[1] Davis played railroad conductor Floyd Smoot on the CBS television series Petticoat Junction from 1963 to 1968 and in 1970 guest appearances.

He went into show business at the age of 20, adopted the name "Rufe Davis" (though he continued to use his real name in private life) and joined the Weaver Brothers and Elviry vaudeville touring company in 1929.

A 1949 review of his act at the Los Angeles Orpheum says, "Rufe Davis wins mitts with his rural comedy routines, imitations of instruments and train whistles.

[4] Davis is perhaps best known to modern audiences for his portrayal of Hooterville Cannonball train conductor Floyd Smoot on Petticoat Junction (and occasionally on Green Acres).

In the Green Acres episode "Never Trust a Little Old Lady", train engineer Charley Pratt (played by Smiley Burnette) says, "Floyd Smoot, you're a stubborn fool!"

Davis and Burnette perform the song in the Petticoat Junction episodes "Hooterville A-Go-Go" and "The Almost Annual Charity Show".