He was cast to appear in The Wizard of Oz (1939), originally as the Scarecrow, but before filming began, his role was changed to the Tin Man.

[5][6] Ebsen Sr. worked as a choreographer and was a physical fitness advocate; he owned a dance studio and subsequently operated a swimming pool for the local school district.

[citation needed] Ebsen was raised in Belleville until the age of ten when his family moved to Palm Beach County, Florida.

[citation needed] During his high school years, Ebsen became a member of John M. Cheney Chapter, Order of DeMolay.

Family financial problems caused by the collapse of the Florida land boom forced Ebsen to leave college at age 20.

[10] Ebsen left Orlando in the summer of 1928 to try his luck as a dancer in New York City, arriving with only $26.75 in his pocket, and worked at a soda fountain shop.

He and his sister Vilma Ebsen performed as a dance act in supper clubs and in vaudeville — they were known as "The Baby Astaires".

However, he soon began experiencing body aches, muscle cramps, and shortness of breath, eventually leading to a lengthy hospitalization.

Doctors determined that the aluminum dust used in the Tin Man makeup was coating his lungs and keeping his blood from being oxygenated,[11] and he was forced to leave the production.

[12][13] Ebsen recalled in an interview included on the 2005 DVD release of The Wizard of Oz that the MGM studio heads did not believe that he was ill until he was ordered back to the set and was intercepted by an angry nurse.

[14] After recovering from the illness, Ebsen became embroiled in a contract dispute with MGM that left him idle for long periods.

The United States Coast Guard accepted his application for a commission, and he was promptly given the rank of lieutenant, junior grade.

This series, the first half-hour Western filmed and broadcast in color on NBC, was a fictionalized account of Major Robert Rogers, a colonial American fighter for the British in the French and Indian War.

Ebsen also portrayed a corrupt, bloodthirsty marshal in "El Paso Stage", an episode of Have Gun, Will Travel broadcast in April 1961.

Arthur O'Connell had played Virge Blessing in the earlier film version on which the series was loosely based.

Paul Henning recalls his reason for choosing Ebsen to play Jed Clampett: "I had seen him on TV and I couldn't imagine anyone else doing the role," he says.

The show also spawned similar Paul Henning-produced rural sitcoms such as Green Acres and Petticoat Junction, which were eventually linked in crossover episode arcs.

The Beverly Hillbillies was still earning good ratings when it was canceled by CBS (because programmers began shunning shows that attracted a rural audience).

[19] Not all was harmonious among cast members on The Beverly Hillbillies set, especially between the politically conservative Ebsen and the more liberal Nancy Kulp.

Ebsen appeared briefly as Barnaby Jones on two other productions: a 1975 episode of Cannon and the 1993 film The Beverly Hillbillies.

"[24] Ebsen's last regular television series was Matt Houston on ABC, starring Lee Horsley.

In 1999, Ebsen provided the voice of Chet Elderson for an episode of the Fox Entertainment program King of the Hill.

As Ebsen entered his nineties, he continued to keep active, and two years before his death, his bestselling novel Kelly's Quest was published.

[29][31] Ebsen wrote several other books including Polynesian Concept (about sailing), The Other Side of Oz (an autobiography) and Sizzling Cold Case (a mystery based on his Barnaby Jones character).