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Ebsen, Christian Ludolf (1908-2003)

Rollins College Alumnus and Actor

Christian Ludolph “Buddy” Ebsen, Jr., born to Christian Rudolph Sr. and Frances Ebsen on April 2, 1908, lived in Belleville , Illinois until the age of ten. His father taught physical education and dance, and his mother worked as a seamstress and costumer. The family, including Ebsen’s four sisters, then moved to Palm Beach, Florida (where a fastball to the throat resulted in Ebsen’s signature voice) until 1920, when they relocated to Orlando. In high school, Ebsen took ballet lessons, but later switched to playing football as a guard because of his peer’s ridicule. During the years of 1924 to 1926, Ebsen placed five times in swimming meets. His interest in dance returned after viewing a vaudeville performance at the Bijou Theater. Additionally, he worked at the pharmacy in the Angebilt Hotel as a waiter, then as a soda jerk. Ebsen attended Orlando High School , graduating in 1926. Initially, he had an interest in medicine. He attended the University of Florida in Gainesville from 1926 to 1927, then Rollins College in Winter Park from 1927 to 1928. The collapse of Florida ’ land boom, however, led to economic difficulty and prompted Ebsen to discontinue higher education at age twenty. Meanwhile, Ebsen’s father served as a dancing instructor on the faculty of Rollins from 1928 to 1932.

Ebsen moved to New York in 1928, with fifty dollars borrowed from his sister, Norma. He sought to further his career as a dancer, but had only twenty-five cents left when he met an old friend who found Ebsen employment in a drugstore. Ebsen’s break into performance art began with his role as a chorus boy in Whoopee. Ebsen then sent for his sister Vilma, and the two of them created a dance partnership (called “The Baby Astaires”), appearing on the Broadway production of Flying Colors. The duo then participated in a film, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer Incorporated’s (M.G.M.) Broadway Melody of 1936. Ebsen’s sister left the entertainment industry, but he remained and appeared in Captain January (1936), Broadway Melody of 1938, and The Girl of the Golden West (1938). Ebsen had a supporting role in Born to Dance (1936) and, owing to his unique style of dance, Walt Disney had a dancing Ebsen filmed in front of a grid to aid Mickey Mouse’s animators during the production of Silly Symphonies (1929 to 1939). Additionally, M.G.M. cast Ebsen as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939), a part he traded for that of the Tinman. An allergic reaction to the aluminum dust utilized for cosmetic effect, however, led to Ebsen’s hospitalization for severe respiratory difficulties; he could not return to the film.

In the aftermath of a contract dispute with M.G.M., Ebsen took up sailing and, because of his proficiency, taught the skill to candidates for the United States Navy. He attempted on multiple occasions to enlist in the Navy in 1941, but the Navy denied his applications. Thus, Ebsen instead joined the Coast Guard as a Lieutenant, Junior Grade, and served as damage control officer and later as an executive officer as a weather recorder on the USS Pocatello. In 1946, the Coast Guard honorably discharged Lieutenant Ebsen, thus adding patriot to his list of accomplishments.

Ebsen returned to acting following his time in the Coast Guard. In 1947 and 1948, he played Tommy Turner in the Rollins production of The Male Animal. Ebsen also took parts in various television shows after debuting on a 1949 episode of The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre. In the 1958 to 1959 season, Ebsen co-starred the National Broadcasting Company’s (N.B.C.) early color program, Northwest Passage, as Sergeant Hunk Marriner. Ebsen also participated in many films, such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). His most well-known role, however, was that of Jed Clampet in The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971) and in the made-for-television movie Return of The Beverly Hillbillies (1981). Also, Ebsen had the title role in series Barnaby Jones (1973 to 1980). In 1993, he did a cameo appearance as Barnaby Jones in film version of The Beverly Hillbillies (1993).

In regards to his personal life, in 1936, Ebsen married Ruth Cambridge, with whom he had two daughters: Elizabeth and Alix. He and Ruth divorced in 1942 and two years later, he married Nancy Wilcott. His second marriage produced five children: Susannah, Cathy, Bonnie, Kiersten, and Dustin, and also ended in divorce in 1985. That year, he married Dorothy Knott, with whom he had a child. Ebsen had many hobbies. He enjoyed activities such as dancing, swimming, sailing, and painting. During his later years, Ebsen sold his own folk art. He died of pneumonia on July 6, 2003 in Torrance, California, but Ebsen remains one of the Rollins’ most recognizable alumni.

– Angelica Garcia

Enyart, Arthur (182-1961)

Dean Emeritus of Men

James Homer and Susan Cart (McCarter) Enyart had a son, Arthur, in Dayton, Ohio on May 5, 1882. Arthur Enyart received his Artium Baccalaureatus and his Artium Magister degrees from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1906, where he also played college football. After graduation, he functioned as an assistant pastor at the Trinity M.E. Church in Portsmouth, Ohio, and as an instructor at the East Greenwich Academy (Rhode Island). In 1910, Enyart earned a Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus from Boston University. Additionally, he held two honorary degrees: a Doctorate of Letters from Rollins College in 1914, and Doctor of Laws degree from Boston University in 1957. Enyart conducted graduate studies at Brown and Harvard Universities. Additionally, he had memberships to the University Club of Winter Park, Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Gamma Mu, Sigma Chi Omega, Phi Kappa Psi, the Freemasons, and an honorary membership to the Winter Park Rotary Club.

Enyart became the Dean of Men at Rollins in 1912, after President William Blackman requested a “disciplinarian.” Instead of following the rules elucidated in the College’s syllabus of behavioral guidelines, Enyart tore up his copy in favor of a policy of self-discipline. “Discipline is no good whatsoever unless it is self-imposed.” ^[1] He also served as co-acting president of Rollins with William R. O’Neal from 1916 through 1917. Assuming the role of professor, Enyart also taught English (1912 to 1917), Philosophy (1912 to 1914, 1915 to 1917), and the Bible (1915 to 1916). In 1917, Enyart went on a hiatus from Rollins to work for nearly two years in France and with the Graves Record Department in the United States. Preceding the army abroad, he headed the Young Men’s Christian Association’s (Y.M.C.A.) arrangements and purchasing. Enyart then became the Dean of Burdette College (Boston, Massachusetts) in 1919, remaining until 1929. Returning to Rollins in 1930, Enyart reassumed his position as dean and held widespread popularity amongst the faculty and student body.

Best known for his nontraditional methods regarding discipline, immaculate dress, predilection for reckless driving, and annual holiday readings of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843), Enyart received the affectionate title “Mr. Rollins.” Numerous instances of his informal relationship with the students, such as dousing prankster students with a fire hose after stealing a bell from an abandoned turpentine mill and ringing it on top of Knowles Hall, or sneaking pupils out on a Sunday to go boating at Wekiwa Springs (despite compulsory church attendance), made him an especially beloved figure. His commitment to the school earned him a Rollins Declaration of Honor in 1939 and the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion (1953). Aside from his position as dean, professor, chair of economics and business administration, director of chapel activities, and serving as consultant to the administration (1955), Enyart also valued highly the athletic departments. He received the O.O.O.O. (Omnipotent Order of Osceola) trophy from Rollins in 1950 (the first faculty member to do so), in recognition of his sportsmanlike spirit. For example, when describing a recollection about Rollins’ football games he stated: “Many, many a thing is lost or gained by the spirit you put into it.” ^[2] Thus, in 1968 the College commemorated his contributions by dedicating the Enyart-Alumni Field House to him. Enyart died on June 9, 1961.

-Angelica Garcia