Following Appearance On 'Beverly Hillbillies' Donna Douglas Finds Husband

Nov 14, 2020 by apost team

The Beverly Hillbillies is an iconic 1960s American sitcom. The show was a comedy about the Clampetts, a backwoods family that moves to Beverly Hills, CA after finding oil on their land and striking it rich.

It was a classic fish-out-of-water series, with many of the laughs coming because of the Clampett's unfamiliarity with the Beverly Hills way of life. The show featured many talented performers. One of these performers was the late Donna Douglas.

Douglas played Ellie May Clampett, the only daughter of the newfound millionaire, Jed Clampett. Many may remember her performance on-screen, but some may not know the fascinating tale of her life. Throughout the airing of this classic show, Douglas found love, fame, and friendships.

Like the character of Ellie May Clampett, Donna Douglas didn't have a privileged life growing up. She was born in Louisiana on September 26th, 1932. Douglas grew up poor, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Instead, she played basketball and softball in high school and decided to pursue her education at Rhema Bible Training Center in Oklahoma. She was a quiet young woman and grew up in a very small town. Like many women her age and from that area, Douglas married young. By the age of 16, she was married to Roland John Bourgeois, Jr.

While the actress admits to being naïve during this time, she also states that she felt she was just taking the steps into adulthood that she needed to take. When she was 21, Douglas had already given birth to a son, Danny P. Bourgeois. Like most marriages that begin that young, it was not destined to last. The couple divorced and Douglas decided at that point that she wanted to pursue modeling and acting.

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Donna Douglas knew she had to catch everyone's attention. In 1957, she won the "Miss Baton Rouge" and "Miss New Orleans" pageants. People began to notice her beauty on a different scale. The young woman made the decision she was going to move to New York and pursue stardom.

Like Ellie May Clampett, Douglas was not very worldly at the time. She admits to not knowing that New York had more than one airport. Since she was from a small town, grew up poor, and her parents didn't own a car, meaning that her exposure to anything in the outside world was fairly limited. Despite this fact, she bravely pressed on and pursued her dream.

When she got to New York, she got her first job as a print-ad model for toothpaste advertisements. Little did she know she was destined to be a huge star.

Sometimes a role is a perfect fit for an actor or actress auditioning for it. In the case of Ellie May Clampett, Douglas was made to play that part. Just like Ellie May in The Beverly Hillbillies, Douglas often felt out of place in the hustle and bustle of a big city. Upon hearing that the role was open, the young actress traveled out to Hollywood, CA to audition.

On her way back from the audition, Douglas was involved in a car accident, as she detailed in a Guideposts piece. Someone rear-ended her car and the collision put the young actress into the hospital. With only a couple of days until screentests, she knew that she was in danger of losing the part of Ellie May to one of the other young ladies CBS had been considering.

Despite still not being 100 percent, Douglas made her way to the screen test and reminded everyone why they had given her the part. At the screen test, CBS executives asked her to milk a goat, according to the piece Douglas wrote for Guideposts. Being a small-town southern girl, Douglas had milked cows before, so she just went along with it. She got the part and became a huge star, getting to meet many interesting people, forging great relationships, and even falling in love along the way

During the television show's run, Douglas became very close to many people involved with the production, including fellow co-stars, Max Baer Jr. and Buddy Ebsen. Baer played Jethro Bodine and Ebsen played Jed Clampett.

Her relationship with Buddy Ebsen was very much like the father/daughter relationship they had on-screen. Douglas stated that she loved him like a father and that he reminded her of her own biological father. When Ebsen passed away in 2003 at the age of 95, Douglas and Baer Jr. delivered eulogies for him. They frequently visited him in the hospital when he was ill. Their friendship transcended the show and lasted until he passed away.

The actress also found love on the set of The Beverly Hillbillies. She fell for and married the show's director Robert M. Leeds in 1971. The two were married until their divorce in 1980. After the show was canceled, Douglas went onto star in many more shows and films, rubbing elbows with greats like Elvis Presley and Dean Martin.

This story is impressive because it proves that following a dream and working hard can lead to success. Despite her modest beginnings, Douglas was able to work her way into achieving her dreams. It's a good reminder that we can attain the success we want.

In 2015, Douglas passed away at a hospital 82 years old after losing her fight with pancreatic cancer, according to The New York Times.

What do you think of the story of Donna Douglas? Can you believe all the love, success, and friendships she had in her life? Let us know and pass this story on to keep Douglas' memory alive.