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Tag: Donna Douglas

  • Donna Douglas Remembered by Last Surviving ‘Beverly Hillbillies’ Cast Member, Max Baer Jr.

    Donna Douglas, who played tomboy Elly May Clampett on the hit 1960s sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, is remembered by the only living original cast member, Max Baer Jr., as being “Elly May until the day she died.”

    Baer Jr. played Elly May’s cousin, Jethro, in the series and says she always attended events dressed the part.

    “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.”

    Baer Jr. said he last saw his former costar in January 2013 at an autograph signing in Los Angeles and said he was unaware that she had been battling pancreatic cancer for the past several months.

    “But she was a very private person — nothing like me,” he said.

    Douglas died Thursday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, near her hometown of Zachary, at the age of 82. According to her neice, Charlene Smith, the cause of death was pancreatic cancer.

    Smith described her aunt as a “very good Christian lady. We all loved her,” she said. “Whenever she gave presents, they always came with (passages) from Scripture.”

    Hailing from Pride, Louisiana, Douglas was a former Miss Baton Rouge and Miss New Orleans. Married twice, she returned to her home state to be near her only child, son Danny Bourgeois, after her days in Hollywood came to an end.

    She is is also survived by three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, one brother and other extended family members, Smith said.

    The series, which ran from 1962 to 1971, also starred the late Buddy Ebsen and Irene Ryan.

    “I’m the last man standing. All the actors, producers — everybody on the show is gone,” said Baer Jr.

  • Elly May Clampett: Actress Donna Douglas Dies at 81

    Elly May Clampett was one of the main characters on the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies, which ran from 1962 to 1971. Donna Douglas, the actress who played Elly May, died on New Year’s Day at the age of 81.

    According to a report from TMZ, Douglas died at her home in Louisiana with her family members and close friends by her side.

    Douglas’s granddaughter confirmed her passing.

    In addition to her role as Elly May Clampett, Douglas appeared in several other TV series, including Mr. Ed, The Twilight Zone, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Adam 12, and Route 66. She starred alongside Elvis Presley in Frankie and Johnny.

    Still it was The Beverly Hillbillies for which she remained the most famous. Elly May Clampett was constantly bringing home her ‘critters,’ much to the ire of Granny (played by the late Irene Ryan). She was good at convincing her Pa, Jed Clampett (played by the late Buddy Ebsen) to go along with just about all of her crazy shenanigans. She and her cousin Jethro Bodine (played by Max Baer, Jr.) managed to drive poor Granny to drink from her ‘special bottle of medicine.’ Max Baer, Jr. is the only regular cast member of The Beverly Hillbillies who is still living.

    Donna Douglas was involved in two rather high-profile lawsuits throughout the years. The first–in the 1990s–was filed stating Disney stole the idea for the film Sister Act from her. She lost the case. And in 2011, she sued Mattel for creating a Barbie doll with the likeness of Elly May Clampett without her permission. That case was settled out of court.

    Were you a fan of The Beverly Hillbillies? Was Elly May Clampett your favorite character? She is now likely resting in the big Beverly Hills mansion in the sky, along with Jed Clampett, Granny Clampett, and even their friends from the bank, (Jed was, after all, a millionaire) Mr. Drysdale and Miss Jane.