Editing The Beverly Hillbillies (section)

==Reunions==
===1981 CBS film===
In 1981, ''[[Return of the Beverly Hillbillies]]'' television film, written and produced by series creator Henning, was aired on the CBS network. Irene Ryan had died in 1973, and Raymond Bailey had died in 1980. The script acknowledged Granny's passing, but featured [[Imogene Coca]] as Granny's mother. Max Baer decided against reprising the role that both started and stymied his career, so the character of Jethro Bodine was given to another actor, Ray Young.

The film's plot had Jed back in his old homestead in Bugtussle, having divided his massive fortune among Elly May and Jethro, both of whom stayed on the West Coast. Jane Hathaway had become a Department of Energy agent and was seeking Granny's "White Lightnin'" recipe to combat the [[1979 energy crisis|energy crisis]]. Since Granny had gone on to "her re-ward", it was up to Granny's centenarian "Maw" ([[Imogene Coca]]) to divulge the secret brew's ingredients. Subplots included Jethro playing an egocentric, starlet-starved Hollywood producer, Jane and her boss ([[Werner Klemperer]]) having a romance, and Elly May owning a large petting zoo. The four main characters finally got together by the end of the story.

According to viewer consensus, though filmed a mere decade after the final episode of the series, the movie lacked the series' original spirit on many fronts, among them being the deaths of Ryan and Bailey and Baer's absence, leaving only three of the six original cast members to reprise their respective roles. Further subtracting from the familiarity was that the legendary Clampett mansion (the [[Sumner Spaulding]]–designed [[Chartwell Mansion]])—was unavailable for a location shoot as the owners' lease was too expensive. Henning himself admitted sheer embarrassment when the finished product aired, blaming his inability to rewrite the script due to the [[1981 Writers Guild of America strike]].<ref>{{cite web|author=20 maart 2008 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxn4V6p1OYw |title=Paul Henning&nbsp;– Archive Interview Part 8 of 8 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=March 16, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824075319/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxn4V6p1OYw |archive-date=August 24, 2012 }}</ref>

===1993 special===
In 1993, Ebsen, Douglas, and Baer reunited onscreen for the only time in the [[CBS-TV]] retrospective television special, ''The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies'' hosted by Mac Davis and written by Al Bendix, [[Tino Insana]], and Mike Rowe while Dakin Matthews served as the field interviewer. This special was ranked as the fourth-most watched television program of the week—a major surprise given the mediocre rating for the 1981 television film. It was a rare tribute from the "Tiffany network", which owed much of its success in the 1960s to the series, but has often seemed embarrassed by it in hindsight, often downplaying the show in retrospective television specials on the network's history and rarely inviting cast members to participate in such all-star broadcasts.

''The Legend of The Beverly Hillbillies'' special ignored several plot twists of the television film, notably that Jethro was now not a film director but a leading Los Angeles physician. Critter-loving Elly May was still in California with her animals. Jed was back home in the Hills where he declined interviews until now. He also mentioned how he got richer in the hills where he purchased some land and spends some of his days whittling. Nancy Kulp had died in 1991 and was little referred to beyond the multitude of film clips that dotted the special. When asked if he bears no grudge against Drysdale, Jed states "I never bear no grudge against any man. The way I see it, I lost some money, but Mr. Drysdale lost his freedom. I don't think I'm bad off at all". Jed then tells his interviewer that he goes into town to ring up Elly May and that Jethro brings his children around often. He then takes the man interviewing with him to meet some friends unaware that he struck another area of oil. The scene closes with Jed dancing to the theme song with Jerry Scoggins while Earl Scruggs and [[Roy Clark]] (who is substituting for the late Lester Flatt) playing the music. The special was released on VHS tape by [[CBS/Fox Video]] in 1995 and as a bonus feature on the Official Third Season DVD Set in 2009.