In Remembrance: Buddy Ebsen

Buddy Ebsen and Judy Garland in Broadway Melody of 1938.

     Buddy Ebsen, best known to film buffs as Audrey Hepburn’s husband in Breakfast At Tiffany’s, has passed away on July 6, 2003. He was 95.

     Born Christian Rudolph Ebsen in Belleville, Illinois on April 2, 1908, he got his start on Broadway and also performed a dancing act with his sister Vilma. Ebsen and his sister made their first screen performance in MGM's Broadway Melody of 1936 with Eleaner Powell and were featured in a rooftop musical number showcasing their act. Though Vilma left show business soon after, Buddy kept going, appearing in 1936’s Born To Dance, the Shirley Temple vehicle Captain January (1936) and Broadway Melody of 1938 with Judy Garland. He was also filmed as a reference for Mickey Mouse’s dance steps in the studio’s series of Silly Symphony cartoons.

     In 1938, MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer offered Ebsen an exclusive contract, but Ebsen declined. In 1939 he was chosen for the cast of MGM’s musical The Wizard Of Oz. Originally cast as the Scarecrow, he switched roles with Ray Bolger for the part of the Tin Woodsman. Unfortunately, he had to leave the project after being hospitalized, a result of inhaling aluminum powder which was used in his make up. His voice can still be heard on portions of the film’s soundtrack.

     After a few undistinguished films, he would leave the film business to concentrate on stage work.

     He returned to film in 1950 and appeared in a string of westerns until he was approached by Disney Studios to appear in Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1954). He would reprise his role in the sequel, Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, two years later. Ebsen continued acting in dramatic roles in both film and television through the 1950s.

     In 1961 he appeared as the heartbroken husband of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It was his work in this role that earned him the notice of the producers of the television series The Beverly Hillbillies, who offered him the role of Ozark mountain man turned oil tycoon Jed Clampett. Though not a big success with the critics, the show would run for nine years.

     Television work would dominate the rest of Ebsen’s career, starring the series Barnaby Jones and Matt Houston as well as several made for TV movies. His last film role was a cameo the 1993 big screen remake of The Beverly Hillbillies, reprising his Barnaby Jones character.