RESERVIST MAGAZINE A LIGHT ON YESTERYEAR They steer themselves by their heads. When they are up there drifting around and they want to turn right, they turn their heads to the right and off they go to the right. When they want to go left, they just turn their heads to the left. Don’t let anyone tell you this isn’t true. I watched seagulls morning, noon, and night just to keep from blowing my top. — Hollywood Actor Buddy Ebsen Late in life, when asked what he learned during his World War II service in the Coast Guard, the Hollywood actor replied with the quote above. A veteran of monotonous weather patrol duty, Lt. Buddy Ebsen had plenty of spare time to study the behavior of sea birds in the North Pacific. In the fall of 1962, Americans were glued to their television sets. A new show, The Beverly Hillbillies, about a mountain man who struck oil, became rich and moved his family to Beverly Hills had premiered that September. The show quickly soared to number one on the charts and ran for nine seasons. Later, in 1973, a private detective came to life on the television show Barnaby Jones, which ran for eight seasons. Both characters were played by Hollywood actor Buddy Ebsen, who served in the Coast Guard Reserve during World War II. Born in Belleville, Illinois, in 1908, Christian Ludolf Ebsen, Jr., was the third of five children and the only son. His father, who had immigrated to the United States from Germany, owned the Ebsen Natatorium, an athletic social club. Ebsen learned to swim and dance almost as soon as he could walk, and he worked summers for his father as a locker boy and lifeguard. In 1921, on the advice of their doctor, the family moved to Florida. Ebsen’s mother, Frances, was often sick, and the Florida climate was likely a respite. The family first lived in Palm Beach and later Orlando, where Ebsen’s father owned a dance studio. Inspired by his sister who suffered from epilepsy, Ebsen planned to become a doctor. He entered the University of Florida as a pre-med student in the fall of 1926, but growing financial troubles forced him to transfer to Rollins College, just four miles from the Ebsen home. However, Rollins College did not have science courses, so Ebsen’s mother suggested he take a drama course as an elective—a choice that changed his life. The Long Blue Line: Buddy Ebsen Hollywood actor and World War II patrol frigate officer Story by Nora L. Chidlow Buddy Ebsen posing in a faded photo with fellow junior Coast Guard Reserve officers. He stands in the center, the tallest of the men. U.S. Coast Guard photo 36 ReseRvist . Issue 1 • 2023 CELEBRATING CELEBRATING 70 70 YEARS OF THE RESERVIST YEARS OF THE RESERVIST
