Buddy Ebsen, known for the TV characters he played on "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Barnaby Jones", has passed on at the age of 95 of respiratory failure. His family said as an artist he saw and appreciated beauty in all things. He started as a song and dance man in show business.

He started pre-medical studies but had to abandon it because of money problems. He had learned dancing fundamentals at his father's school and decided to become a dancer in New York. He got a job in "Whoopee" in 1928 with Eddie Cantor.

• He and his sister Vilma became a dancing team and performed in vaudeville and shows such as "Ziegfeld Follies."
• They were a hit in the movie "Broadway Melody of 1936."
• Buddy's other 1930s films included:
  • "Captain January" with Shirley Temple
  • "Girl of the Golden West" with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
  • "My Lucky Star" with Sonja Henie
• He had a dramatic part in "Yellow Jack" with Robert Montgomery
• In 1938, Louis B. Mayer told Ebsen that the MGM studio needed to own him to give him the parts he deserved. Ebsen responded that he couldn?t be owned. He left that and became a dancer again.
• He would have been the Tin Man in "The Wizard Of Oz" but had an allergy and became ill because of the aluminum makeup on his skin.
• During World War II, he was in the Coast Guard.
• In 1954-55 , he played Fess Parker?s partner in TV?s ?Davy Crockett?.
• "The Beverly Hillbillies" attracted large ratings with as many as 60 million viewers between 1962 and 1971.
• As private investigator "Barnaby Jones" (1973-1980), he was forced out of retirement to solve the murder of his son Hal, who had taken over the business.

Ebsen had 2 daughters by his first wife, Ruth Cambridge, Walter Winchell's girl Friday. The second marriage to Nancy followed and they had four daughters and a son. The 1985 marriage to Dorothy Knott was Buddy?s third.

Christian Rudolph "Buddy" Ebsen was born on April 2, 1908 and passed on July 6, 2003.