Donna Douglas, known to fans of "The Beverly Hillbillies" as Elly May Clampett, died Thursday at the age of 81, according to reports.
Douglas was on the popular "Hillbillies" show, which ran from 1962 to 1971, as the daughter of Jed Clampett, played by Buddy Ebsen, who tried to keep his newly wealthy family from going off the deep end. Douglas also appeared on “Mister Ed,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Adam 12,” and other television shows.
On the WLFT Christmas Show in 2013, Douglas talked about writing two books, one a cookbook, “Southern Favorites with a Taste of Hollywood,” and the other a children’s book.
Along with recipes, the cookbook included "a lot of stories from the 'Beverly Hillbillies,' a lot of things that happened on the set," Douglas said, "little jokes, like ... Miss Jane asked Jethro, she said, 'Jethro, do you say the blessing before you eat your food?' And he said, 'Well, when Granny cooks I don’t have to, but when Elly cooks you better say your blessing.'"
Douglas also talked about her life, telling people that she didn’t live in a little town, but was born between two little towns. “So I always tell people it’s amazing what God can do with a life if he’s given the opportunity,” Douglas told WLFT.
She also gave a testimony to young people during the interview, saying, “Nobody in the world can be a better you than you, so it’s a matter of your life. You have a chance to make choices in your life, and you can set your standards where you want to set them. It’s up to you. As to how you want God to use you, of if you want him to.”
Fans took to the Internet to remember Douglas.
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