Donna Douglas was a ''friendly critter'' towards all animals on The Beverly Hillbillies
Donna Douglas played the role of Elly May Clampett for a total of nine seasons on The Beverly Hillbillies. While her character was known for being a strong tomboy with a sensitive, sweet side, if there’s anything we know about her, it’s that she really loved her animals.
While most would find working with a wide range of pets—including dogs, cats, raccoons, skunks, goats, chimpanzees, and even more exotic animals like a kangaroo and a bobcat—a bit strange, Douglas saw it as a natural part of everyday hillbilly life.
According to a 1965 interview with The South Bend Tribune, Douglas said that, much like her character, she also really loved working with animals. She said the trick was to have genuine love for pets of all shapes, sizes, and kinds.
"Animals—particularly those that are basically wild ones, such as raccoons, foxes, and cougars—can sense the actor who dislikes them or is afraid of them, and they react the same way," Douglas said. "Even when the actor tries to mask his attitude, the animals seem to see through his disguise and detect the truth."
Douglas said she identified as an animal lover both in and out of character. She thought she had a way with them, addressing each animal's unique personality. She loved her little "critters," and according to the interview, she said it was one of her favorite parts of being Elly May.
"I'm like Elly May in that I'm genuinely fond of animals," Douglas said. "I think even the most skittish ones sense this and therefore will at least tolerate handling by me. I've found that some of the most unlikely animals actually enjoy being cuddled if it's done by someone they strongly sense to be a friend."
She said that during an episode, a guest actor had to work with a chimpanzee. As he was getting ready for the scene, he grunted and didn’t want to work closely with an animal.
See Also
The script called for the chimp, named Skipper, to leap from her arms to the actor and nestle into him with love. However, not every actor who worked with the animals was as big of a fan as Douglas was—and not every animal showed the same affection for others as they did for her.
"This actor was a very nice guy, but as we were preparing to shoot the scene, he grumbled that he wasn't looking forward to being 'pawed at by a crazy monkey' and that the sooner it was over and done with, the happier he'd be," Douglas said.
"I practically had to throw Skip in order to transfer him to the man," Douglas continued. "And when that was accomplished, Skipper refused to be held by him. He knew that man definitely wasn't his buddy."
The other important half of her love for animals was a man named Frank Inn, whose animal rental service provided all of Elly May’s animals.
Inn trained the animals and was their off-camera handler. She said he and she worked together often, and she took the time to get to know both him and all the animals he brought along.
"Frank is a wizard with them," Douglas said. "He treats his animals as if they were his babies, and I'm sure all of them think they really are."
It was a good thing the Clampetts’ mansion was so big because Elly May needed all that space to care for her beloved animals.