Celebrity Graveland

September 26, 1932 – January 1, 2015

Doris Ione Smith – known professionally as Donna Douglas (and pop-culturally as Elly May Clampett) – was born and raised outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The local beauty queen moved to New York to pursue a career in modeling and acting. By the time she was 25, her television career was underway. After appearances on shows like The Steve Allen Show and The Perry Como Show, Douglas eventually made her way to Los Angeles and gave a crack at movies.

For the next several years, she appeared in films like Career and Li’l Abner and numerous TV shows including The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and The Twilight Zone. In 1962, she landed a starring role on the new situation comedy, The Beverly Hillibillies, and the rest was history.

As the pretty and spirited Elly May Clampett, Douglas spent nine seasons in every living room in America and lived on to reach future audiences through the magic of syndication. Though she would be most identified as Elly May throughout her life (see the photo of her grave marker below for proof) she still managed several projects outside of the confines of the Clampett mansion. In 1966, she starred opposite Elvis Presley in Frankie and Johnny. She also made many television appearances into the 1990’s. In her life after acting, Douglas spent time giving gospel concerts and serving as an inspirational speaker.

At the age of 82, in her native Louisiana, Donna Douglas died of pancreatic cancer on New Year’s Day, 2015.

Burial

Bluff Creek Community Cemetery – Bluff Creek, LA

Specific Location

Toward the back right (northwest) part of this small church cemetery.

This entry was posted on January 11, 2021 at 8:38 am and is filed under Bluff Creek Community Cemetery with tags Actors, Beverly Hillbillies, Bluff Creek Community Cemetery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.