As new millionaire Jed Clampett, Buddy Ebsen played him in the television comedy The Beverly Hillbillies, which followed the Clampett family’s story. It became legendary, and today the only surviving member of the main cast is Max Baer Jr. who portrayed Jethro Bodine.
Max Baer, Jr. had a quite remarkable career, especially in light of how he landed the Beverly Hillbillies role. He started acting when he was a young man and is now 84 years old.
From 1966 to 1971, Baer was married to Joanne Hill; however, they were never parents. Max never had children, and there is a reason why. One sad reason kept him from wanting to have children.
Mr. Max Baer Jr. was conceived on December 4th, 1937 in Oakland, California. He is the child of Mary Ellen Sullivan and boxing icon Max Baer.
Maximilian Baer Jr. – early years and profession.
Like his father, Baer had a great interest in sports in addition to being a well-known star on The Beverly Hillbillies. Sadly, Baer’s father died in 1959, when he was 50 years old.
Baer played professional golf and competed in a number of tournaments in California, but he never became a boxer. When Max Baer Jr. The actor and professional golfer Charlie Sifford won the pro-am division of the Andy Williams Golf Classic in San Diego.
But for me, acting is really just a hobby, Baer told The Times in 1971. “I play golf for a living. “.
Baer turned out to be a fantastic actor, despite the fact that he considered himself first and foremost a golf player.
This is the tale of the man who created Jethro Bodine, a Hollywood icon that no one ever wanted to let go of.
Baer wouldn’t have to wait long to make his acting debut. At the Blackpool Pavilion in England in 1949, he played his first stage role in a production of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Later, he was given the role of a lifetime in The Beverly Hillbillies thanks to a combination of coincidence, good fortune, and enormous self-confidence.
California’s Santa Clara became the home of Baer after he left his hometown of Sacramento. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Santa Clara University in 1959, but a year later he was stranded in a Los Angeles parking lot.
Mr. Max Baer Jr. “The Beverly Hillbillies”.
In a 1999 People Magazine article, Max Baer Jr. He made the decision the year after graduation to ride his motorcycle to Los Angeles. He eventually found himself working for Warner Bros. a lot, where a businessman thought he resembled James Garner.
After being found, Baer made the decision to try acting. He quickly signed his first one-year contract despite having no acting experience; he figured he might as well go for it.
He was cast in small roles and cameos on television, showing up in shows like 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick, and Hawaiian Eye.
He made the decision to stick with the company even though his career wasn’t taking off. Soon enough, he discovered the most important job he would ever get: a sitcom about an oil-rich country bumpkin family.
He was cast in The Beverly Hillbillies as Jethro Bodine after a public audition, earning $1,000 for the pilot episode and $500 for the following one.
It’s difficult to be objective or subjective about oneself when playing a role like Jethro, according to Baer, who wrote on Medium.
Great success, but low pay.
“You simply do the best you can with the material that is provided, and then you try to add to it [with your performance] as much as you possibly can. The audience, however, ultimately has the last word. We liked what you did, or we didn’t like what you did, so there. And there really isn’t any other way for you to assess it.
Despite the enormous popularity of The Beverly Hillbillies, Baer never made more than $800 per episode, despite having a very special place in the hearts of American TV viewers. However, Baer and his co-stars started to make about $4500 per episode.
Maximum Baer Jr. He was confident that he was doing a good job and, most importantly, making people laugh.
“You need to deliver. And in my situation, if I’ve made the crowd laugh, it’s okay if they can make fun of me. Baer said, “I couldn’t care less.
They can make fun of me or with me. It makes no difference as long as they laugh. Because I’ll consider my performance to have been successful if I can make them laugh. I am unable to assess how successful it was on a scale. But I can say that it accomplished its purpose. “.
Maximilian Baer Jr. played the part of Jethro Bodine, the son of Jed’s cousin Pearl. Jethro was a naive and borderline dim-witted character who displayed his impressive math prowess with the multiplication classic, “five gozinta five one times, five gozinta ten two times.”. “.
Jethro from The Beverly Hillbillies—who is he?
When The Beverly Hillbillies first aired in 1962, it was a huge hit. It climbed to No. 1 on IMDB. In the first three weeks following its premiere, the program rose 1 spot faster than any other program in television history.
Viewers of television adored the program. Before being cancelled in 1971, it aired for a total of nine seasons and 274 episodes over an 11-year period.
In 1964, The Beverly Hillbillies received four Emmy nominations in addition to a Golden Globe nomination for Best TV Comedy.
Max Baer Jr.’s persona had a silly grin from ear to ear. Everyone was amused by his laugh, and he especially succeeded in convincing people that his fictional character Jethro Bodine was real.
Max had been listening to Andy Griffith and Jonathan Winters records to practice his rural accent. Fans laughed at his ability to combine this with a permanent expression of stupidity.
He appeared in 274 episodes, making it impossible for him to choose a favorite.
“Oh my god, no. In truth, there isn’t. You know, playing a character is so repetitive,” Baer said to The Five Count on KMSU Radio.
