Can you tell me about Irene Ryan, who played Granny on The Beverly Hillbillies? How old was she when she played the role and did she make any movies?
—Nola Anderson, Payson, Utah
Called "Reenie" by her friends, Ryan died in 1973 at age 70 after she suffered a stroke during a performance of Pippin on Broadway. Born in El Paso, Texas, she had a career in vaudeville, radio and film before she took on the role of Daisy "Granny" Moses on the hit TV series The Beverly Hillbillies in 1962 at age 59. Between 1935 and 1960, she appeared in about 45 films, including Desire in the Dust, Bonzo Goes to College and Diary of a Chambermaid.
