Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., better known as Buddy Ebsen, became famous for his role as Jed Clampett in the television sitcom ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ (1962 – 1971). He later starred as the title character in the detective series ‘Barnaby Jones’ (1973 – 1980).
He received positive reviews for his role as Davy in the Walt Disney series ‘Davy Crockett’ (1953 – 1954) and Jimbo Cobb in ‘The Twilight Zone’ (1960 – 1961).
His highest rated performances on the big screen came in ‘Broadway Melody of 1938’ (1937), ‘Attack’ (1956) and ‘That’s Entertainment III’ (1994).
He lost out on his original role as the Tin Man in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939) due to illness caused by aluminium dust in his makeup. His performance in the big screen version of ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ in 1993, did not match up to his performance in the series on television.
He was last seen in the series ‘King of the Hill’ (1999) before he died of a respiratory failure in 2003.