Although he had received little formal education, Jed Clampett had a good deal of common sense. A good-natured man, he was the ostensible head of the family. Jed was shown to be an expert marksman and was extremely loyal to his family and kinfolk. The huge oil pool in the swamp he owned was the beginning of his rags-to-riches journey to Beverly Hills. Although he longed for the old ways back in the hills of Tennessee, he made the best of being in Beverly Hills. Whenever he had anything on his mind, he would sit on the curbstone of his mansion and whittle until he came up with the answer. Jedediah, the version of Jed's name used in the 1993 Beverly Hillbillies theatrical movie, was never mentioned in the original television series (though ironically, on Ebsen's subsequent series, Barnaby Jones, Barnaby's nephew J.R. was also named Jedediah). In one episode Jed and Granny reminisce about seeing Buddy Ebsen and Vilma Ebsen-a joking reference to the Ebsens' song and dance act.
At the beginning of The Beverly Hillbillies series, the OK Oil Company discovers oil in a swamp in the Ozarks owned by family patriarch Jed Clampett. Jed moves with his family to the wealthy Los Angeles County city of Beverly Hills, California, where he attempts to live a rural life despite his wealth. This sequence of events was recapitulated in the title credits for each show and was described in the lyrics of the theme song, so that new viewers would easily understand who the Hillbillies were and why they were in Beverly Hills (although the credits and song portray Jed finding the oil while hunting as opposed to knowing the oil was there but being unaware of the value).
The Hillbillies themselves were Buddy Ebsen as the widowed patriarch Jed "J.D." Clampett; Irene Ryan as his mother-in-law, Daisy May "Granny" Moses; Donna Douglas as his daughter Elly May Clampett; and Max Baer Jr. as his cousin's son Jethro Bodine.
The supporting cast featured Raymond Bailey as Jed's greedy banker Milburn Drysdale; Harriet E. MacGibbon as Drysdale's snobbish wife Margaret Drysdale; and Nancy Kulp as Drysdale's secretary, "Miss" Jane Hathaway, who pined for the clueless Jethro.
Although not a major character, actress Sharon Tate had a recurring role during the early years of the series. Tate appeared in a dark wig as Janet Trego, an assistant to Miss Hathaway at the Commerce Bank. Two episodes before Janet's debut episode, Sharon had appeared (sans wig) as one of Elly May's classmates in "Elly Starts to School"
There is no real clear indicator of where the Clampetts hail from. Granny is mentioned as being from "across the river" and born in the same county as Davy Crockett. That would place her birth in Eastern Tennessee. There are other references in episodes which suggest an origin in the Ozarks of Arkansas or Missouri. In the opening episodes, it's established that the owner of OK Oil, lives in Tulsa about 50 miles away, which would place the Clampetts in Arkansas. Also Jethro makes several references to Springfield and Joplin which are in Southwestern Missouri. In-joke references also suggest Bug Tussle is near Silver Dollar City or near Hooterville of Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. No matter where they originated from, it is evident that once the oil started flowing, they kicked up a trail of dust getting out of there.
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