Week 209: Buddy Ebsen (Winner: Lechia Dickinson) Tidbits: Christian Ludolf Ebsen, Jr., known as Buddy Ebsen (April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running CBS television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones. Ebsen also played Fess Parkers sidekick in Walt Disneys Davy Crockett miniseries (1953–54), and was cast as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (1939) until he fell ill from an allergy to the makeup. (He outlived all of the main characters by a good bit.) Throughout the 1950s, Ebsen performed in films, mainly Westerns. One notable exception was an acclaimed role as Doc Golightly, an older, rural veterinarian deserted by his young wife (played by Audrey Hepburn) in 1961s Breakfast at Tiffanys. This role brought Ebsen to the attention of the casting director of the CBS situation comedy The Beverly Hillbillies. Ebsen returned to television in 1973 as the title character of Barnaby Jones, which proved to be his second long-running television series. Barnaby Jones was a milk-drinking detective who came out of retirement to investigate the death of his son. Critics and CBS executives ridiculed the age of the shows audience, but it lasted 8 1/2 seasons and 178 episodes. Ebsen had 8 children by three different wives. Throughout his long life, he had many hobbies: public speaking, traveling, singing, playing guitar, golfing, spending time with his family, riding horses, swimming, gardening, fishing, sailing, painting, and building sailboats.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 15:25:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015