Buddy Ebsen: The Tin Man that Might Have Been
When we hear the name Buddy Ebsen, we usually think of Jed Clampett in the sit-com, The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971), which was his most famous role. We might also remember him as Barnaby Jones in the dramatic series of the same name which ran from 1973-1980 or as Doc Golightly in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Did you happen to know, however, that Buddy Ebsen was Metro Goldwyn Mayer’s first choice to portray the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939)? He also was Walt Disney’s first choice to play the role of Davy Crockett in the movie, Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (1955). In this blog, I’d like to tell you a little bit about the man who gave life to the words, “Welllll, doggies.”
When MGM cast “The Wizard of Oz,” when they originally hired Ebsen to play the Scarecrow and Ray Bolger to play the Tin Man. Bolger, however, desperately wanted to play the Scarecrow, and the studio reconsidered and switched their roles. Ebsen was flexible about playing the Tin Man, but unfortunately had to quit the movie when he suffered a near-death reaction to the Tin Man’s makeup, which consisted of aluminum powder. (He revealed in a late-in-live interview that he also almost had his testicles cut off by the Tin Man’s costume!) MGM replaced him with Jack Haley and the makeup was changed from aluminum powder to aluminum paste. (Unfortunately for Haley though, some of the makeup got into his eye, and he had to go to see the studio doctor for an eye infection!)
Interestingly, for the song “We’re off to see the Wizard,” the studio kept Buddy Ebsen’s vocals for the song in the final cut of the film, and didn’t even bother to record to Jack Haley singing it. They did, however, record Haley singing “If I Only Had a Heart,” and “If I Only Had the Nerve.” (Jack Haley eventually became in-laws with “Oz” co-star, Judy Garland, when his son, Jack Haley, Jr., married her daughter, Liza Minnelli. Haley also was godfather to John Lahr, the son of Haley’s other “Oz” co-star, Bert Lahr.)
When Walt Disney was casting “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier,” he seriously considered Ebsen for the title character. When he saw Fess Parker in the movie Them! (1954), however, he said, “That’s my Davy Crockett,” and decided to cast Ebsen as Crockett’s sidekick, George Russel. Ebsen and Parker became best friends in real life, and reprised their roles for the sequel, Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (1956), as well as several mini “Crockett,” movies in the television show, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1954-1992). (In “King of the Wild Frontier,” Parker and Ebsen both worked with Hans Conried, who is best known to Disney as the voice of Captain Hook/Mr. Darling in Peter Pan (1953)).
“Davy Crockett,” was Ebsen’s only acting gig for the Disney Studios, but he was hired to narrate the Disney Channel Series, The Disney Family Album in 1984. The show aired until 1986. Since then, Ebsen has also appeared as himself in many Disney documentaries and specials including Walt Disney: A Golden Anniversary Salute (1973), Kraft Salutes Disneyland’s 25th Anniversary (1980), Walt: The Man Behind the Myth (2001) and numerous others. (Disney also hired Ebsen’s “Beverly Hillbillies co-star, Nancy Kulp, twice. Kulp played “Miss” Jane Hathaway on “Beverly Hillbillies.” She played Miss Grunecker in The Parent Trap (1961) and provided the voice of Frou-Frou the horse in The Aristocats (1970)).
Buddy Ebsen lived a long life, passing away at the age of 95 due to complications from pneumonia on July 6th, 2003. He neither won nor received any major award nominations for any of his work, but he had a remarkable career. When we look at “The Wizard of Oz” today it seems impossible that there’s no one else we could think of in the role of the Tin Man, other than Jack Haley. Unlike Haley, Ebsen managed to have a far more successful and versatile career in Hollywood. He might have been a great Tin Man, but he certainly made an excellent Jed Clampett and a wonderful George Russel!
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