We all know the “story ’bout a man named Jed, the poor mountaineer who barely kept his family fed.” Jed may have been the man behind the song, but the character behind the The Beverly Hillbillies‘ success had to be Granny, whose true age, by the way, might surprise you.
Granny was the beloved, rough-around-the-edges grandmother with a heart of gold on The Beverly Hillbillies. Her hilarious hijinks included everything from witty retorts to catching raccoons for “supper.” When the show premiered in 1962 on CBS it was a huge hit, due in no small part to the lovable character of Granny. While it did include other high-profile celebrities such as Buddy Ebsen as Jed and Erika Eleniak as Ellie May, Granny was immediately a fan favorite.
Who played Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies?
The black and white series premiered in 1962 and Granny was played by acclaimed actress Irene Ryan. Irene was a Texas native who had made her way up through the Hollywood ranks via Broadway, radio, and finally, television. She was known as an actress, comedian, and radio personality. Later she would go on to win a Tony for her work in the 1974 hit Pippin, and an Emmy for her time on The Beverly Hillbillies. While she had found some success before appearing on the show, it was considered to be her big break.
In fact, prior to her time on the Hillbillies she revealed she had often lived in hotels and it had become somewhat of her norm. The show rocketed her to fame and fortune but she shared in a 1965 interview with the Star Gazette that her fears of being fired were always present. She reported she would be the “first one on set” every day because she was so terrified of losing her place on the show. Despite the repeated assurances of producers and the immensely positive response from fans, Ryan would hold that fear until the final episode.
In an effort to ease her fears, one of the show’s producers Paul Henning even bought her a miniature golden rocking chair studded with diamonds. He presented it to her as a token of both gratitude for her performance and a sort of emblem of her permanent place on the set. While Ryan was reportedly grateful she still held her doubts throughout the time on the show.
How old was Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies?
Daisy “Granny” Moses (sometimes Clampett) was portrayed to be an elderly woman in her 80s. Although spunky and active, she was meant to be the older matriarch of the family rounding the corner toward 90 as the show approached its end. While the character of Granny was portrayed as being an elderly woman in her 80s, the actress who played her — Irene Ryan — was actually much younger. At the time she was cast in 1962 Irene Ryan she was only 59 years old. The show ran until 1971 when she would have been approaching 70.
Ryan’s elderly appearance on the set was the result of movie magic and apparently a ton of makeup. The additional wrinkles and shadows made Ryan almost unrecognizable but allowed her to fully step into the role of America’s favorite backcountry-turned-Beverly Hills grandmother. It was a makeup process that quickly caught on and was then repeated in several later series including The Golden Girls.
Even following the end of the Beverly Hillbillies, Ryan continued acting and went on to win a Tony for her Pippin performance although she fell ill while working on the project. Irene passed away in 1973 at the age of 70 with a reported net worth of $2 million. It seems her fears of being fired and returning to a life of poverty would never come to pass. She would die wealthy, successful, and well-loved.
