) appear on the Emmy Awards to present the award for Best Comedy Series. I remember they were introduced by Joey Bishop (obviously referring to the show's incredible ratings early on) by saying "There are three words that strike fear in the hearts of ABC and NBC: "The...Beverly...Hillbillies." The clip was from a black and white videotape, so I'm assuming this was '63 or '64 (I would think by '65 or so the Emmys were in color). The ironic thing was that "The Beverly Hillbillies" was nominated in that category, so they get the show's stars to appear in character for their own show's category, only to end up having to give the award to another show ("The Dick Van dyke Show")! And does anyone familiar with this clip know why Donna Douglas didn't participate?
-- This one is a vaguer memory, from when I saw the program's probably one and only telecast. Sometime in the 60's, at the height of "Hillbilly-mania," CBS did a color videotaped special from Marineland, and the BH actors again appeared as their characters, in comic relief sketches between the aquatic segments. (I remember there was some running gag about Granny not being allowed in the park for some reason, and at one point she tries pole vaulting over the wall!) Anyone have more details about this special?
And is it just me, or is it a little weird when you see characters from a filmed series in full costume and character, but live or on tape instead of film? Kind of like how "Newhart" ran so long on film that the first (videotaped) season seems so strange when you see it now.
