Copyright Canundrum
At one point, 55 full episodes of the show ended up landing in public domain. This had never happened before, and people jumped at the lucky opportunity. Turns out, someone had forgotten to renew the copyright deal, and the show became accessible to low-budget production companies. While the problem was being fixed, companies were able to air the episodes without paying, and even made DVDs and VHSs of the episodes before they were blocked. The only thing missing? The real music.
The Last Hillbilly
As of January 2015, there were hardly any members of the cast still living. The only one that was still left was the man who played Jethro. Max Baer became the last surviving hillbilly after the sad passing of Donna Douglas. There were many ideas tossed around about creating Beverly Hillbilly-themed resorts and hotels, but none of that has ever come to fruition. As the cast dwindles, it’s unlikely it will ever come to pass.