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canceled + renewed TV shows - TV Series Finale

   

The Beverly Hillbillies: What Happened in the Last Episode “Jethro Returns”

Published: September 27, 2009

Beverly HillbilliesIn 1962, a truly strange TV show hit the airwaves, The Beverly Hillbillies. The sitcom revolves around a poor mountaineer, Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen), who discovers oil on his backwoods property. Now a multi-millionaire, he’s encouraged to move to Beverly Hills with his spunky mother-in-law, “Granny” (Irene Ryan), beautiful daughter Elly May (Donna Douglas), and dim-witted nephew Jethro (Max Baer). They try to understand their strange new surroundings and are aided by selfish banker Milburn Drysdale (Raymond Bailey) and his bookish secretary, Miss Jane Hathaway (Nancy Kulp).

It may be hard to imagine it now but in its day, The Beverly Hillbillies was a massive hit. Though hated by most critics, several episodes of the series are among the most-watched TV episodes in history, having drawn as much as 44% of the viewing households. A 1964 episode titled “The Giant Jackrabbit” is still the most-watched half-hour program of all time.

When the show was cancelled in 1971 after nine seasons, the sitcom was still popular. However, the networks and advertisers had started to pay attention to demographics and the Hillibillies audience wasn’t as desirable. The network also cancelled Green Acres, Mayberry R.F.D., and Hee Haw. As Green Acre’s Pat Buttram said, “It was the year CBS killed everything with a tree in it.”

As a result of the abrupt cancellation, the Beverly Hillbillies cast and the crew weren’t able to film any kind of finish for the series. The sitcom ended with a rather typical installment.

In the preceding episodes, Jethro learns that a “homely” childhood sweetheart, Louella Aden (Hannah Aden), is coming to town. He believes that she wants to marry him and goes into hiding. Unknown to him, she’s now a knock-out and is arriving to just get into show business.

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Miss Jane falls in love with a handsome birdwatcher named Robert Audubon. It turns out that he’s actually an out-of-work actor named Dick Bremerkamp (Petticoat Junction’s Mike Minor) who’s just using her to get to Elly May and her family’s fortune. Granny is thrilled when Robert starts wooing Elly because he tells her that he’s Robert A. Crockett, a descendant of Davy Crockett. Robert tells Mr. Drysdale that he’s a member of the wealthy Getty family and the banker immediately likes him as well.

As the last episode begins, Granny is jumping the gun and planning Elly’s marriage to Robert. Jed is doing repairs to the mansion’s foundation. They go inside the house for a jack rabbit breakfast and Jed leaves his bucket of mortar outside. Inside, Granny tells Jed that she’s figured out a way to get Jethro to come out of hiding. She’s stopped leaving the bucket of viddles out front as she had been doing. They hear the car pull up, but it quickly pulls away. They go outside and realize the bucket of mortar is gone and suspect Jethro will think it was a bucket of grits.

At the bank, Elly and Jane confront Drysdale over his treatment of Elly’s monkey. The greedy banker’s made him carry a sandwich board around town, advertising the bank. Elly threatens to tell her Pa so Drysdale makes the chimp the advertising manager for the bank.

Back at the mansion, Police Officer Massey (played by the show’s longtime music composer, Curt Massey) brings a bearded and very sick Jethro home. While Jethro suffers, Granny gets caught up telling the cop about the beauty of Tennessee. Eventually she gets around to helping the boy and takes him away. Jed offers the cop some lunch but, having seen the effects of Granny’s grits, the officer makes a speedy getaway.

Jed calls Miss Jane to ask her to tell Elly that Jethro is home safe. Miss Jane tells him that Robert is out giving Elly her second driving lesson. We see the lesson and Elly’s still a terrible driver and barely pays attention.

Mr. Drysdale and Miss JaneAt home, Granny pulls the mortar out of Jethro’s stomach and, within minutes, he’s hungry again. Granny scares Jethro away again by talking about wedding plans. He thinks they’re for him. But, before Jethro goes, he tells her to keep leaving food out for him. “But this time no grits! Please!”

At the bank, Miss Jane has just finished typing up a poem for her sweetheart, Robert. Elly returns from her driving lesson and asks if she could copy the poem to practice her typing. She tells Miss Jane that Robert’s at the mansion, giving Granny an old confederate flag that his great, great grandfather carried into battle.

Drysdale sees Elly typing the poem and believes that Elly loves the wealthy Robert Getty. The banker goes to the mansion to tell Robert and privately encourages him to take Elly immediately to Las Vegas to get married. Drysdale even gives him money so that he can leave immediately. Drysdale returns to the bank very happy and gloats to Miss Jane about the big financial merger he’s orchestrated.

On their way to Vegas, Robert reveals his plans and Elly’s outraged, believing that Robert is Miss Jane’s beau. He’s confused and asks about the poem. She reveals that Miss Jane had written it and he’s sick. He offers to let Elly drive back to the bank, hoping that they might not make it.

When Jed and Jethro come to the bank for Elly, Miss Jane tells Jed that she’s gone to get married in Vegas to the Getty heir. Drysdale enters and they’re all confused. When Elly and Robert return, it becomes clear that the actor has been playing multiple parts. He comes clean and Drysdale demands his money back. The actor only has part of it, since the rest had to be put towards repairing Miss Jane’s car (from Elly’s driving).

