(Buddy Ebsen passed away on July 6, 2003, at the age of 95. This interview was written in April 2002.)

By Adelle Jameson Tilton

Adelle Jameson Tilton: Mr. Ebsen, I so enjoyed talking to you again this morning and I am hoping we will be speaking again soon. As I said, my goal here is to give to my readers all I can about Buddy Ebsen the person. Painter, writer, and soulmate of Dorothy. And as I said, everyone needs to know about your book.

I'd like to thank you first of all for taking the time from your schedule to visit with us here at Celebrity News on About. We all know you as an actor, but many people don't realize how multi-dimensional you are. Could you tell us a little about some of your other projects, like your new book, Kelly's Quest?

Buddy Ebsen: Thank you. I would love to.

Kelly's Quest is the story of a girl who has heard about, and read all her life about Mr. Right, that legendary perfect lover, companion and soulmate every girl dreams of. As a little girl, sitting on her doting grandmother's lap, Kelly has listened as she was told of this handsome young knight on a beautiful, white horse, who would ride into her life and carry her off to his castle where she would reign as his princess forever. That's if Kelly would only believe and wait. But Kelly did not wait. She sets out to look for this paragon, the fabulous Mr. Right. That became the story of Kelly's Quest.

Kelly moved into my mind and took over. All I had to do was write down her fantastic adventures and I had a book. A "How To" book on how to find Mr. Right!

Adelle Jameson Tilton: I read the book and enjoyed it very much. I was wondering, is it based on an actual incident that you observed during your career in Hollywood?

Buddy Ebsen: Yes, it is based on an actual incident... seeing a girl stage hand at work. I had never seen a beautiful young woman doing a man's job and it fascinated me. Why did she prefer a man's job? It was something that was changing in the work force and here it was happening in my world, right in front of me and it was taking me by surprise. The girl fascinated me.

Adelle Jameson Tilton: Did being an actor help you to create the characters in the book? I would think that being able to assume characters ranging from Barnaby Jones to Jed Clampet would give you an advantage.

Buddy Ebsen: Every character that you play is assumed. Some people are born with the ability to assume a character with two or three broad strokes. This is called impressionism. Every person has this to a degree or they would not have chosen to become actors for a living.

In Kelly's Quest, I relied on my 75 years in show business and my sensitivity for and remembrance of speech patterns or what has been called an ear for dialogue.

Adelle Jameson Tilton: How much time did you spend writing it?

Buddy Ebsen: Counting rewrites, I would say four years. That is not at my usual or targeted pace of five pages a day, but includes rewrite time which is hard to count.

Adelle Jameson Tilton: Did you ever suffer "writer's block" when you were working on it?

Buddy Ebsen: I have never suffered (from) writer's block, although the words flow out better some days. Kelly and her story were continuously floating out of me.

Adelle Jameson Tilton: I know you also wrote a book on your Hollywood experiences. How did writing fiction differ from writing non-fiction?

Buddy Ebsen: Non-fiction is the truth of what happens to you or as you remember it. Writing fiction, there are no limits to what you write as long as it increases the value of the paper you are writing on.

Adelle Jameson Tilton: Many writers set a specific amount of time to write each day. Do you follow such a schedule in your writing?

Buddy Ebsen: In writing Kelly's Quest I wrote every day from 4:00 am to 7:00 or 8:00 am.

Adelle Jameson Tilton: There are a lot of moral issues that are explored in the book. What do you think is the most important message you wanted to convey through this story?

Buddy Ebsen: That in her quest for her Mr. Right, Kelly does nothing that erodes her self respect.

Adelle Jameson Tilton: Do you have other story ideas in mind?

Buddy Ebsen: Yes. About six. But I don't talk about them. I have found that the more I talk about a project, the less I do.

Adelle Jameson Tilton: If you were to make the book into a movie, who would you cast in the major roles?

Buddy Ebsen: I would search for new talent. Not that there is a dearth of established talent available, but the world is full of new exciting young actors and actresses, fully prepared and chomping at the bit to sink their teeth into a playable part and run with it. Those are the people I would search for.

Interview Part I

Interview Part II

Interview Part III

Personal Profile

"Kelly's Quest" Review