Donna Douglas is dead at 82, and her niece-in-law says that the "Beverly Hillbillies" star might haunt her for revealing something about the late actress' real age.
According to USA Today, Donna Douglas' niece-in-law, Charlene Smith, has confirmed the death of her aunt on New Year's Day. She said that the remarkable star. who portrayed Elly May Clamped on the 1960s sitcom, passed away due to pancreatic cancer.
The television actress reportedly died at Baton Rouge General Hospital in Zachary, La., and several media outlets wrote that Douglas passed away at 81.
However, Smith has revealed that her aunt's real age is actually 82, jokingly adding "She's going to haunt me for that."
The Louisiana beauty queen reportedly headed to the Big Apple in the mid-1950s after winning the crown and in search for modelling jobs there.
Nonetheless, instead of booking some work related to modelling, she ended up singing on as a billboard girl on "The Steve Allen Show."
Following her first TV stint, she took acting lessons and pursued a career in a couple of TV shows prior to landing a spot at Paul Henning's "The Beverly Hillbillies," reports Los Angeles Times.
"I just looked at him and grinned," Douglas was quoted saying back in 1965. "Could I handle Elly May? Why, it was just like my own life."
Apart from her role in the hit series, Donna Douglas also made remarkable appearances in a number of shows and movies such as the "Twilight Zone" episode titled "Eye of the Beholder" and a starring role in "Frankie and Johnny" opposite Elvis Presley.
In 2011, Douglas made headlines after she filed a lawsuit against Mattel and CBS Consumer Products for creating an Elly May Barbie doll using her image back when the show was at its peak.
Douglas was married and divorce twice. She is survived by a son named Danny Bourgeois, the Sydney Morning Herald has learned.
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