Drysdale tells the swindler that he’s no longer an out-of-work actor. The banker puts him to work washing windows, replacing Elly’s chimp. End of series.

Some of the cast would return for a 1981 made-for-TV movie on CBS, Return of the Beverly Hillbillies. Only Ebsen, Douglas, and Kulp returned and it lacked the charm of the original series. The movie was also not a success in the ratings.

Much more fulfilling was The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies. This May 1993 special reunited Ebsen, Douglas, Baer, and others in a “mocumentary” on CBS. It was the fourth most watched program of the week.

A feature film version of Hillbillies was released in October 1993. It didn’t feature the original cast and wasn’t a box office success, grossing just $45 million domestically. The movie is notable however in that it features Ebsen in his final movie appearance as Detective Barnaby Jones, a character he played for eight years after Hillbillies was cancelled.

Much to the chagrin of the critics who lambasted the show many years ago, the original series remains very popular today however and is a rerun staple of TV Land.


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Tony S
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Tony S

Jethro, dumb as a stump

lol

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
June 19, 2020 3:54 am
Patty DeFury
Reader
Patty DeFury

BEST TV sit-com ever! Although I love and adore all the characters, Jethro is my FAVORITE!!! His character ALWAYS steals my heart. I am disappointed to hear that Max was unable to get limited roles after Hillbillies ended from being type cast; he’s intelligent, talented and extremely good looking…your loss Hollywood! I was 10 years old when Hillbillies first aired..I still watch the show today at 66..so much fun and always a GREAT laugh.

Vote Up40Vote Down Reply
December 5, 2017 3:35 pm
Danny
Reader
Danny

The BH was good from season 1-5, and only parts of the 5th season was good. After that, it was terrible! Bad writing, acting, and they had lost all of their personal charm. Go back and look at the first two seasons, the Hillbillies seemed like real people and they had class and heart. They later grew into a sort of Vaudeville act will silly premises. Jed, Elly, Granny and Jethro weren’t even in character anymore in the horrible latter seasons! It was painful to watch. Remember, in seasons 8-9 of this show, the world had been introduced to a… Read more »

Vote Up11-8Vote Down Reply
October 28, 2014 12:45 pm
Gary
Reader
Gary

Mom played a music gig at the Ebsen family reunion about 20 years age. There is a picture of my mother sitting right next to Buddy as if she were with him. Somebody at the reunion asked if my mother was married. Sure they didn’t think that a man born in 1908 wanted a relationship with a woman born in 1940 lol. I wish it were possible to post the photo here. Oh well……DOGGIES lol! :0)

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October 9, 2014 4:33 pm
Dave the wave
Reader
Dave the wave

I love those Hillbillies, I was fortunate to meet Dona Douglas at a store where I worked in Brentwood. Besides being very beautiful in person she is just nice as can be. That acent from the south is real and turned me in to liquid, I fell in love.

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May 23, 2013 1:03 am
William Hill
Reader
William Hill

This was my favorite program when I was growing up. My ancestors were hillbillies, and there were some offensive elements to the show, but we took it as just good fun. The worst thing was the constant talk about eating ‘possum innards. My father’s favorite meat was ‘coon, but he never ate the innards, and it is very rare that anyone would eat ‘possum. My whole family loves to eat squirrel and rabbit, but ‘possum is just not fit to eat, and nobody would eat that unless they are just too blame lazy to go kill meat that is good… Read more »

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March 5, 2012 5:00 am
Gary
Reader
Gary

As Jed would say. PITTIFUL!

Vote Up10Vote Down Reply
October 9, 2014 4:37 pm
Melvin Cole
Reader
Melvin Cole

The Beverly Hillbillies was a great series. There were some sexual content in it. The sexual content was not as explicit as shows are today, but it featured some real sexy women such as, Donna Douglas, Sharon Tate, Julie Newmars, Lori Saunders and the other women from Peticott Junction. There also were more guest appearences in character roles that featured sexy women like the one who played Mrs. Drysdale niece who wore a bikini under a fur coat. Elly ( Donna Douglas) wore many swim suits that were revealing for the time it was on. Dispite the content, the series… Read more »

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July 29, 2011 6:18 am
Thom
Reader
Thom

You forgot to include Phyllis Davis (Vegas) and Lisa Todd (Hee Haw).
Those ladies were real lookers!

Vote Up10Vote Down Reply
October 3, 2019 3:42 am
susan smathers
Reader
susan smathers

I’s too bad we don’t have tv shows like that anymore. We need more shows without all the bad language and sexuality. Pure, clean, funny.

Vote Up100Vote Down Reply
August 15, 2010 2:36 pm
MIKE ZVIRBLIS
Reader
MIKE ZVIRBLIS

MY FRIEND JIM LANE IS STILL IN LOVE WITH NANCY CULP AND HAS MOST OF HIS MARBLES INTACT UNLIKE YEARS AGO!

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
March 10, 2010 10:21 am
Gary
Reader
Gary

In love with Miss Jane. LOL!

Vote Up2-1Vote Down Reply
October 9, 2014 4:40 pm
Eric
Reader
Eric

I still love this show. And He’s right, they did kill everything with a tree in it. Heck, anything that wasn’t filled with sex, swearing, or bad behavior was killed off.
And where are we now?

Vote Up150Vote Down Reply
September 30, 2009 7:14 am
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