![]() He was particularly eager to work on his acting. Though offers of stage work were waiting for him in New York City, Ebsen decided to stay in Los Angeles and shift the focus of his work to the movies. Vilma Ebsen decided to leave show business to get married. They were cast in Broadway Melody of 1936 for their screen debut. In 1935 Metro-Goldwin-Mayer (MGM) invited Ebsen and his sister to make a screen test in Hollywood, California. With the nation suffering an economic depression, Ebsen gave up all thoughts of returning to school to pursue a show business career. The brother and sister emerged as a sought-after act in 1930, appearing at nightclubs, touring in vaudeville shows, and performing in several more Broadway musicals, including Flying Colors (1932) and The Ziegfeld Follies of 1934. The show, which starred Eddie Cantor, was a hit, and the Ebsens proved popular with Broadway audiences during an eighteen-month run. Ebsen brought his sister Vilma to try out, and the pair was hired. After months of auditions he was offered a role in a Florence Ziegfeld musical, Whoopee, on the condition that he could find a partner of acceptable height. He immediately discovered that his height (now six feet, three inches), which had been an advantage at the dance school, eliminated him from consideration for most dancing roles in Broadway musicals. With dancing his only marketable skill, Ebsen went to New York City, hoping to earn money to return to his studies. A catastrophic collapse in Florida land prices bankrupted the family, forcing Ebsen to withdraw from college in the spring of 1928. His father, who had invested heavily in Florida real estate, suffered financial reversals, and Ebsen transferred to the University of Florida as a sophomore to take advantage of lower tuition charges at the state university. In 1926 he enrolled at Rollins College in nearby Winter Park, Florida, with the intention of preparing for medical school. Trained by his father in ballroom dancing and tall enough to partner with adult women (he was six feet tall by age fifteen), Ebsen worked in the family business as a dance teacher. Louis, until Ebsen was ten years old, when they moved to Orlando, Florida, and opened a dance school. 6 July 2003 in Torrance, California), dancer and actor who starred in two consecutive top-rated prime-time television series: The Beverly Hillbillies and Barnaby Jones.Įbsen, who acquired the nickname “Buddy” as a child, was one of four children (and the only son) of Christian Ebsen, a dance teacher, and Franciska (Wendt) Ebsen, also a dance teacher.
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