Though she appeared in feature films before and after the much-loved '60s sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies," Donna Douglas will always be remembered as the buxom, blue-eyed tomboy Elly May Clampett. The actress died New Year's Day (Jan. 1) at her home in Louisiana with friends and family by her side. She was 81. Douglas' granddaughter confirmed the death to TMZ.
An honest to goodness Southern Belle, similar to her role on the long-running CBS series, Douglas was born Dorothy Smith in Pride, Louisiana. She grew up in Louisiana on her grandparents' farm, loving "critters" and nature, climbing trees, swinging on vines and playing football and softball.
She was a cheerleader in high school and after high school, had a son, divorced, and won some beauty contests, all within the span of a few years. She was awarded the titles Miss Baton Rouge and, in 1957, Miss New Orleans.
Douglas went to New York to pursue a career in entertainment and started out as a model for toothpaste ads. She soon appeared on television series such as "Mister Ed," "Route 66," "Adam 12" and "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." She is well-remembered for a guest shot on "Twilight Zone" (1959) in one of the series' most famous episodes, "Eye of the Beholder." In the iconic episode, she plays a woman who tries to undergo a series of experimental treatments to make her beautiful, only for the treatments to fail. The twist was she was beautiful, at least to the viewers, but considered hideous to the pig people of her planet.
The turning point in Douglas' career came in 1962 when she was chosen over 500 other actresses to play the role of Elly May Clampett on "The Beverly Hillbillies." She starred on the program for all nine seasons, along with Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Nancy Kulp, Raymond Bailey, and Max Baer Jr. "The Beverly Hillbillies" became one of the longest-running series in television history and was the No. 1 show in America its first two years.
Douglas returned for the 1981 reunion TV movie.
She also co-starred with Elvis Presley in "Frankie and Johnny."
Douglas filed two famous lawsuits over the years. In the 1990s, she sued Disney claiming it stole the idea for "Sister Act" from her. In 2011, she sued Mattel for making a Barbie doll with her likeness without her permission. She lost the "Sister Act" case and settled the Barbie case, TMZ reported.
A devoted Christian, Douglas frequently performed as a gospel singer and spoke at churches across America. She recorded a gospel album in 1982 and later a country and gospel album two-record set in 1989. She also wrote a children's book titled "Donna's Critters & Kids: Children's Stories with a Bible Touch," which has Bible stories featuring animals and is combined with a coloring book for ages two to seven, according to filmbug.com.
