Misplaced Pages

#823176

109-464: Prior to the airing of Petticoat Junction , Hooterville is mentioned in an early episode in the first season of The Beverly Hillbillies , another Paul Henning sitcom. In this episode, Jethrine Bodine, Jethro Bodine's sister (also played by Max Baer, Jr. ), has a budding romance with a slick traveling salesman, Jasper, who invites her to a dance in Hooterville. Hooterville is a town, a valley, and

218-560: A PC computer adventure game for operating system MS-DOS was developed by Synergistic Software, Inc. and published in 1993 by Capstone Software. There%27ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight " A Hot Time in the Old Town ", also titled as " There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight ", is an American popular song , copyrighted and perhaps composed in 1896 by Theodore August Metz with lyrics by Joe Hayden. Metz

327-450: A brain surgeon, a fry cook, a millwright, a street car conductor, a spy, a telephone lineman, a soda jerk , a chauffeur, a USAF general, a sculptor, a restaurant owner, a psychiatrist, a bookkeeper for Milburn Drysdale's bank, a talent agent for "cousin" Bessie and "Cousin Roy" (see below), and a Hollywood producer. More often than not, his goal is merely to meet pretty girls. Miss Hathaway has

436-530: A bucolic town on railroad tracks in western Pennsylvania . Also, characters on Green Acres visit New York City on occasion and apparently return within a day's time. In the Petticoat Junction episode "The Valley's New Owner", it is revealed that Hooterville was in a Confederate state during the Civil War . Missouri and Kentucky were Union states during the war, but they were claimed and for

545-466: A country music star, Jethro refuses to be his agent when Roy becomes a success. Jethro does not appear in the third- or second-to-last episodes, but Baer remains billed in the title credits. Baer is the only surviving main cast member. Mr. Milburn Drysdale (portrayed by Raymond Bailey in 247 episodes) is the Clampetts' banker, confidant, and next-door neighbor. He is obsessed with money and to keep

654-401: A county, and has been described as "a place simultaneously Southern and Midwestern, but in a vague sort of way". Little concrete or reliable information can be gleaned from the two shows about the place, as references in individual episodes are rife with inconsistencies, contradictions, geographic impossibilities and continuity errors . The writers of the two shows often changed the details about

763-498: A crush on Jethro for most of the series' run. In 1999, TV Guide ranked Jane Hathaway number 38 on its list titled "50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time". The show's theme song , "The Ballad of Jed Clampett", was written by producer and writer Paul Henning and originally performed by bluegrass artists Foggy Mountain Boys , led by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs . The song is sung by Jerry Scoggins (backed by Flatt and Scruggs) over

872-497: A crush on him, but he is oblivious to this. Of all the Clampett clan, he is the most eager to embrace city life. Jethro has a huge appetite — in one episode, he eats a jetliner's entire supply of steaks, in another he tries to set himself up as a Hollywood agent for cousin "Bessie" the chimpanzee – with a fee of 10,000 bananas for Bessie and 1,000 for him. When "Cousin Roy" ( Roy Clark ) comes from "the hills" to Beverly Hills to become

981-749: A factory in Dubuque , both of which are real towns in Iowa. Also, later in Season 5, in episode 29, Sam Drucker mentions a guy from Cedar Falls which is a real Iowa town 75 miles to the South-East of Mason City and 100 miles due West of Dubuque. Additionally, it is often said that a nearby town is called Springfield, which could mean Springfield, Illinois , Springfield, Missouri , or the Springfield Township, Cedar County, Iowa . However, "Springfield"

1090-413: A few solo recordings following the show's success, including Ryan's 1966 novelty single, "Granny's Miniskirt". The series generally features no country music beyond the bluegrass banjo theme song, although country star Roy Clark and the team of Flatt and Scruggs occasionally play on the program. Pop singer Pat Boone appears in one episode as himself, under the premise that he hails from the same area of

1199-450: A joint venture with CBS called CBS/Fox Video , released select episodes of Hillbillies on videocassette. After Viacom merged with CBS in 1999, Paramount Home Entertainment (the video division of Paramount Pictures, which was acquired by Viacom in 1994) took over the video rights. In 2006, Paramount announced plans to release the copyrighted episodes in boxed sets through CBS DVD later that year. The show's second season (consisting of

SECTION 10

#1732797773824

1308-459: A piece about a football game on March 8, 1890, placing in quotes the phrase, "there will be a hot time in the old town tomorrow tonight." Again, the placement within quotes suggests that the reader was expected to understand a reference to something else from popular culture. The song, or phrase from a song, was already part of American culture. The song was a favorite of the American military at

1417-588: A rabbit, although the first episode shows the oil being discovered by a surveyor for the OK Oil Company. The company pays Jed many millions of dollars for the right to drill on his land. Jed's cousin Pearl Bodine prods him to move to California now that he is wealthy and pressures him into taking her son Jethro along. The family moves into a mansion in upscale Beverly Hills, California, next door to Jed's banker, Milburn Drysdale, and his wife, Margaret, who

1526-510: A reportedly large cash payment settlement to employee Hamilton Morgen after Morgen sued the network. Morgen claimed CBS appropriated his submitted ideas and script for a show called Country Cousins to form The Beverly Hillbillies . The Beverly Hillbillies is still televised daily around the world in syndication. In the United States, the show is broadcast currently on MeTV , Circle , Classic Reruns TV , GAC Family and Laff and

