Jed "JD" Clampett
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Jedidiah Clampett known by all as Jed, or sometimes, "JD", was a fictional character and the patriarch of the classic 1960's television sitcom, The Beverly Hillbillies as well as the 1993 movie remake. In the series, he was played by actor Buddy Ebsen; and in the movie, he was played by Jim Varney.
[edit] The reasonable patriarch
Jed was born in the hills of the Ozarks, and had been married to Rose Ellen, the daughter of Daisy "Granny" Moses. From this union, their daughter, Elly May Clampett was born. Rose Ellen Clampett had died while Elly May was still very young, and Jed brought up his daughter like a boy simply because he was ill-equipped to raise a little girl. Jed also had a cousin, Pearl Bodine. To Pearl's children, Jethro Bodine and his sister, Jethrene, he was always "Uncle Jed."
One day, while hunting with his bloodhound, Duke, Jed shot at something in a pond on his land; and saw something black coming out of the ground. It turned out that he has struck oil. After the OK Oil Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma, represented by a Mr. John Brewster, bought the land from Jed, he and his family moved everything to Beverly Hills, California.
He deposited his new fortune, which eventually grew to $95 million, in the Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills, which was run by Milburn Drysdale who moved him and his family into a beautiful mansion right next door to his own. The Clampetts lived at 518 Crestview Drive, in Beverly Hills. For a while, Pearl also lived with them, until she returned to the Hills.
Of the family, Jed was the one who was most patient. Sure he missed his old home, but he made the best of the situation. What he didn't know about the city, he had the able and quite informative help from Drysdale's assistant, Jane Hathaway, whom he considered a part of the family.
He was also the most eligible widower in Beverly Hills, and was himself the target of many women, some of which were gold-diggers. However, he remained single throughout the series. He also was the target of some con-men, most notably Shifty Sam Shafer (played by Phil Silvers).
Whenever Jed had a problem, he would sit in front of his ornate mansion and whittle away until he thought things through. Although he was about the most compassionate and friendly of individuals, he could be tough, especially whenever Granny was scheming and conniving something. He would also wonder about Jethro, who could be considered somewhat stupid. When his wife died, he raised Elly as best as he knew how, basically as a tomboy, but when she was dressed in her finest clothes, she was every bit as beautiful as her mother was.
Margaret Drysdale, Milburn's wife, hated him, because his lazy bloodhound, impregnated her french poodle, Claude, and bore them a litter of puppies, to her absolute disgust. However, her hatred had no effect on him and he was still nice to her.
