The series starred Buddy Ebsen as the widowed patriarch,
Jedidiah "Jed" Clampett; Irene Ryan as his mother-in-law,
Granny (Daisy Moses); Donna Douglas as his daughter, Elly
May; Max Baer, Jr. as his nephew, Jethro Bodine, (sometimes
playing Jethro's twin sister, Jethrene, on early shows);
Raymond Bailey as Jed's greedy banker, Milburn Drysdale;
Harriet E. MacGibbon as Drysdale's snobbish wife, Margaret;
and Nancy Kulp as Drysdale's secretary, Miss Jane Hathaway,
who pined for the clueless Jethro. In the beginning, Jed's
sister-in-law, Pearl (Jethro's mother, played by Bea Benaderet),
also appeared. The theme song, "The Ballad of Jed
Clampett," was written and performed by Bluegrass
artists Flatt and Scruggs. It was #44 on the music charts
in 1962. Flatt and Scruggs made several guest appearances
as themselves, and as potential suitors for Pearl.
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