1635-658: A scrap of paper, intending to write a march with that motif. He did indeed write the march the very next day. It was then used by the McIntyre and Heath Minstrels in their Street parades." An alternative suggestion is that Metz first heard the tune played in about 1893 at Babe Connor's brothel, known as the Castle, in St Louis, Missouri , where it was one of the songs performed by the entertainer known as Mama Lou (or Mammy Lou), with pianist Tom Turpin . Another alternative lists

1744-549: A time partially controlled by the Confederacy, which gave them stars in its battle flag. Florida and Louisiana were part of the Confederacy, but are excluded from this list because their elevations are too low (see below). An early scene in the 90-minute series pilot (a two-hour presentation with commercials) takes place in the board room of the C&;FW Railroad Company, which operates the steam-powered Hooterville Cannonball and

1853-501: A very tiny international airport (Pixley International Airport, the hub of Trans Pixley Airlines) and a television station, WPIXL, Channel 5. Other towns in the area include Crabwell Corners (about 5–8 miles (13 km) away), Stankwell Falls (distance never stated), Bug Tussle or Bugtussle (about 20–25 miles (40 km) away), Bleedswell (distance never stated), the unnamed county seat (about 75 miles (121 km) away), Springfield (distance never stated), Appleville (300 miles away), and

1962-530: Is Drysdale's loyal, well-educated, efficient secretary at the Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills. She is genuinely fond of the family and tries to shield them from her boss's greed. Miss Hathaway frequently has to "rescue" Drysdale from his schemes, receiving little or no thanks for her efforts. The Clampetts consider her family; even Granny, the one most averse to living in California, likes her. Jane has

2071-538: Is Jed's mother-in-law, so is often called "Granny Clampett" in spite of her last name and despite the fact that in the pilot episode Milburn Drysdale refers to her as Jed's mother. She is a descendant of the Moses clan, who feuded with another family, the Bodkins, and drove them out of Napoleon, Tennessee. In Season 9, Episode 23, Granny states that she is "from Limestone, Tennessee ". Granny has an abrasive personality and

2180-495: Is a common (and geographically ambiguous) fictional city name on television, as seen in such shows as The Simpsons , Guiding Light , and Father Knows Best . A larger nearby town is called "Pixley", and there is an ongoing rivalry between the two communities. Pixley is the closest town to Hooterville, about 50 miles away. Pixley comically boasts several things that no small farm town in America would have. Among them are

2289-483: Is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen , Irene Ryan , Donna Douglas , and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri who move to posh Beverly Hills, California after striking oil on their land. The show was produced by Filmways and was created by Paul Henning . It

SECTION 20

#1732797773824

2398-446: Is appalled by the hillbilly Clampetts. The Clampetts bring an unsophisticated, simple, moral lifestyle to the wealthy and sometimes superficial community. Double entendres and cultural misconceptions are the core of the sitcom's humor. Plots often involve Drysdale's outlandish efforts to keep the Clampetts' money in his bank and his wife's efforts to rid the neighborhood of "those hillbillies". The family's periodic attempts to return to

2507-544: Is based on the Burris Hotel, a real hotel that existed in Eldon, Missouri . Paul Henning, the producer and creator of the show, was married to the granddaughter of the owner of the hotel and often visited. The Burris hotel became the "Shady Rest Hotel" on Petticoat Junction . The Shady Rest is located 25 miles (40 km) down the tracks from "downtown" Hooterville, just inside the Hooterville county line. In one episode, it

2616-796: Is distributed by CBS Media Ventures , the syndication arm of CBS Television Studios and the CBS network. It was previously distributed by CBS Enterprises, Viacom Enterprises , Paramount Domestic Television , and CBS Paramount Domestic Television (all through corporate changes involving TV distribution rights to the early CBS library). The repeats of the show that debuted on CBS Daytime on September 5–9, 1966, as "Mornin' Beverly Hillbillies" through September 10, 1971, and on September 13–17, 1971, as "The Beverly Hillbillies" lasted up to winter 1971–72. It aired at 11:00–11:30 a.m. Eastern/10:00-10:30 a.m. Central through September 3, 1971, then moved to 10:30–11:00 a.m. Eastern/9:30–10:00 a.m. Central for

2725-518: Is founded is an encouragement to ignorance... But it is funny. What can I do?" Regardless of the poor reviews, the show shot to the top of the Nielsen ratings shortly after its premiere and stayed there for several seasons. During its first two seasons, it was the number-one program in the U.S; during its second season, it earned some of the highest ratings ever recorded for a half-hour sitcom. The season-two episode "The Giant Jackrabbit" also became

2834-435: Is ignorant about nearly every aspect of modern California life. In one episode, he attends a local secretarial school and is so disruptive that he is given a diploma at the end of the day to keep him from returning. In real life, Max Baer Jr. has a bachelor's degree in business administration , minoring in philosophy, from Santa Clara University . Many story lines involve Jethro's endless career search. He considers becoming

2943-401: Is in about the right location, actually refers to itself as "Hooterville" . (Although that may or may not be because of Green Acres . The link leads to one local author's explanation of why they call themselves "Hooterville," in which he states that the origin of the name pre-dates the show.) In some ways, the best argument is for Kentucky. Sam Drucker, Hooterville grocer and postmaster, gives

