Buddy Ebsen - Personal Life

Personal Life

Ebsen married Ruth Cambridge in 1936 and had two daughters, Elizabeth and Alix. The couple divorced in 1942. In 1944, Ebsen met and married Nancy Wolcott. They had five children: Susannah, Cathy, Bonnie, Kiersten, and Dustin. In 1985, the 41-year marriage ended in divorce. That same year, Ebsen met his third wife, Dorothy Knott. The couple had one child. Throughout his long life, Ebsen had many hobbies: public speaking, traveling, singing, playing guitar, golfing, spending time with his family, riding horses, swimming, gardening, fishing, sailing, painting, and building sailboats. He became a folk artist and, as an avid coin collector, co-founded the Beverly Hills Coin Club in 1987 with much younger actor Chris Aable. Ebsen's favorite leisure time activity undoubtedly was dancing. As Ebsen entered his 90s, he continued to keep active, and there were media reports that he had begun work on his first novel about a year before his death.

Ebsen's love for sailing and the Naval service never waned. He donated 4 open ocean sailing yachts (named Polynesian Concepts I, II, III and IV) to the United States Naval Academy's Sailing Squadron in Annapolis, Maryland.