Vilma Ebsen, who danced in the film "Broadway Melody of 1936" with her brother Buddy long before he became famous on "The Beverly Hillbillies," has died. She was 96.

Vilma Ebsen, a dance instructor and co-owner of the old Ebsen School of Dancing in Pacific Palisades, died March 12 at the Thousand Oaks Health Care Center, her son Robert Dolan said Tuesday.

As she grew up, she taught at her father's Orlando, Fla., dance school, then joined her brother in New York for the Broadway run of the musical "Whoopee."

…

Dolan said his mother had a fabulous sense of humor and was telling jokes the week before she died. "Could she tell stories! They got better over the years and the last 10 years were the best."

One of Dolan's favorite jokes was one his mom made up and sold to a comic for $50, he said. "My mom said, 'If I ever have an out-of-body experience, I'm not going back. I'm going into Shirley MacLaine's because she's never there."

Besides her two sons, Ebsen is survived by two granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.

Rest In Peace, Vilma.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.