3052-577: Is incorrect since two young people recently moved away and the elevation is down to 18 inches. When Oliver Douglas asks him how the elevation could change, Sam explains that "Hooterville is subject to sinking spells." Oliver refers to Hooterville as being "2 1 ⁄ 2 inches above sea level" in the Green Acres episode "Lisa's Jam Session". The exact location of Hooterville is never stated on Petticoat Junction or Green Acres . "The weather in Texas"

3161-466: Is indicated with broad lines on the map, with all of the towns along the mainline indicated with white dots. As Curtis proudly points to the map, calling the C&FW the "most modern, most progressive ...," he is stopped short by a small scrawl on the map. When the camera zooms in, the scrawl turns out to be the cut-off spur line between the towns of Hooterville and Pixley, which the map clearly registers as being in south-central North Dakota. Hooterville

3270-558: Is located in Drucker's Store. One of Sam Drucker's quirks is that he insists on putting on his official postal worker hat and standing behind a small regulation post office grille next to the register whenever his role switches from storekeeper to postmaster. Drucker takes great pride in his association with the Post Office Department , and he's also very pleased that his patrons must come to his store to get their mail. In

3379-407: Is mentioned in the episode "A Cottage for Two: Part 3", when Kate is talking to the girls about their father. He would go fishing, pitch horseshoes, and talk about the weather in Texas, she tells them in a conversation. The shows are rife with conflicting clues, so assigning a location will never be decisive. It cannot even be determined if Hooterville is in the east or the west of the United States. In

Hooterville - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-456: Is naive about the world outside the rural area where he lived but has a great deal of wisdom and common sense. His forebears are revealed in series 1, episode 25, to have come to America before the Mayflower arrived. However, he later denies this to avoid offending Mrs. Drysdale. He is the widower of Granny's daughter, Rose Ellen (Buddy Ebsen was only 5 years younger than Irene Ryan). He is

3597-489: Is nearly 300 miles (480 km) away. Eldon, Missouri, the inspiration for the show, is right at 350 miles (560 km), as the crow flies, from Chicago. Numerous cities and towns are nearly 300 miles from Chicago in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kentucky. In one Petticoat Junction episode, Billie Jo talks about going to the big city Omaha, Nebraska , and in another Uncle Joe talks about going to Sioux City, Iowa . In

3706-524: Is not in New York, based on two episodes from season one of Green Acres . In episode 21, "What's in a Name?", Ralph Monroe wishes to have her name changed to Sophia. When Oliver presents his petition to the court, he is informed by the judge that "this state does not have a reciprocal agreement with New York State. Therefore, your credentials are not acceptable. You are not authorized to practice law in this state." In episode 24, "The Deputy", Oliver points out

3815-455: Is now, and Alan says that he went with his friends to Hooterville, to which Charlie replies "It never rains in Hooterville". In the song " The Revolution Will Not Be Televised ", singer Gil Scott-Heron refers to "Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction" as symbols of mainstream viewing habits that "will no longer be so damned relevant" when the "Revolution" comes. The Beverly Hillbillies The Beverly Hillbillies

3924-536: Is proven in the episode of Petticoat Junction entitled "The Valley's New Owner" (S7 Ep18). While discussing a deed showing Orrin Pike was the owner of the entire Hooterville Valley, Dr. Janet Craig says to Orrin Pike "the Confederate governor that signed this, gave away land that he didn't own." In numerous episodes, it is said that they are close to Chicago . In one Green Acres episode, Mr. Haney says that Chicago

4033-406: Is quick to anger but is often overruled by Jed. She is a devout Confederate and fancies herself a Baptist Christian (" dunked , not sprinkled "). A self-styled "M.D." ("mountain doctor"), Granny uses her " white lightning " brew as a form of anesthesia when performing painful treatments such as leech bleeding or tooth pulling. She often refers to the concoction as " rheumatize medicine ". Like

4142-871: Is revealed that the Shady Rest was built right on the county line between Hooterville county and Pixley county. The situation is solved when the Hooterville Cannonball tows the hotel several feet until it is fully within the Hooterville boundary. The hotel is run by widow Kate Bradley (played by Bea Benaderet ) and her lazy-but-lovable uncle, Uncle Joe Carson ( Edgar Buchanan ). Kate has three daughters, "boy crazy" Billie Jo ( Jeannine Riley , 1963–1965; Gunilla Hutton , 1965–1966; Meredith MacRae , 1967–1970), sexy bookworm Bobbie Jo ( Pat Woodell , 1963–1965; Lori Saunders , 1965–1970), and "tomboy" Betty Jo ( Linda Kaye Henning , 1963–1970). From 1968 to 1970, actress June Lockhart played Dr. Janet Craig, whose office

4251-534: Is run by Fire Chief "Uncle Joe" Carson . The firefighters include Joe, Sam Drucker, Ralph and Alf Monroe, Mr. Haney and an assortment of other Hootervillians. Joe is also the conductor of the Hooterville Volunteer Fire Department Band, which is a brass ensemble marching band that includes Charley Pratt (trumpet), Floyd Smoot (tuba), Ben Miller (French horn), Grandpa Miller (cymbals), and Sam Drucker (bass drum). The only song

4360-526: Is shocked to learn that an obscure (and fictitious) postal regulation requires him to carry the entire route himself— by bicycle. (This situation is, obviously, soon corrected.) In the 1990 made-for-television film Return to Green Acres , actor Frank Cady in character as Sam Drucker states that the Hooterville ZIP Code is 40516½; the real-life ZIP codes 40516 and 40517 are used by the city of Lexington, Kentucky . The volunteer fire department

