'Beverly Hillbillies' and more sitcoms that featured folk music
"The Beverly Hillbillies." Credit: Everett Collection
The release of the Coen brothers' new film, "Inside Llewyn Davis," has sparked renewed interest in the folk-music scene of the early 1960s (a concert honoring the movie and its era airs Friday on Showtime). Back in the day, though, the times were indeed a-changin' as some of TV's best-known sitcoms were "hip" enough to even incorporate folk music into their plots:
THE JACK BENNY SHOW (Jan. 14, 1964) -- Peter, Paul and Mary guest-star as themselves, perform "Blowin' in the Wind" and create an original folk song titled "Waukegan" (reffing Benny's Illinois hometown) about the thrift-minded comedian (sample lyric: "A silver dollar was his teething ring").
MY FAVORITE MARTIAN (Nov. 8, 1964) -- Extraterrestrial Uncle Martin (Ray Walston) inadvertently becomes a folk-music sensation.
THE PATTY DUKE SHOW (April 21, 1965) -- Patty (Patty Duke) wants to be a folk singer at the local coffeehouse, even though her father (William Schallert) has forbidden her.
GIDGET (Nov. 17, 1965) -- Gidget (Sally Field) urges a folk singer to raise his voice against unfair movie prices.
THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES (March 23, 1966) -- Miss Hathaway (Nancy Kulp) quits her job at the bank as Mr. Drysdale's secretary to pursue a career as a folk singer. Meanwhile, she encourages Jethro (Max Baer Jr.) to scrap his plans to become an astronaut and instead try his hand at folk singing, too.
