Originally a dancer, Ebsen began his film career in Broadway Melody of 1936.
44 Facts About Buddy Ebsen
2.
Buddy Ebsen was cast to appear in The Wizard of Oz, originally as the Scarecrow, and before filming began, his role was changed to the Tin Man.
3.
Buddy Ebsen fell seriously ill during filming due to the aluminum dust in his makeup and was forced to drop out.
4.
Buddy Ebsen worked as a choreographer and was a physical fitness advocate; he owned a dance studio and subsequently operated a natatorium for the local school district.
5.
Buddy Ebsen's mother, Frances, was a Baltic German painter.
6.
Buddy Ebsen was raised in Belleville until the age of ten when his family moved to Palm Beach County, Florida.
7.
Family financial problems caused by the collapse of the Florida land boom forced Buddy Ebsen to leave college at age 20.
8.
Buddy Ebsen left Orlando in the summer of 1928 to try his luck as a dancer in New York City, arriving with only $26.75 in his pocket, and worked at a soda fountain shop.
9.
Buddy Ebsen went on to appear in numerous films, both musicals and nonmusicals, including the 1936 Born to Dance, the 1936 Captain January, the 1938 Broadway Melody of 1938, and the 1938 The Girl of the Golden West.
10.
Buddy Ebsen partnered with actresses Eleanor Powell and Frances Langford, among others, and danced solo.
11.
Buddy Ebsen was noted for his unusual, surreal dancing and singing style.
12.
Buddy Ebsen then swapped roles with actor Ray Bolger, who was originally cast as the Tin Man.
13.
Bolger wanted to play the Scarecrow, and Buddy Ebsen did not object to the change.
14.
Buddy Ebsen had recorded all of his songs as the Tin Man, attended all the rehearsals, and begun filming.
15.
Buddy Ebsen recalled in an interview included on the 2005 DVD release of The Wizard of Oz that the MGM studio heads did not believe that he was ill until he was ordered back to the set and was intercepted by an angry nurse.
16.
Buddy Ebsen was replaced by Jack Haley, with the makeup quickly changed to a safer aluminum paste.
17.
Buddy Ebsen's recording of the Tin Man's solo "If I Only Had a Heart" is included on the deluxe edition of the film's soundtrack, while a still photo recreation of the sequence featuring shots of Buddy Ebsen as the Tin Man was included as an extra with all VHS and DVD releases of the film since 1989.
18.
Buddy Ebsen took up sailing and became so proficient in seamanship that he taught the subject to naval officer candidates.
19.
Buddy Ebsen applied several times for a commission in the Navy in 1941, but was repeatedly turned down.
20.
Buddy Ebsen was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard as a lieutenant in 1946.
21.
Buddy Ebsen made his television debut on an episode of The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre in 1949.
22.
Buddy Ebsen received wide television exposure when he played Georgie Russel, a role based on a historical person and companion to frontiersman Davy Crockett, in the Disneyland television miniseries Davy Crockett.
23.
Buddy Ebsen played the role of Sergeant Hunk Marriner; Keith Larsen played Rogers.
24.
From 1960 to 1962, Buddy Ebsen appeared in episodes of the television series Rawhide and Tales of Wells Fargo.
25.
Buddy Ebsen portrayed a corrupt, bloodthirsty marshal in "El Paso Stage", an episode of Have Gun, Will Travel broadcast in April 1961.
26.
Between October 1961 and March 1962, Buddy Ebsen had a recurring role as Virge Blessing in the ABC drama series Bus Stop, the story of travelers passing through the bus station and diner in the fictitious town of Sunrise, Colorado.
27.
Buddy Ebsen 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" in 1961.
28.
Buddy Ebsen became famous as Jed Clampett, an easygoing backwoods mountaineer who strikes oil and moves with his family to Beverly Hills, California, in the long-running, fish-out-of-water CBS sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies.
29.
Buddy Ebsen claimed she was exploiting her celebrity status and did not know the issues.
30.
Buddy Ebsen returned to television in 1973 as the title character of Barnaby Jones, which proved to be his second long-running television series.
31.
Buddy Ebsen appeared briefly as Barnaby Jones on two other productions: a 1975 episode of Cannon and the 1993 film The Beverly Hillbillies.
32.
Buddy Ebsen played Matt's uncle, Roy Houston, during the show's third season from 1984 to 1985.
33.
Buddy Ebsen appeared in "The Waiting Room", a Night Gallery segment that originally aired January 26,1972.
34.
Buddy Ebsen narrated the documentary series Disney Family Album during the 1980s on the Disney Channel and Steven Kellogg's "Paul Bunyan" on the PBS series Reading Rainbow in 1985.
35.
Buddy Ebsen made his final guest-starring appearance in 1994 on an episode of the short-lived television series revival Burke's Law.
36.
In 1999, Buddy Ebsen provided the voice of Chet Elderson for an episode of the Fox Entertainment program King of the Hill.
37.
Buddy Ebsen has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1765 Vine Street, and a star on the St Louis Walk of Fame.
38.
In 1993, Buddy Ebsen was inducted as a Disney Legends award winner.
39.
In 1985, Buddy Ebsen married his third wife, Dorothy "Dotti" Knott.
40.
Buddy Ebsen became a folk artist and an avid coin collector, co-founding the Beverly Hills Coin Club in 1987 with actor Chris Aable.
41.
Buddy Ebsen's collection included many rarities such as a four-dollar gold piece worth $200,000.
42.
Buddy Ebsen wrote several other books including Polynesian Concept, The Other Side of Oz and Sizzling Cold Case.
43.
Buddy Ebsen supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.
44.
Buddy Ebsen died of respiratory failure at Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance, California, on July 6,2003, at the age of 95.