4469-433: Is the closest thing Hooterville has to a social club. The locals often come in to chit-chat, or to play checkers, or to rant and rave about community issues. And, on election day, they cast their votes at Drucker's. Exterior shots of the store show a sign that says "Sam Drucker's General Store", but everyone (including Sam Drucker) mostly calls the store either "Drucker's Store" or just "Drucker's". The Hooterville post office

Hooterville - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-608: Is the name of a place on KY 87 in Monroe County, Kentucky, on the Tennessee border west of Gamaliel. One argument against Kentucky is that one episode says the county seat is 75 miles from Hooterville, and no Kentucky county is that large. The name Hooterville approximates Hooverville , a term used for the shantytowns that emerged during the Great Depression . But it also approximates Hooversville, Pennsylvania ,

4687-519: The Great Smoky Mountains , where Granny says she is from: "When I was a girl back in Tennessee, I set so many boys' hearts on fire that they took to calling that neck of the woods The Smoky Mountains." So is it Hooterville, North Carolina? It is not the most popular guess, or the only guess, but it does follow a major bit of storyline affecting two different shows. It is worth mentioning that the town of Hendersonville, North Carolina, which

4796-468: The Green Acres episode "Music to Milk By", the call letters of the nearby Pixley radio station that Eb Dawson listens to begin with the letter W, rather than K, suggesting that Pixley and Hooterville are east of the Mississippi River. The Pixley television station's call letters are WPIXL, which would put it east of the river. (There were some early exceptions to the W and K nomenclature.) Even

4905-404: The energy crisis . Since Granny had gone on to "her re-ward", it was up to Granny's centenarian "Maw" ( Imogene Coca ) to divulge the secret brew's ingredients. Subplots included Jethro playing an egocentric, starlet-starved Hollywood producer, Jane and her boss ( Werner Klemperer ) having a romance, and Elly May owning a large petting zoo. The four main characters finally got together by the end of

5014-628: The 100 most-watched television episodes in American history. It accumulated seven Emmy nominations during its run. It remains in syndicated reruns, and its ongoing popularity spawned a 1993 film adaptation by 20th Century Fox . The series starts with Jed Clampett, a poor, widowed hillbilly who lives with his daughter and mother-in-law near an oil-rich swamp in Silver Dollar City in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. The opening sequence shows Jed discovering oil while shooting at

5123-585: The 1960s, rural post offices were often located in stores, and some still exist even today. The Green Acres fourth-season episode "Old Mail Day" is about the day when Sam Drucker cleans his store and Hootervillians gather to receive the lost old mail that he finds. A lost letter from 1917 informs Fred Ziffel that he has been drafted into the army to fight in World War I . There is no Rural Free Delivery (RFD) in Hooterville; when new resident Oliver Douglas petitions his Congressman for it to be initiated, Drucker

5232-430: The 1981 reunion TV movie, Elly May is the head of a zoo. Jethro (portrayed by Max Baer Jr. in 272 episodes) is the dim-witted son of Jed's cousin, Pearl Bodine (in a customary practice, he addresses Jed – his once-removed elder cousin – as "Uncle Jed", just as his second cousin, Elly May, addresses Jethro's mother as "Aunt Pearl"). Pearl's mother and Jed's father were siblings. Jethro drives

5341-439: The 50-mile spur between the hamlets of Hooterville and Pixley upon which it runs. The senior management team of the C&FW are gathered for a presentation by (presumably) the president of the company, Norman Curtis, in which he proudly exclaims that the "super-charged diesel locomotive," a large model of which is on the conference room table, "is now standard equipment on the entire C&FW system." The curtains are then pulled on

5450-446: The Clampett family to their new home in California and stays on with them to further his education. In the first season, he is in the fifth grade, having spent three years in the fourth grade and two years in the first grade. The others boast of Jethro's "sixth-grade education". Jethro often speaks enthusiastically of his abilities in "cipherin'" (1 and 1 is 2, 2 and 2 is 4), and "gazintas" (4 gazinta 8 2 times, 3 gazinta 12 4 times), and he

5559-399: The Clampetts' $ 96,000,000 (in 1969; equivalent to $ 797,618,875 in 2023) in his Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills, Mr. Drysdale will go to great lengths to cater to their wishes. He often forces others, especially his long-suffering secretary, to help fulfill their outlandish requests. He is a descendant of the Bodkins family from Tennessee. It is revealed in the first season that Granny's clan,

SECTION 50

#1732797773824

5668-479: The Fire Department Band is seen more often on the shows than actual fire emergencies. The band actually pre-dates the fire department; it was used in fundraisers to help establish the department. The local tourist attractions and events seen and referred to on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres give a (sometimes humorous) picture of old-fashioned small-town life: Petticoat Junction (1963–1970)

5777-503: The Hooterville community at will for the purpose of cracking a joke, and they left certain details (such as its home state) intentionally vague and unexplained. The known citizens of Hooterville include: Kate Bradley, her Uncle Joe Carson , and her three daughters Betty Jo , Bobbie Jo , and Billie Jo reside at the Shady Rest Hotel which is 25 miles outside of Hooterville. The citizens of Hooterville are out of touch with