Nevertheless, since you keep playing the same character, I really don’t have a favorite. Selecting who you really like and don’t like can be challenging. I mean, out of the 274 episodes, which one, which specific episode?”.
praised in the role of Jethro Bodine.
Max Baer, Jr. was a comedy legend in the United States while playing the character Jethro. Max’s significant breakthrough was also made possible by the show.
Unfortunately, his life didn’t go as many people might have expected after the show.
The legendary TV program was made into a feature film and debuted in 1993. Dolly Parton was a part of the cast. But regrettably, it didn’t have quite as much success. Although, to be completely honest, how was it possible after they hired a different actor to play Jethro?
On The Beverly Hillbillies, renowned actress Donna Douglas portrayed the mountain lass Elly May Clampett. In a 2013 speech, she exalted Max Baer Jr. for his outstanding performance as Jethro, who might not have been the most brilliant light in the box.
According to the book Dashing, Daring, and Debonair: TV’s Top Male Icons from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, she said that Max Baer was good as Jethro because he didn’t come across as so stupid that you didn’t like him.
“Back then and still today, he treated me badly. However, we were all like a big family. Max could begrudgingly criticize any of us, but please do not allow another person to disparage any of us. Boy, would Max give that person what for. Like a true family member, he would stand up for us. “.
Maximilian Baer Jr. on co-star Buddy Ebsen’s final hours.
Baer is the only surviving member of the cast of The Beverly Hillbillies because Donna Douglas, who played Elly May on the show, died in 2015 at the age of 82. Although it was a very difficult time, Baer was the one who was most affected by Buddy Ebsen’s passing.
Buddy Ebsen, who played Jed Clampett in the movie, died in 2003 at the age of 95. Bear took the blow very hard. Dorothy called Baer a few days prior to Ebsen’s passing to inform her that his passing was imminent.
He hurried to the hospital where Ebsen was being treated with his television cousin Donna Douglas.
In 2008, Baer told The Courier-Journal, “I tiptoed in.”. “Buddy was lying there with one eye closed and a catheter in him. He says, “Jethro,” as soon as I place my hand on his head. It was really cute. “.
The last time he saw Ebdsen alive was at the hospital, and that encounter will always remind him of how much he valued, adored, and admired the legendary show in which they both starred.
After his performance in The Beverly Hillbillies, one might assume that Bear would have a ton of job offers waiting for him. But the reality was totally different.
One of the issues was that the producers only recognized him as Jethro and not Baer. In spite of this, he was able to land guest spots on a number of programs, including Love, Fantasy Island, and Murder, She Wrote.
Producing and directing.
He made the decision to follow his own path, producing and directing, rather than accepting small projects and TV shows. Even if they weren’t films for the Academy Awards, he still made sure there was food on the table.
Ode to Billie Joe and the 1974 small-town psycho cop film Macon County Line were both produced and directed by Bear.
Apparently, $225,000 was spent making the film. Though nobody could have predicted it, it ended up being a more significant success. It made $18.8 million in North America and more than $30 million globally, making it the most successful independent movie of 1974, according to IMDB.
It served as inspiration for the 1975 follow-up Return to Macon County.
Maximilian Baer Jr. made a fortune from his films. The actor, writer, and producer soon transitioned from that into business.
He had carried on Jethro’s legacy from The Beverly Hillbillies. Because of this, he made the decision to buy The Beverly Hillbillies name rights from CBS in 1991.
Max Baer also tested his luck in the casino industry for the past 20 years. The Beverly Hillbillies Gambler Casino, a casino in Las Vegas named after the sitcom, opened, according to The Vegas Advisor. However, he sold it to new owners only a few years later.
Maximum Baer Jr. is a divorced person. He got married to Joanne Hill in 1966, but the two later got divorced.
His wife filed for divorce, according to an Arizona Republic article, the year before. Hill, a flying instructor, requested “reasonable” alimony and the division of community property from Max in the settlement.
Why Max Baer, Jr. never been a parent.
After her marriage to Hill ended in the early 1970s, Baer never got remarried. Additionally, he never had children, which he attributes to his father’s love for him.
In a 2017 interview with Fore Magazine, Baer stated, “I never had any kids because I don’t think I could have been the father that my father was to me.
Following several relationships, Baer began dating California-based model Chere Rhodes, age 30. They remained close until a tragedy struck Carson City, Nevada, in January 2008. After a police investigation, it was determined that Chere had been shot in the chest and had committed suicide, according to the authorities.
Baer had to struggle to gain attention in Hollywood. A quote from him from 1963 in which he discussed his future perfectly captured what he experienced in the years that followed.
“We Baers never had the outcome that we had anticipated. The prizefighter that my grandfather always aspired to be turned into a butcher instead. He once took home a championship in slaughtering, according to Baer, who spoke to Closer. “Dad had aspirations of becoming an actor, but as everyone is aware, he ended up becoming a boxer. As an actor, I had always wanted to be a lawyer. My career has greatly benefited from the show. The exposure will also make sure I have work in the future. And one day, I’d like to show that I can play a role other than a hillbilly. “.
Maximilian Baer Jr. His portrayal of Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies will live on in infamy. If you liked the show as much as I did, kindly forward this article to your friends and family on Facebook!
