How did the Beverly Hillbillies end?

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Nielsen ratings for the 1970-71 season show that the bottom had dropped out for the perennial Top 30 series, but was still fairly popular when it was canceled in 1971 after 274 episodes. The CBS network, prompted by pressure from advertisers seeking a more sophisticated urban audience, decided to refocus its schedule on several "hip" new urban-themed shows, and to make room for them, all of CBS's rural-themed comedies were simultaneously canceled, despite some considerable Nielson ratings. This action came to be known as "the Rural Purge". Pat Buttram, who played Mr. Haney on Green Acres, famously remarked that, "It was the year CBS killed everything with a tree in it."[13] In addition to The Beverly Hillbillies,(rated #18) the series that were eliminated included, Green Acres, Mayberry R.F.D. (rated #15) and Hee Haw, the latter of which was resurrected in first-run syndication, where it ran for another 21 years. Petticoat Junction had been canceled a year earlier due to declining ratings following the death of its star, Bea Benaderet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hillbillies Dec 02 09, 11:00 PM