5886-842: The Hub Saloon in the Grand Hotel (later renamed Imperial and today known as the Grand Imperial Hotel) in Silverton Colorado as the song's birthplace. One source states the song might be referring to the red-light district in Cripple Creek, Colorado . And yet one more version is Metz and his Minstrels were in Hot Springs, South Dakota , where Joe Hayden worked at the Evans Hotel. Hayden had

5995-402: The Moses family, feuded with the Bodkins family and drove them from Napoleon, Tennessee. A recurring comedic scene shows Drysdale angrily answering his phone only to find Jed on the other end of the line, at which point Drysdale's demeanor instantly changes to one of good humor and accommodation. Jane Hathaway (portrayed by Nancy Kulp in 246 episodes), whom the Clampetts address as "Miss Jane",

6104-505: The Salina Herald of Salina, Kansas, on December 31, 1891. The piece describes a fire in a Chicago hotel in which, coincidentally, the last notes played on an organ were "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town, To-night." The article apparently assumed that the reader would understand the reference and tune, suggesting that the musical phrase had an earlier origin. The Centralia Enterprise and Tribune of Centralia, Wisconsin, published

6213-547: The ZIP Code for Hooterville as 40516½ in the 1990 reunion movie Return to Green Acres . 40516 is a ZIP Code for Lexington, Kentucky , a city 375 miles (604 km) from Chicago. The character Mr. Haney on Green Acres says that Chicago is nearly 300 miles (480 km) away from Hooterville. Mr. Haney mentioned the "High Flyer Diner" — owned by one of his cousins — being on "Highway 27". US Route 27 passes through Lexington, Kentucky, and most importantly, right along

6322-400: The actual town of Pixley is not far from Porterville, and there is even a named place listed on some maps, south of Porterville, that is called Green Acres. An episode of the television series Two and a Half Men is titled "It Never Rains in Hooterville". In the episode, Alan Harper tells his brother Charlie about his disastrous rainy camp night with his son Jake. Charlie asks where Jake

6431-455: The back wall of the conference room (by none other than Homer Bedloe) to reveal a map of the C&FW Railroad line. The map shows that the C&FW system serves the northern Great Plains area of the United States, from Lake Superior in the east, into Montana and Wyoming in the west, as far south (but no farther) than Nebraska, and as far north as the Dakotas. The newly-updated C&FW system

6540-435: The band ever plays is " Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight ", and no matter how many times they rehearse it, they always play the song at half-speed and somewhat off-key. In the Green Acres episode "I Didn't Raise My Husband to be a Fireman", Oliver Douglas learns that a person has to be able to play an instrument in order to join the fire department. Joe Carson says this is because Hooterville has more parades than fires. Indeed,

6649-433: The boundary of ZIP Code 40516. In the Petticoat Junction episode "Betty Jo's Dog", they talk of sending the dog back on the train to Louisville. Also, Lexington, Kentucky, is near Springfield, Kentucky , and a nearby town of Hooterville is called "Springfield". That is the most common place name in the U.S., but the shows have frequent references to Bug Tussle or Bugtussle (sometimes identified as Granny's hometown), and that

SECTION 60

#1732797773824

6758-518: The cast. To this end, the show sometimes included extra verses of the theme song about Winston cigarettes and Kellogg's cereals. Perry Botkin composed many songs for The Beverly Hillbillies . Botkin's upbeat tune from Murder by Contract , played during scenes of sunny LA, signaled scenes at the Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills. The six main cast members participated on a 1963 Columbia soundtrack album, which featured original song numbers in character. Additionally, Ebsen, Ryan, and Douglas each made

6867-454: The complete first season on DVD. The fifth season was released on October 2, 2018. A three-act stage play based on the pilot was written by David Rogers in 1968. The Deadly Hillbillies, an interactive murder mystery, was written by John R. Logue using the core cast of characters as inspiration. This Gypsy Productions Murder Mystery Parody features characters such as Jed Clumpett, Daisy May Mostes, and Jane Hatchaway. Dell Comics adapted

6976-438: The country as the Clampetts, although Boone is a native of Jacksonville, Florida . The 1989 film UHF featured a "Weird Al" Yankovic parody music video, " Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies* ", combining " The Ballad of Jed Clampett " and English rock band Dire Straits ' 1985 hit song " Money for Nothing ". The Beverly Hillbillies received generally poor reviews from contemporary critics. The New York Times called

7085-422: The county has a population of around 3,000 citizens. And the sign at the Hooterville railroad station says that the town is situated at an elevation of 1,427 feet. However, on Green Acres , the population of Hooterville is said to be much smaller and the elevation much lower. In the episode "The Youth Center", general store owner Sam Drucker says that a sign showing the population as 48 and the elevation as 23 inches

7194-408: The door and the door was locked / I peeked through the blinds, thought my baby was dead / There was another man in the folding bed....". Metz heard the tune, copyrighted the music in his own name, and had it incorporated into a minstrel show, Tuxedo Girls , with revised lyrics. The dialect and narrative of the song imitate those of African-American revival meetings . The song was referenced by

7303-411: The end of each episode. The alternate version is also the version seen on Amazon Prime Video. With the exception of the public domain episodes, the copyrights to the series were renewed by Orion Television. However, any new compilation of Hillbillies material will be copyrighted by either MPI Media Group or CBS, depending on the content of the material used. For many years, 20th Century Fox , through

