The Beverly Hillbillies

Biography

The Beverly Hillbilles were created by three (Los Angeles radio station)KMPC executives; station owner Raymond MacMillan (R.S.MacMillan Petroleum Company), station manager Glen Rice, and staff announcer (John McIntire). In an effort to boost the station's ratings, their scenario was based on a fictional group of characters, a group of Ozark refugees who lived in a remote hollow in the mountains near Beverly Hills. Completely out of touch with civilization, these transplanted mountaineers continued to live in the mountain style of the 1850s. Rice "was sent" to discover a band of musicians among these throwbacks. The band he "discovered' were staff musician and some local talent. The first was accordionist Leo Ezekiel Mannes, who took the name of (Zeke Manners) in his new identity as leader of the musical mountaineers band called (The Beverly Hillbillies.) Local musicians Tom Murray (as the "Pappy character)and fiddler (Harry Blaeholder)who was the character Hank Skillet. Tenor Cyprain Paulette, better known as (Ezra Paulette), joined the group as the Ezra Longnecker character. (Aleth Hansen) was added as the group's guitar player called Lem Giles. The band was heavily recorded in the 1930-35 years, but it was the radio program that the Beverly Hillbillies band was most known for; crowds in the thousands gathered to see the Beverly Hillbillies at personal appearance and publicity stunts, such as the 15-year-old yodeling sensation (Elton Britt.) Other musicians who were part of the band, or later reincarnations, included (Stuart Hamblen), (Ken Carson), (Curley Bradley), (Wesley Tuttle), (Lloyd Perryman) and (Jack Ross).