Irene Ryan Defied Her Mother to Become an Actress: Her Road to Granny on ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’

By the time Irene Ryan stepped into the role of Daisy “Granny” Moses on The Beverly Hillbillies in 1962, she had already spent decades entertaining audiences. Long before television made her a household name, Ryan had built a career in vaudeville, radio and film, developing the comic timing and larger-than-life personality that would eventually turn Granny into one of TV’s most unforgettable characters.

Born Jessie Irene Noblitt in El Paso, Texas, on October 17, 1902, Ryan’s path to the spotlight wasn’t exactly encouraged at home. Her Irish-born mother was deeply superstitious and reportedly warned her daughter that if she ever met the Devil, it would be backstage. The warning did little to dampen Irene’s enthusiasm for performing. At just 11 years old, she entered an amateur contest in San Francisco, giving audiences an early glimpse of the talent and confidence that would eventually define her career.

The turning point came in her early adulthood. In 1922, she married comedian and writer Tim Ryan, and together the pair developed a popular vaudeville act built around quick-fire comedy and playful verbal sparring. As vaudeville gave way to new forms of entertainment, the couple successfully adapted, bringing their act to radio and a series of short films. Between 1935 and 1937, they starred in numerous comedy shorts for Educational Pictures, becoming familiar faces in an era when two-reel comedies were a staple of moviegoing long before TV entered American homes.

When Irene and Tim Ryan divorced in 1942, it might have seemed like the end of one of vaudeville’s most successful partnerships. Instead, the two proved they could remain professional colleagues even after their marriage ended. Within a year, they were working together again, appearing in four feature films between 1943 and 1944, including The Mayor of 44th Street and Hot Rhythm. The reunion spoke not only to their shared history but also to the respect they continued to have for one another as performers.

From vaudeville to TV

At the same time, Ryan was building a successful career of her own. Her quick wit and impeccable comic timing earned her a regular role on The Bob Hope Show, where she spent two years trading jokes with one of the biggest stars in entertainment. The association also gave her the opportunity to participate in Hope’s USO tours, bringing comedy to servicemen during World War II. Ryan’s profile continued to rise through appearances in comedy shorts with Edgar Kennedy and a growing number of film roles, including O, My Darling Clementine (1943), an unrelated production released several years before John Ford’s better-known My Darling Clementine.

Ryan’s success on radio didn’t disappear overnight when the medium began losing ground to television. After appearances on programs such as The Jack Carson Show in the mid-1940s, she once again adapted to a changing industry, taking her talents to nightclubs and live venues throughout the 1950s. There, she developed a popular one-woman act that kept her in demand and demonstrated the versatility that had sustained her career since her vaudeville days.

As television emerged as the nation’s dominant form of entertainment, Ryan made sure she was part of that transition as well. One of her earliest notable TV appearances came on The Danny Thomas Show in 1955, opening the door to a growing number of guest-starring roles. Over the next several years, viewers saw her on programs including General Electric Theater, The Red Skelton Hour and The Real McCoys, as she quietly built a reputation as one of television’s most reliable character performers. Then came the opportunity of a lifetime.

How old was Irene Ryan when she played Granny?

After years spent moving from vaudeville to radio, nightclubs, films and television, Ryan finally found the role that would make her a star. In 1962 she was cast as Daisy “Granny” Moses on The Beverly Hillbillies, the feisty, homespun matriarch of the Clampett family. The character would become inseparable from her public image and introduce her to an entirely new generation of fans.

But landing the role was hardly a foregone conclusion. By the time The Beverly Hillbillies went into production, Ryan was already a veteran performer with decades of experience behind her. What the producers needed wasn’t simply a comedian who could deliver punchlines, but an actress capable of bringing warmth, toughness and authenticity to a character who could be both hilariously eccentric and fiercely protective of her family.

IRENE RYAN: “I had to fight for it. They told my agent I was too young. I had worked with [series creator] Paul Henning on The Dennis Day Show, got an audition and made my case. It was the first time I had to close a script from laughing. I told ’em if they had anybody older, they’d never make it up at 5 a.m. for filming.” (El Paso News, 1972)

Ryan was just 59 when she first donned Granny’s wire-rimmed glasses and homespun wardrobe, yet she disappeared so completely into the character that many viewers assumed she was far older. With her distinctive Appalachian accent, comic timing and no-nonsense attitude, she transformed Daisy Moses into a believable backwoods matriarch, convincing audiences that she had stepped straight out of the Ozarks rather than decades of experience in vaudeville, radio and film.

IRENE RYAN: “How do I feel about all this? It’s like I have gone to heaven. Honestly, it’s so funny that I just sit and laugh. Six months ago, no one cared whether I was alive or dead. Now everyone I meet asks, ‘How old are you, really, Granny?’ The show is just so simple, just good old-fashioned comedy. No one is neurotic, we solve no world problems and there’s no message about anything.”

Audiences weren’t the only ones who embraced Ryan’s work as Granny. Her performance earned consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1963 and 1964, recognition that reflected just how central the character had become to the show’s success. Behind the scenes, she was equally admired, earning a reputation among cast and crew members as a consummate professional whose warmth and sense of humor made her a favorite on the set.

What did Irene Ryan pass away from?

When The Beverly Hillbillies ended its nine-season run in 1971, Ryan, who was 68 at the time, could easily have stepped away from the spotlight. Instead, she embarked on an unexpected new chapter. In 1972, she joined the original Broadway production of Pippin, playing Berthe, the title character’s spirited grandmother. Night after night, she brought audiences to their feet with her show-stopping rendition of “No Time at All,” proving that even after becoming a television icon, she remained a dynamic stage performer. Tragically, the comeback would be cut short.

That promising new chapter came to a heartbreaking end in March 1973. During a performance of Pippin on March 10, Ryan suffered a stroke and was rushed for medical treatment. After returning to California, doctors discovered that she had an inoperable glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Just weeks later, on April 26, 1973, she died at the age of 70.

Although Ryan never had children of her own, her life was rich with personal and professional relationships. She was married to comedian Tim Ryan from 1922 until their divorce in 1942, a partnership that helped establish both performers as stars of vaudeville, radio and film. She later married Harold E. Knox, remaining with him from 1946 until their divorce in 1961. By the time of her death, however, Ryan’s greatest legacy was the body of work she left behind and the generations of fans who continued to cherish her performances.

If there was a quality that defined Irene Ryan throughout her long career, it was her refusal to let other people decide what she could or couldn’t be. Long before The Beverly Hillbillies made her a television star, she had spent decades proving herself in an industry that was constantly changing. In a 1953 interview, she shared a message that reflected the confidence and determination that guided her own life:

IRENE RYAN: “Being true to myself. There was a time when I envied the most beautiful girl in my class, but I outgrew that and learned to make the most of my funny face. Being happy, successful, finding a pleasant form of expression does not depend on having regular features. Don’t let anything stop you from getting everything you want out of life. The less beautiful you are, the harder you will have to work developing yourself, but far better than depending on beauty for everything, because what will you have when that fades?”

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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 12:10 PM.