Beverly Hillbillies creator Paul Henning dies (1 Viewer)

[Ashley Seymour]

It was a time before VCR’s, TIVO, etc. and you planned your evening to watch the Beverly Hillbillies, just as you did Ricky and Luci or Uncle Miltie a decade earlier. Paul Henning and Neil Simon were masters of the inside joke. Each week an audience in the tens of millions were the ones in on the joke that a bunch of hillbillies didn’t know how a doorbell or a garbage disposal worked. Inheritors of immense wealth and living in a city of unlimited consumer goods, they felt disadvantaged as they were bereft of such basic necessities as crawdads.

With wealth came a cascade of scam artists who weekly were turned away by the simple, naïve, yet highly moral Jed and Granny. At the end of the series run, we perhaps learned that the inside joke was on us viewers. Virtually all the viewers were richer than the Clampetts before they became rich, yet how many of us could have remained as unfazed by such immense riches. Ultimately the story dealt with the love and respect the family members had for each other – both in times of feast and famine. At times it was the funniest TV show of all time and one of the most up lifting.

Paul Henning was a master writer and creator of a classic piece of comedy. Thanks Paul

 

[Paul Sandhu]

I salute Mr. Henning for giving me some great chances to watch classic TV via reruns.

Jed Clampett: Boy, I'm gonna give you 24 hours to clean up all this mess.
Jethro: Aw come on, Uncle Jed. I'm gonna clean up. I'm gonna set this world on fire!
Jed Clampett: You're gonna clean up alright. Everything. Or you're gonna end up with the seat of your britches on fire.

Granny: Elly May done popped the buttons off her shirt again.
Jed Clampett: Elly May carries herself proud with her shoulders throwed back.
Granny: It ain't her shoulders that have been poppin' these buttons.

Jethro: [Jed and Jehtro are discussing a "fast" girl back in the hills] Uncle Jed, she handed me a big old sugar cookie, looked at me and said, "Jehtro, if you had a choice between that cookie and me, which one would you take". Uncle Jed, that's when I found out just how fast she was!
[Jed leans in close to hear the rest of the story]
Jethro: I had to run nearly a mile to get away from her with that cookie!
Jed Clampett: [Disgusted] Jethro, some day me and you got to have a long talk.

Classic.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

What a classy tribute, Ashley!

I'm not of that era, but the Clampetts have provided me my share of entertainment over the year. We need more entertainment like. God speed, Mr. Henning.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

And let's not forget the work he did on Green Acres, I'm once again enjoying that comic masterpiece. I watched the Square Egg Episode the other day, I almost fell off my Coach laughing, what a joy compared to the Mean spirited, insult ridden comedies of Today.

Godspeed Mr. Henning.

 

[Ashley Seymour]

Before the Simpsons poked fun at American culture and Mike Myers took on the 60's addiction to comic book type spys, Henning created one of the great spy character parodies of all time, and still the best. Ole Jethro wantin to become a double naught spy. Some of the gadgets were mixed up, like Jethro making an Odd Job like iron hat liner that knocked him unconscious every time he put it on, to a cheap transistor radio straped to his wrist that kept playing the same tune when he bumped, it to the Austin Martin transormation of the family truck that included an ejector seat that of course caught Granny.

Some of the humor reflected the times, but is still in the realm of slap stick which is timeless.

Ellie May popping her buttons. I heard Elvis tapped her and done ruined Ellie May, err Donna Douglas. I think Donna was even more Ellie than Ellie.