Buddy Ebsen Recalls New Year’s Prayer That Brought Him Peace in 1945
By Movieguide® Contributor
BEVERLY HILLBILLIES actor Buddy Ebsen reflected on a powerful New Year’s Eve prayer in 1945 that brought him peace amid war.
As we enter the new year, Ebsen’s thoughts still ring true for us today.
While he was at a restaurant with his wife, an unexpected way to ring in the new year turned his thoughts to God.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Somewhere a piano tinkled. Nancy and I sat at a table and soon found ourselves caught up in the friendly atmosphere. Suddenly, a hush fell over the restaurant….“It’s a tradition,” whispered one of his waiters, leaning over to us. “He does this every New Year’s Eve.” As the big wall clock’s hands lifted straight up, Al began to sing without accompaniment. I was surprised by his rich, resonant voice; it didn’t seem to go with his cauliflower ear and broken nose. Our Father, Which art in Heaven, he sang, hallowed be Thy Name.
I was transfixed. Al, a Jew, was singing to the Father of us all.
Al continued to sing the Lord’s Prayer, and it brought Ebsen “back to my growing-up days in Orlando, Florida; to the dancing school my father ran; to our minister telling me after a school play that I must go into show business; to my sister Vilma and me whirling to “Tea for Two,” dancing our way across the country in shows and movies in those innocent-seeming years before the world was torn apart,” per Guideposts.
As Al finished, Ebsen, with tears strolling down his face, turned to his wife and said, “Never let me lose faith in God, in myself, or in people.”
Despite the ongoing conflict, war and hatred at the time, Ebsen “felt calm, reassured. I felt God’s serenity.”
The same is true for the world today. In a time that feels so divided, we can come together and remember the hope we have in Jesus. As we look ahead to the new year, we, like Ebsen, can hold onto God’s promises and the peace he brings.
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