7412-399: The family dog, Duke (an old Bloodhound ), a number of pets live on the Clampett estate thanks to Elly May's love of animals. She is a terrible cook where family members and anyone they know cringe whenever she takes over the kitchen. Elly May is easily in her 20s, but Granny usually promotes her age as "14" since an unmarried mountain woman as old as Elly May is considered an old maid . In

7521-408: The field interviewer. This special was ranked as the fourth-most watched television program of the week — a major surprise given the mediocre rating for the 1981 television film. It was a rare tribute from the "Tiffany network", which owed much of its success in the 1960s to the series, but has often seemed embarrassed by it in hindsight, often downplaying the show in retrospective television specials on

7630-524: The first episode of the series a map shows the railroad line surrounding Hooterville, it appears to be a branch line with the two closes cities on the main line being Skidmore and Melton both locations in Missouri with the first being a city and the latter an unincorporated town in the Ozarks. In Season 5, episode 20, Uncle Joe talks about a time when a "hayseed" from Mason City ran off with a girl that owned

7739-537: The hills where he purchased some land and spends some of his days whittling. Nancy Kulp had died in 1991 and was little referred to beyond the multitude of film clips that dotted the special. When asked if bears no grudge against Drysdale, Jed states "I never bear no grudge against any man. The way I see it, I lost some money, but Mr. Drysdale lost his freedom. I don't think I'm bad off at all". Jed then tells his interviewer that he goes into town to ring up Elly May and that Jethro brings his children around often. He then takes

7848-474: The hotel and the train, though, there is little resemblance between Hooterville and Eldon, Missouri. One of the pre-production working titles for Petticoat Junction was Ozark Widow . In one episode, the characters on The Beverly Hillbillies go back home to find a husband for Elly Mae. "Back home" turns out to be the Missouri Ozarks theme park Silver Dollar City , which is treated as a real town on

7957-465: The items from shelves behind the counter. Drucker sells typical food and household goods, and at times sells such oddities as nail polish that's also a bathtub sealant, as well as dehydrated chickens: "Just add water and bones, and let it sit for a couple hours." He also keeps a pickle barrel full of plastic pickles. Customers are allowed to shop on credit, although Drucker frequently (and exasperatedly) reminds them of their outstanding bills. Drucker's Store

8066-445: The last season on CBS Daytime. Fifty-five episodes of the series are in the public domain (all 36 season-one episodes and 19 season-two episodes), because Orion Television , successor to Filmways, neglected to renew their copyrights. As a result, these episodes have been released on home video and DVD on many low-budget labels and shown on low-power television stations and low-budget networks in 16-mm prints. In many video prints of

8175-500: The license plate on his Lincoln Continental to Officer Heston Haney, a blue and yellow New York plate 4G-8561. Officer Haney says "Oh, New York plates, huh. You live there?" to which Oliver replies "No, I live here". When Officer Haney finds out that Oliver has lived in the state for 7 months he writes Oliver a citation stating "We have a law. All out-of-state residents who reside in state more than six months are required to replace their out-of-state plates with in-state." When handing Oliver

8284-503: The man interviewing with him to meet some friends unaware that he struck another area of oil. The scene closes with Jed dancing to the theme song with Jerry Scoggins while Earl Scruggs and Roy Clark (who is substituting for the late Lester Flatt) playing the music. The special was released on VHS tape by CBS/Fox Video in 1995 and as a bonus feature on the Official Third Season DVD Set in 2009. In 1974, CBS made

8393-424: The most-watched telecast up to the time of its airing and remains the most-watched half-hour episode of a sitcom , as well. The series enjoyed excellent ratings throughout its run, although it had fallen out of the top 20 most-watched shows during its final season. In 1997, the season-three episode "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" was ranked number 62 on " TV Guide ' s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time ". The show

8502-434: The mountains are often the result of Granny feeling slighted by the "city folk". Three of the main characters – Jed, Granny and Elly May – appear in all 274 episodes. Jethro (272 episodes) is not in the last two episodes of the series, having gone into hiding to avoid an anticipated marriage proposal. Good-natured patriarch Jed Clampett (portrayed by Buddy Ebsen ) has little formal education and

8611-454: The name of the town as "Hootersville". A running gag is that Hooterville is so remote that the only way to get there is by parachute. However, a plot hole shows that Hooterville is connected on a railroad and has a nearby airport in Pixley. On the series Petticoat Junction , Hooterville appears to be a fairly large town, able to support a high school and several other institutions. In 1963,

8720-513: The network's history and rarely inviting cast members to participate in such all-star broadcasts. The Legend of The Beverly Hillbillies special ignored several plot twists of the television film, notably that Jethro was now not a film director but a leading Los Angeles physician. Critter-loving Elly May was still in California with her animals. Jed was back home in the Hills where he declined interviews until now. He also mentioned how he got richer in

8829-502: The only child of Jed and Rose Ellen Clampett, is a mountain beauty with the body of a pin-up girl and the soul of a tomboy . In a very early episode, Jed tells Elly May that she is the spitting image of her mother. She can throw a fastball and " wrassle " most men to a fall, and she can be tender with her friends, animals, and family. She says once that animals can be better companions than people, but as she grows older, she allows that "fellas kin be more fun than critters." In addition to

8938-514: The opening and end credits of each episode. Flatt and Scruggs subsequently cut their own version of the theme (with Flatt singing) for Columbia Records ; released as a single, it reached number 44 on Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart and number one on the Billboard Hot Country chart (the lone country chart-topper for the duo). As was customary in the early 1960s, the show's advertising sponsors were woven into bumpers involving

