Buddy Ebsen mini-bio: A dancer from childhood, Buddy Ebsen headlined in vaudeville in an act with his
sister Velma. In 1935, Ebsen was signed by MGM as a specialty performer in The
Broadway Melody of 1936, wherein he was shown to good advantage in several solos. He
worked in a number of subsequent musicals, including Shirley Temple's Captain
January (1936), teaming with Shirley for the delightful number "At the Codfish
Ball." MGM assigned Ebsen to the role of the Scarecrow in 1939's The Wizard of Oz,
but Ray Bolger, who'd been cast as the Tin Man, talked Ebsen into switching roles.
The move proved to be Ebsen's undoing; he found that he was allergic to the silver
makeup required for the Tin Man, fell ill, and was forced to bow out of the film, to
be replaced by Jack Haley (however, Ebsen's voice can still be heard in the reprises
of "We're Off to See the Wizard").Ebsen then returned to the stage, taking time out
to provide the dancing model for a electronically operated wooden marionette which
later was used at Disneyland.
In 1950 Ebsen returned to films as comical sidekick to Rex Allen, gradually working
his way into good character parts in "A" pictures like Night People (1955). Walt
Disney, who'd remembered Ebsen from the dancing marionette, offered the actor the
lead in his 1954 three-part TV production of Davy Crockett, but at the last moment
engaged Fess Parker as Davy and recast Buddy as Crockett's pal George Russel. Ebsen
continued to pop up in films like 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's (as Audrey Hepburn's
abandoned hometown husband), and in TV westerns, where he often cast his image to
the winds by playing cold-blooded murderers. Comfortably wealthy in 1962 thanks to
his film work and wise business investments, Ebsen added to his riches by signing on
to play Jed Clampett in the TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, which ran for nine
years to excellent ratings. A millionaire several times over, Ebsen planned to ease
off after Hillbillies, but in 1972 he was back in TV in the title role of Barnaby
Jones. Few observers gave this easygoing detective series much of a chance, but they
weren't counting on Ebsen's built-in popularity; Barnaby Jones lasted until 1980.
The actor now confined himself to special events appearances and occasional
guest-star roles, though he did play the recurring part of Lee Horsley's uncle in
the final season of the TV mystery show Matt Houston (1983-85). One of Buddy Ebsen's
final roles was in the 1993 theatrical film version of The Beverly Hillbillies --
not as Jed Clampett but in a cameo as Barnaby Jones!
