Legendary television actor Buddy Ebsen has died.

A hospital nursing supervisor in Torrance, Calif., confirmed Monday that Ebsen died Sunday. He was 95.

He was admitted to the hospital, near his home in Palos Verdes Estates, last month for treatment of an undisclosed illness.

Ebsen was best known for playing mountaineer Jed Clampett on the 1960s series "The Beverly Hillbillies" from 1962 to 1971.

He became a national favorite playing the patriarch of an rich Ozark family who struck oil and moved to the snooty confines of Beverly Hills. The show was blasted by the critics, but still drew 60 million viewers.

"As I recall, the only good notice was in the Saturday Review," Ebsen once said, according to The Associated Press. "The critic said the show possessed 'social comment combined with a high Nielsen, an almost impossible achievement in these days.' I kinda liked that."

Ebsen also scored big on televsion by playing the title role in the detective show "Barnaby Jones" 1973 to 1980.

Ironically, Ebsen appeared as Jones in a cameo in the big screen version of "The Beverly Hillbillies" in 1993 -- a film that featured the late Jim Varney in the role of Clampett.

Television brought Ebsen's amiable personality to the home screen, first as Fess Parker's sidekick in "Davy Crockett" on the "Disneyland" series from 1954 to 1955.

In addition to his television roles, Ebsen appeared in several films, starting in 1936. Ebsen started out as a dancer -- along with his sister Vilma -- in Broadway shows and MGM musicals of the 1930s. He danced with Shirley Temple before turning to acting, and appeared with Temple in "Captain January" in 1936.

His other films of the 1930s included "Banjo on My Knee" and "Four Girls in White." Ebsen's later films included 1961's "Breakfast at Tiffany's," where he starred opposite the late Audrey Hepburn.

Ebsen was also the original "Tin Man" in "The Wizard of Oz." But after 10 days of filming, the aluminum makeup on his skin made him sick -- and he was replaced by Jack Haley. He later detailed the experience and his acting career in his 1994 autobiography "The Other Side of Oz."

The actor was born Christian Rudolph Ebsen in Belleville, Ill., on April 2, 1908. His official Web site paid tribute to the actor with the words, "Buddy Ebsen, 1908-2003: American Icon, Legend Now Among The Immortals."