9047-418: The original, uncut versions of the first season's episodes, complete with their original theme music and opening sponsor plugs. Volume 1 has, among its bonus features, the alternate, unaired version of the pilot film, The Hillbillies Of Beverly Hills (the version of the episode that sold the series to CBS), and the "cast commercials" (cast members pitching the products of the show's sponsors) originally shown at

9156-490: The other Clampetts, she is known to take things literally, having thought Mrs. Drysdale had turned herself into a bird using black magic ( astrology ) and mistook an escaped kangaroo for a giant jackrabbit (but failed to convince anyone of its existence). Paul Henning discarded the idea of making Granny Jed's mother which would have changed the show's dynamics by making Granny the matriarch and Jed her subordinate. Elly May (portrayed by Donna Douglas in all 274 episodes),

9265-493: The outsiders within the fictional world of the shows have a hard time locating the town. Hooterville is so obscure that in one episode a fly covers it on a map; in another episode the only way a government bureaucrat can get to Hooterville is by parachute. In season 2, episode 9 – "The Hooterville Image" – Mr. Haney is talking with Mr. Ziffel, Mr. Kiley, and Mr. Drucker about the suits that Oliver wears while farming. Mr. Haney states that tourists see Oliver and think they are still in

9374-532: The outskirts of Chicago. During the Jethrine Bodine "crossover," Jed Clampett noted that he had never heard of the town before Granny mentioned it, indicating it is nowhere near the Clampett family's original shack (the location of which has also been the subject of speculation). The original inspiration for Petticoat Junction came from Paul Henning's wife, Ruth. As a child, Ruth traveled by train to her grandparents' hotel in Eldon, Missouri . Other than

9483-499: The public domain episodes from that season) was released on DVD in Region 1 on October 7, 2008, as "...The Official Second Season". The third season was released on February 17, 2009. Both seasons are available to be purchased together from major online retailers. On October 1, 2013, season four was released on DVD as a Walmart exclusive. It was released as a full retail release on April 15, 2014. On April 26, 2016, CBS/Paramount released

9592-409: The public domain episodes, the original theme music has been replaced by generic music due to copyright issues. Before his death, Paul Henning, whose estate now holds the original film elements to the public domain episodes, authorized MPI Home Video to release the best of the first two seasons on DVD, the first "ultimate collection" of which was released in the fall of 2005. These collections include

9701-520: The role that both started and stymied his career, so the character of Jethro Bodine was given to another actor, Ray Young. The film's plot had Jed back in his old homestead in Bugtussle, having divided his massive fortune among Elly May and Jethro, both of whom stayed on the West Coast. Jane Hathaway had become a Department of Energy agent and was seeking Granny's "White Lightnin'" recipe to combat

9810-487: The series into a comic book series in 1962. The art work was provided by Henry Scarpelli . The comic ran for 18 issues, ending in August 1967. In 1993, a film version of The Beverly Hillbillies was released starring Jim Varney as Jed Clampett and featuring Buddy Ebsen in a cameo as Barnaby Jones , the lead character in his long-running post- Hillbillies television series. Based on The Beverly Hillbillies movie,

9919-474: The show "strained and unfunny"; Variety called it "painful to sit through". Film professor Janet Staiger writes that "the problem for these reviewers was that the show confronted the cultural elite's notions of quality entertainment." The show did receive a somewhat favorable review from noted critic Gilbert Seldes in the December 15, 1962 TV Guide : "The whole notion on which The Beverly Hillbillies

10028-452: The show. At one point, Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies visits Hooterville and wants to marry Sam Drucker. When she is asked how she knows Sam Drucker, she replies "We is neighbors!" and then explains that Hooterville is just over the state line from her home state of Tennessee. According to this clue, Hooterville is in one of the eight states that border Tennessee. Of the eight states that border Tennessee, only North Carolina includes

10137-459: The shows share some characters, the humor in Green Acres is often far broader. The major overlap between the two shows is shopkeeper–postman–newsman Sam Drucker. In this series, the town is said to be named after Horace Hooter, who founded the town in 1868. According to Green Acres , Hooterville is in "the kangaroo state". When Oliver visits the governor, the governor gives him a plushie kangaroo as state memorabilia. Lisa consistently mispronounces

10246-625: The sign in the railroad station), Hooterville is too low to be in Colorado , Montana , New Mexico , Utah , or Wyoming , and too high to be in Delaware , Florida , Illinois , Indiana, Louisiana , or Rhode Island . Hooterville is not in any state that didn't exist prior to the end of the American Civil War, nor any state that wasn't part of the Confederacy, with the possible exceptions of Missouri, Kentucky, or West Virginia. This

10355-460: The son of Luke Clampett and his wife and has a sister called Myrtle. In episode 13, it is revealed that Jed's grandfather was 98 when he married Jed's grandmother, who was 18. In an early episode, Jed tells Elly May that she is the spitting image of her mother. He is usually the straight man to Granny and Jethro's antics. His catchphrase is, "Welllllll, doggies!" Daisy May Moses (portrayed by Irene Ryan in all 274 episodes), called "Granny" by all,

