'Beverly Hillbillies' star Donna Douglas dead at 81

"The Beverly Hillbillies" cast (l-r): Irene Ryan, Buddy Ebsen, Max Baer, Nancy Kulp, Raymond Bailey and Donna Douglas (AP)

Donna Douglas, the actress who won over TV viewers as Elly May Clampett on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” has died. She was 81.

The star’s granddaughter told TMZ Douglas died in her Louisiana home surrounded by friends and family.

The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, her niece told The Associated Press.

Douglas appeared “The Beverly Hillbillies,” a comedy about a backwoods Tennessee family who moved to Beverly Hills after striking it rich from oil on their land. for all nine seasons of the show and reprised her role in a TV movie reboot of the series in 1981.

As Elly May, she seemed blissfully unaware of her status as a bumpkin blond bombshell. Typically she was clad in a snug flannel shirt and tight jeans cinched with a rope belt, and she seemed to prefer her critters to any beau.

Chosen from more than 500 other actresses, Douglas said she felt at ease playing the role because, like her character, she grew up a poor Southern tomboy. Her childhood in Pride, Louisiana, came in handy when she was asked during her audition to milk a goat.

"I had milked cows before," she recalled in a 2009 interview with The Associated Press. "I figured they were equipped the same, so I just went on over and did it."

The show was not only assailed by critics, but by the network president who put it on the air:  "I HATED it," Michael Dann confided much later. "After screening the pilot, I don't think I ever watched another segment."

The public, however, felt quite the opposite: It ran for nine seasons, often in the Top 10. In their own way, the Clampetts were a forerunner of the `60s counterculture.

It wasn't much of a stretch for Douglas to fit into the troupe, said her cousin, Charlene Smith.

"She was always happy, and she really loved animals -- just like her character on `The Beverly Hillbillies.' She was a wonderful lady, a very good Christian lady."

Indeed, when Douglas gave her autograph, she included a biblical verse ("Trust in the Lord with all your heart..."),  according to New Orleans TV station WAFB.

Douglas' career began with beauty pageants -- she was Miss Baton Rouge and Miss New Orleans -- followed by a trip to New York to pursue a career in entertainment.

"That was the first time I had ever been on an airplane," Douglas said.

While modeling didn't appeal to her -- "I didn't want to be that skinny" -- television did. Douglas was featured as the Letters Girl on "The Perry Como Show" in 1957 and as the Billboard Girl on "The Steve Allen Show" in 1959.

Throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s the 1957 Miss New Orleans winner appeared in series like “The Twilight Zone” and “Mr. Ed.” In 1966, she transitioned to film with a role opposite Elvis Presley in the movie “Frankie and Johnny.”

After "The Beverly Hillbillies," Douglas worked in real estate, recorded country and gospel music albums and wrote a book for children that drew on biblical themes.

In 2010 she sued CBS and toymaker Mattel over a Barbie doll that used Elly May's name and likeness. The suit was settled in 2011.

She said she never minded being typecast as her "Hillbillies" character.

"So many kinds of people relate to Elly May," Douglas said. "So many people love her, and that means a lot to me."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.