For plenty of actors, looking back at the roles that made them stars is not exactly a joyful walk down memory lane. For many actors, their breakthrough roles have become a cage later in their career, the curse of an eternal typecast. It's enough to leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth.

Luckily, Buddy Ebsen did not have such an experience after The Beverly Hillbillies wrapped filming. Ebsen was a star of stage and screen before he starred as Jed Clampett on the hit show, The Beverly Hillbillies. The series ran for nine seasons before its untimely cancellation. But after the series ended, Ebsen wasn't destined to play rural characters for the rest of his career.

The actor found a home in the crime series, Barnaby Jones, which ran for seven years. Ebsen played the mature and esteemed private investigator, Barnaby Jones.

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During an interview with The Lowell Sun, Ebsen looked back on his time in comedy fondly. He loved his time as Jed Clampett, though he knew that it couldn't last forever.

"'Hillbillies' was a lot of fun," said Ebsen. "I enjoyed everything about the series - the people I worked with, as well as the financial rewards. But variety is the spice of life, and I'm happy that my new series is entirely different."

Ebsen had held a dream of playing a character like Barnaby Jones long before he took on the role.

"I've always wanted to play a private eye," Said Ebsen. "Back in the days when Humphrey Bogart was starring in some private eye movies, I thought that would be fun. But I had to wait a long time. Here I am in 1973 getting my first opportunity to play a detective. Who said patience isn't a virtue?"