10464-650: The song from his "growing up" days in New Orleans, and he and Metz sat down and wrote the first version of "Hot Time" for a re-dedication ceremony for the local Chautauqua Park and Entertainment Center. The tale is part of the 2015 book And The Wind Whispered. According to a 1956 article in the Afro Magazine Section of the Baltimore Afro American , Mama Lou's original lyrics went: "Late last night about ten o'clock / I knocked at

10573-528: The story. According to viewer consensus, though filmed a mere decade after the final episode of the series, the movie lacked the series' original spirit on many fronts, among them being the deaths of Ryan and Bailey and Baer's absence, leaving only three of the six original cast members to reprise their respective roles. Further subtracting from the familiarity was that the legendary Clampett mansion (the Sumner Spaulding -designed Chartwell Mansion ) –

10682-470: The three towns must be of large physical areas. It is possible one or more of these were not "towns" as such but "Census Designated Places"; a CDP can cover a very large area yet only have a few dozen residents, whose street address, PO Box, and phone will be listed in that "town". In one episode of Petticoat Junction , surveyors determine that the Shady Rest Hotel was built on top of the city boundary line between Hooterville and Pixley. This could imply that

10791-452: The ticket Officer Haney says "Now there you are, there's your in-state traffic citation for havin' out-of-state plates." Hooterville is not in Kansas , Nebraska , South Dakota , Connecticut , or Indiana , based on character comments in the third season of Green Acres . Each of these states is referred to by characters as being elsewhere. Also, given its elevation of 1,427 feet (as seen on

10900-516: The times to the point of thinking that Calvin Coolidge is still President, although they later believe the current President to be Coolidge's successor Herbert Hoover . They are also quite provincial: they have never heard of the Federal income tax or tax refunds. Sam Drucker is the proprietor of Hooterville's general store. It is the kind of old-fashioned store where the grocer retrieves many of

11009-504: The two towns are much closer together than originally thought, but it may also reflect the geography of the northeastern or midwestern U.S., in which most of the land area is assigned to a town. Or, it could refer to separate districts on the county legislative body. There is a story that Hooterville is actually a Hollywood reinterpretation of “Porterville” in Tulare County, a farming community north of Los Angeles. This seems likely as

11118-544: The unnamed state capital (500 miles away). In Season 4, Episode 12 of Green Acres , "How to Get from Hooterville to Pixley Without Moving", the Douglas' farmhouse is thought to be in Pixley and the barn in Hooterville. By the episode's end, we learn there was an error and the farmhouse is in Hooterville after all. The barn is in Pixley and much to Oliver's surprise, the rest of his farm is in Crabwell Corners, so

11227-423: Was behind the register desk of the Shady Rest. Green Acres (1965–1971) is about a wealthy New York City couple, lawyer Oliver Wendell Douglas ( Eddie Albert ) and his diamond-clad wife, Lisa ( Eva Gabor ), who give up their Park Avenue penthouse for a run-down farm, "The Old Haney Place". In Green Acres Hooterville is portrayed as a much more wacky, surreal place than it is in Petticoat Junction . Though

11336-508: Was canceled in the spring of 1971 after 274 episodes. The CBS network, prompted by pressure from advertisers seeking a more sophisticated urban audience, decided to refocus its schedule on new urban-themed shows and, to make room for them, the two remaining series of CBS's rural-themed comedies were cancelled. This action came to be known as "the Rural Purge ". Pat Buttram , who played Mr. Haney on Green Acres , famously remarked, "It

11445-495: Was followed by two other Henning-inspired "country cousin" series on CBS: Petticoat Junction and its spin-off Green Acres , which reversed the rags-to-riches, country-to-city model of The Beverly Hillbillies . The Beverly Hillbillies ranked among the top 20 most-watched programs on television for eight of its nine seasons, ranking as the No.1 series of the year during its first two seasons, with 16 episodes that still remain among

11554-508: Was previously on TBS Superstation , Nick at Nite , TV Land , Hallmark Channel , and Superstation WGN . A limited number of episodes from the earlier portions of the series run have turned up in the public domain and as such are seen occasionally on many smaller networks such as Retro TV and MyFamily TV . MeTV airs The Beverly Hillbillies Saturday mornings at 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., on Sundays at 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. and weeknights at 9 p.m. (all Eastern/Pacific Time) The show

11663-464: Was the band leader of the McIntyre and Heath Minstrels . One history of the song reports: "While on tour with the McIntyre and Heath Minstrels, their train arrived at a place called 'Old Town'. From their train window, [Metz] could see a group of children starting a fire, near the tracks. One of the other minstrels remarked that 'there'll be a hot time in the old town tonight'. Metz noted the remark on

11772-477: Was the year CBS cancelled everything with a tree – including Lassie." In 1981, Return of the Beverly Hillbillies television film, written and produced by series creator Henning, was aired on the CBS network. Irene Ryan had died in 1973, and Raymond Bailey had died in 1980. The script acknowledged Granny's passing, but featured Imogene Coca as Granny's mother. Max Baer decided against reprising

11881-626: Was unavailable for a location shoot as the owners' lease was too expensive. Henning himself admitted sheer embarrassment when the finished product aired, blaming his inability to rewrite the script due to the 1981 Writers Guild of America strike . In 1993, Ebsen, Douglas, and Baer reunited onscreen for the only time in the CBS-TV retrospective television special, The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies hosted by Mac Davis and written by Al Bendix, Tino Insana , and Mike Rowe while Dakin Matthews served as

#823176