The Other Side of Oz

Ebsen's career was launched when he and his sister Vilma danced in the Eddie Cantor Broadway hit Whoopee! and in Ziegfield Follies of 1934 . Later, in Hollywood, his co-stars numbered the likes of Judy Garland, Shirley Temple and Audrey Hepburn. Ebsen's media have included stage, radio, movies and TV, but he is best known for his roles in the long-running TV series Beverly Hillbillies and Barnaby Jones . In this memoir, the performer, who was born in Illinois in 1908, the son of German immigrants, recalls his early film experiences, especially as the originally cast Tin Woodsman in The Wizard of Oz --before he was fired. Unfortunately, despite the obvious richness of Ebsen's career, fragmentary reminiscences and amateur writing do not make for an involving autobiography. Photos. (Jan.)