Editing Buddy Ebsen (section)

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[[File:Prime Mover Twilight Zone 1961.jpg|thumb|{{center|L-R: Christine Moore, Dane Clark, Buddy Ebsen and Jane Burgess in "[[The Prime Mover]]", a 1961 episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' }}]]
Ebsen made his television debut on an episode of ''[[The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre]]'' in 1949. This led to television appearances in: ''Stars Over Hollywood'', ''Gruen Guild Playhouse'', four episodes of ''Broadway Television Theatre'', ''[[Schlitz Playhouse of Stars]]'', ''Corky and White Shadow'', the [[H.J. Heinz Company]]'s ''[[Studio 57]]'', ''[[Screen Directors Playhouse]]'', two episodes of ''[[Climax!]]'', ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'', ''[[Playhouse 90]]'', ''[[Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse]]'', ''[[Johnny Ringo (TV series)|Johnny Ringo]]'', two episodes of ''[[Bonanza]]'', three episodes of ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]'' (in which he portrayed assorted homicidal villains), and ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]''. Ebsen received wide television exposure when he played Georgie Russel, a role based on a historical person <ref>{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Janelle|title=Re: George Russell|url=http://genforum.genealogy.com/russell/messages/12763.html|publisher=genealogy.com|access-date=August 12, 2008}}</ref><ref name="National Archives and Records Administration. Index to the Compiled Military Service Records for the Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War of 1812. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M602, 234 rolls.">{{cite book|title=National Archives and Records Administration. Index to the Compiled Military Service Records for the Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War of 1812|publisher=Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=M602, 234 rolls}}</ref> and companion to [[frontiersman]] [[Davy Crockett]], in the ''[[Walt Disney anthology television series#Walt Disney's Disneyland (1954–1958)|Disneyland]]'' television miniseries ''[[Davy Crockett (TV miniseries)|Davy Crockett]]'' (1954–1955).

In the 1958–1959 season, Ebsen co-starred in the 26-episode half-hour [[NBC]] television adventure series ''[[Northwest Passage (TV series)|Northwest Passage]]''. This series, the first half-hour Western filmed and broadcast in color on NBC, was a fictionalized account of [[Robert Rogers (soldier)|Major Robert Rogers]], a colonial American fighter for the British in the [[French and Indian War]]. Ebsen played the role of Sergeant Hunk Marriner; [[Keith Larsen]] played Rogers. From 1960 to 1962, Ebsen appeared in episodes of the television series ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]'' and ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''. Ebsen also portrayed a corrupt, bloodthirsty marshal in "El Paso Stage", an episode of ''[[Have Gun, Will Travel]]'' broadcast in April 1961.

Between October 1961 and March 1962, Ebsen had a recurring role as Virge Blessing in the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] drama series ''[[Bus Stop (TV series)|Bus Stop]]'', the story of travelers passing through the bus station and diner in the fictitious town of Sunrise, [[Colorado]]. [[Robert Altman]] directed several episodes. [[Arthur O'Connell]] had played Virge Blessing in the earlier [[Bus Stop (1956 film)|film version]] on which the series was loosely based. Ebsen also appeared as "Mr. Dave" Browne, a homeless [[hobo]], on ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' opposite [[Ron Howard]], and as Jimbo Cobb in'' [[The Twilight Zone]] ''episode "[[The Prime Mover]]" (season 2, episode 21) in 1961. Throughout the show's run, he played several characters on ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' including as the episode title character in Season 17, Episode 11 (''[[List of Gunsmoke television episodes#Season 17 (1971–72)|Drago]]''). A notable exception to Ebsen's continual work in Westerns and rural television shows was an acclaimed role as Doc Golightly, an older, rural veterinarian deserted by his young wife (played by [[Audrey Hepburn]]) in 1961's ''[[Breakfast at Tiffany's (film)|Breakfast at Tiffany's]]''.