Elly May has passed away
January 2, 2015 12:19 PM   Subscribe

Donna Douglas, who played Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, has died at the age of 81. Her surviving co-star, Max Baer Jr., says "She Was Elly May Until The Day She Died". Here's a reprint of a profile of the "Prettiest of the Beverly Hillbillies*" from Parade magazine from almost 50 years ago. *which, from what I remember of the show, was faint praise.
posted by oneswellfoop (32 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
-fills cement pond with tears-
posted by thelonius at 12:23 PM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


A sad day for critters everywhere.

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posted by Thorzdad at 12:30 PM on January 2, 2015 [10 favorites]


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posted by Splunge at 12:31 PM on January 2, 2015


oooooh doggies! That Elly May was a sweet girl.

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posted by quazichimp at 12:34 PM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


She shore was purty, all right.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:36 PM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


But she didn't put on no airs, neither.

Although the reprinted 1964 article treated Ms. Douglas herself with respect, I had to chuckle at the hardly-concealed contempt the writer had for television in general ("the Beverly Hillbillies, a low comedy series"; "Since many television programs require little or no acting talent"). Plus ca change...
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:42 PM on January 2, 2015 [3 favorites]


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posted by Ber at 12:44 PM on January 2, 2015


With the Twlight Zone marathon just passed, I'll always remember her in Eye of the Beholder.

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posted by dr_dank at 12:46 PM on January 2, 2015 [10 favorites]


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posted by djeo at 12:47 PM on January 2, 2015


Wow, prepubescent me kinda had the hots for her, even though I was too young to really understand what that meant. Now I see she was roughly the same age as my mother, which now makes me feel rather awkward.

Anyway,

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For someone who created a memorable character.
posted by TedW at 12:51 PM on January 2, 2015


RIP, Elly Mae.
posted by jonmc at 1:00 PM on January 2, 2015


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posted by lord_wolf at 1:07 PM on January 2, 2015


I had to chuckle at the hardly-concealed contempt the writer had for television in general
but today, Parade magazine, in its barely-surviving form as a Sunday Newspaper drop-in, no longer dares have anything but fawning subservience toward anything Television-related.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:29 PM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


She was in The Twilight Zone once, too.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 1:50 PM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by Smart Dalek at 1:57 PM on January 2, 2015


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posted by cazoo at 2:31 PM on January 2, 2015


but today, Parade magazine, in its barely-surviving form as a Sunday Newspaper drop-in, no longer dares have anything but fawning subservience toward anything Television-related.

anything anything-related.
posted by blucevalo at 2:48 PM on January 2, 2015 [4 favorites]


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posted by allthinky at 2:53 PM on January 2, 2015


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posted by dougzilla at 4:20 PM on January 2, 2015


Every time she walked into a scene, especially in a bathing suit, dreamy Hawaiian steel guitar music would play. I was pre-pubescent and starting to get curious and so just assumed I'd know when I was having the sex for the first time because I'd hear dreamy Hawaiian steel guitar music in my head.
posted by hal9k at 4:35 PM on January 2, 2015 [6 favorites]


in its barely-surviving form as a Sunday Newspaper drop-in

Just FYI, practically its entire history is as a Sunday drop-in.

contempt the writer had for television in general

No, not in general. Just for the lowbrow comedies like TBH that were hitting the airwaves -- not just TBH, but the spinoff Petticoat Junction, and shows like Andy Griffith and its spinoff Gomer Pyle, USMC. CBS was producing so many sitcoms aimed at what we might today call self-deprecating redneck humor that it was nicknamed the "Country Broadcasting Network". Eventually the trend went sour and the shows were axed en masse, leading to a flourishing trend of shows addressing cultural clashes in mostly urban America such as All in the Family.

Anyway, given that this was an era of utterly pervasive mass entertainment (three choices! the very idea), it was less a matter of being critical than a mild poke while shrugging "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." That's just the way it played then.
posted by dhartung at 5:37 PM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by valkane at 6:04 PM on January 2, 2015


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posted by buzzman at 8:45 PM on January 2, 2015


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posted by evilDoug at 10:30 PM on January 2, 2015


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posted by Fibognocchi at 10:41 PM on January 2, 2015


When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be like Elly Mae --- maybe she wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but Elly Mae was strong-minded and independent as well as respectful to her elders and popular with her peers, and that's the parts I admired.

Never happened, though. Sigh. RIP, Donna Douglas, and thanks for, yes, being a role model.



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posted by easily confused at 5:10 AM on January 3, 2015


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posted by Gelatin at 9:52 AM on January 3, 2015


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posted by On the Corner at 12:33 AM on January 5, 2015


Miss Douglas was a friend. She grew up a few miles from where I did. When my parents got engaged, she attended their engagement party as the guest of a friend. After her run in Hollywood, she moved back here and stayed out of the limelight, doing speaking engagements and travelling with a gospel choir. Often, I’d see her at a funeral—I buried both of her parents and many of her cousins—and she always had a kind word for me and never forgot who I was or who my parents were. I never saw her that she wasn’t dressed in pink-head to toe. She was a character and she had a lovely sense of humor. When I got that call that she’d died, my heart sank.

At her family’s request, her funeral services are low-key and private. My brother and I are wearing our pink ties and my sister wore a pink blouse. The flowers are all pink. We are burying her in one of my favorite cemeteries, way off of the beaten path. Her grave will be visited by her beloved critters forever. It is my honor and my privilege to conduct her services. It’s one I’ll never forget.
posted by ColdChef at 7:08 AM on January 5, 2015 [62 favorites]


The funeral went well. At the end, I called an audible at the graveside service. Instead of saying my usual dismissal, I paused.

"A cemetery is a solemn, sacred place. It's a place of quiet and reflection. A cemetery is the place you go when you want to feel close to those you've lost. So...as the saying goes...(pause)...Y'all come back now, you hear?!"

The family laughed out loud and her son thanked me for making her service so personal and peaceful. And that's about the best I can ever hope for.
posted by ColdChef at 11:45 AM on January 5, 2015 [47 favorites]


So proud of you, ColdChef. You're a consummate professional, a credit to our MetaFilter community, and a helluva guy.
posted by tizzie at 12:02 PM on January 5, 2015 [4 favorites]


Thanks for that story, ColdChef. I watch Beverly Hillbillies now and again, and am always struck by the sort of lunatic energy she sometimes brought to her scenes. She was, of course, strikingly beautiful when she was younger, but I have now listened to some of her gospel records and think they are marvelous. I'm always interested in what people do after what they are known for goes away, and I'm always happy when it is something equally interesting if not as well-known. She seems to have found a place for herself in the world, and ColdChef, I trust you will help her find a place in the next one, whatever that may be.
posted by maxsparber at 10:53 AM on January 7, 2015 [2 favorites]


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