[Bernard Marx]

Yes, the cast members were great. Ebsen was quite reserved in person but very responsive to questions and extremely polite. It was hard for me to believe he got his start in show business as a hoofer. He and his sister had a vaudeville act named The Baby Astaires and he went on to dance in many of the later big Hollywood production musicals.

Irene Ryan was a complete crack-up. I didn't get a chance to eat much dinner that evening -- I was laughing too hard. I was saddened when she passed away from a brain tumor. She, too, had her beginnings in vaudeville.

Douglas and Baer in person seemed very much like their Hillbillies characters -- not in a hillbilly way but in the warmth and friendliness they projected. Their series characters drew a lot from their own personalities. It was a good show from a troubled time. I wish we had more like it today, along with Carol Burnett, Andy Williams who just died (RIP Andy) and many more from that less culturally-conflicted time.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Most know the story about Ebsen and the silver paint reaction getting him dropped from the “Wizard of Oz.” However he's not completely out of the movie. His voice can still be heard in the song “We're Off To See The Wizard.” It was one of the first things they did on the film and even after Ebsen was out the studio decided not to go through the expense of re recording the song.

[Scoutmaster]

I remember watching a MLB All-Stars/Celebrities softball game on TV in 1967. Mantle, Mays, Killebrew, Clemente, Drysdale, McCovey, and others versus Max Baer Jr., Peter Falk, Woody Allen, Larry Storch, and others.

The game was played in Dodger Stadium.

Baer crushed a softball over the fence in left center field. It was . . . impressive.