Donna Douglas Net Worth

Donna Douglas's Quotes

• I really love pets. They're like children. They know if you really love them or not. You can't fool them.
• [on the early careers of Buddy Ebsen, Max Baer Jr., Irene Ryan and herself, before co-starring on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962)] It was the American Dream. But I think it had a lot of good things in it, too. We were all so grateful to be working, Buddy Ebsen--he had started out in vaudeville, and he had done many things, but his career wasn't on an upswing or anything. Granny, [Irene Ryan] she wasn't really doing anything. Max Baer and I, we were babies just starting out, so everybody was so grateful to be working.
• [on offering another role] I was offered to do a nighttime soap after The Beverly Hillbillies (1962). There was so much I didn't want to do because of family values. It was a big hit in a couple weeks, but it didn't matter to me, because I wanted to do a certain caliber of work and didn't want to do garbage.
• Back then, it was more or less we couldn't change a line in our script. We weren't allowed to change lines. Today, actors change everything and won't do parts. It's very different today. Back then, the producers were in charge. Today, actors are more in charge.
• I loved doing Elly May. She was a slice out of my own life. And, of course, The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) was a story about the American Dream. No matter who tried to slicker us or take advantage of us, we always came out on top. We were never the losers. So the right attitude was important. We set a good examples. "The Hillbillies" set high standards.

Interesting Facts about Donna Douglas

1. Was a self-described tomboy in her younger days, and like her character Elly May Clampett, she was extremely fond of animals.
2. Spent hours autographing photos and personally responding to fan mail - even though she received far more than anyone else in the cast of The Beverly Hillbillies (1962).
3. Was Miss Baton Rouge, and then in 1957, Miss New Orleans.
4. Was proud of her role as Elly May Clampett in The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) and occasionally made public appearances dressed as Elly May.
5. Had a second career as a gospel singer, as well as a popular real estate agent in Beverly Hills, California.
6. Appeared as a guest at the Western Film Fair in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1992, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2005.
7. During the filming of The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) she and Irene Ryan would annually put on a huge Christmas party for the show's staff and families.
8. Best known by the public for her role as Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962).
9. She and her The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) co-star, Buddy Ebsen, had a lot in common. Like Ebsen, she too is a successful gospel singer and character actress, and is also Republican.
10. Tested for a role in Visit to a Small Planet (1960).
11. Acting protegee and friend of Buddy Ebsen.
12. She and Max Baer Jr. both visited Buddy Ebsen, in the hospital, the week before his death.
13. Best friend of Max Baer Jr..
14. Graduated from Redemptorist High School (now Redemptorist Upper School) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1951.
15. Douglas, along with Buddy Ebsen and Max Baer Jr., attended the memorial of Irene Ryan, when the actress passed away in 1973.
16. Her mother, Elma Robinson, died on December 31, 2003, at age 93.
17. Got married at age 16, and gave birth at age 21.
18. At her death, she was survived by son Danny Bourgeois, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, one brother and other extended family members.
19. Her birth name is listed both as Dorothy Smith and Doris Smith in various articles.
20. Donna Douglas performed as a gospel singer and wrote the book, "Miss Donna's Mulberry Acres Farm", which was published in 2011. Also that year, she sued Mattel, claiming that the toy manufacturer used her name and likeness for a Barbie doll, without her approval. The suit reportedly was settled. Earlier, she sued Disney, CAA, Whoopi Goldberg and others, claiming that the idea for the 1992 smash hit, Sister Act (1992), was stolen from the Dorothy Gilman book, "A Nun in the Closet", that she said she had optioned. Douglas lost that suit.