by John Shearer
posted July 9, 2003
 Buddy Ebsen |
In October 1954, Mr. Ebsen, along with noted 1950s’ star Fess Parker, shot part of the noted Walt Disney Co. movie, “Davy Crockett,” at Baylor School.
The particular scene in which Mr. Ebsen took part was a water crossing that re-enacted the movement of Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson’s armed cavalry in a military campaign against the Creek Indians in North Alabama. Mr. Parker was playing Davy Crockett, who was serving in Gen. Jackson’s army, while Mr. Ebsen was playing one of Crockett’s frontier buddies.
They and some Chattanooga area extras were crossing Baylor Lake from the north end when their horses quickly became stuck in the mud. In fact, much work was required to get the horses out safely.
Afterward, director Norman Foster, who was on the south bank of the lake along with veteran cameraman Charles Boyle and the rest of the staff, said that the scene would have to be retaken at another time. He also said he had made a mistake in not having the bottom of the water tested beforehand.
Besides Mr. Parker and Mr. Ebsen, the other riders of horses included actor William Bakewell, who was playing Maj. Norton, and several Chattanooga area residents of note.
They were attorney Frank Gleason of Rossville, who played a colonel; local insurance salesmen James B. Irvine Jr. and John R. McGauley; J.G. Baker, a retired cavalryman; Baylor students Alexander Orr of Miami, William Hartman of Atlanta, and Winfield Reed of Chattanooga; Baylor alumnus Summerfield K. Johnston Jr., who would become a major Coca-Cola bottler; Wade Horton of Cleveland, Tenn.; and Glenn Dalton and Bert West from the Johnston farm in Cleveland. Many of the horses had belonged to the Johnstons, although Mr. Gleason and Mr. McGauley provided their own.
The news reporter writing about the filming later was not sure if this scene was used, or if one filmed two days later with another crew was selected.
Several other scenes were filmed around the sprawling and scenic Baylor campus, including a shot of Crockett capturing a bear alongside the Tennessee River. A man of Native American descent had been brought from Cherokee, N.C., for this scene.
The film, which was also shot in the Smokies and at Hollywood, was shown over three nights on ABC TV beginning in December 1954 and was shown locally on WDEF Channel 12, the only television station in Chattanooga at the time.
Although Mr. Ebsen was considered a minor actor at the time of his filming at Baylor, he went on to become one of the icons of TV with his roles as Jed Clampett on “The Beverly Hillbillies” in the 1960s and as detective Barnaby Jones beginning in the 1970s.
Mr. Ebsen’s obituary said his role in the “Davy Crockett” movie was the beginning of his making a name for himself as a television star.
The film also helped him literally make quite a splash at Baylor Lake.
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