- Born
- Birth nameMax Adelbert Baer Jr.
- Height6′ 4″ (1.93 m)
- The son of former heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer, Max Baer Jr. is a classic (except probably to him) example of Hollywood typecasting. Known around the world as "Jethro Bodine" in the smash TV series The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Baer did not find work as an actor in Hollywood for three years after the Hillbillies went off the air. Baer finally had to put himself to work as an actor in his movie Macon County Line (1974), which he also wrote and produced with a friend. Although it didn't let him escape his Jethro character, he did earn more than $35 million dollars in box office and (later) rental receipts. This after an initial investment of just over $100,000. Not bad for a boy with a "sixth grade education!"
- IMDb mini biography by: Ken Severson
- SpouseJoanne Kathleen Hill(July 30, 1966 - 1971) (divorced)
- ChildrenNo Children
- ParentsMary Ellen Sullivan
- RelativesBuddy Baer(Aunt or Uncle)
- Role of Jethro Bodine on "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962)
- Son of boxer Max Baer.
- Licensed the "Beverly Hillbillies" name and characters from CBS in order to establish a Casino called "Jethro's". A picture of Granny hangs over every bed with the caption: "Don't you touch her boy!"
- Earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Santa Clara University (minored in philosophy).
- He tried to shed the public's "hillbilly" perception of him by starring as good-guy crime fighter Max Colepepper in the unsold pilot, "The Asphalt Cowboy," in the early 70s.
- Max Jr was a member of the Santa Clara Broncos college boxing team in 1959.
- [on being called Jethro now] It's like somebody calling you a son of a bitch. If he's your friend, it's okay. If he's your enemy, it's not.
- [on the death of co-star Donna Douglas] She was Elly May until the day she died. When I saw her for autograph signings or other gatherings, she always dressed the same with pink or blue and of course those signature pigtails.
- [on his on- and off-screen chemistry with Buddy Ebsen, who played Jed Clampett]: Buddy was much of a regular gang as you can get. Buddy tried to teach me how to sail, I didn't learn much about sailing, but I learn a lot about drowning. I got knocked off the boat more than once and he was saying, 'Well, you do this and you do that,' and he says, 'Coming about!,' and I stood up, I was up and I said, 'What did you say, Buddy?' The boat hit me and it knocked me out of the ocean, I made him laugh all the time because I was so crazy. I mean, I was always pulling pranks and doing stuff on the set and everything.
- [Who compared his relationship with Buddy Ebsen, his surrogate uncle, to his real-life father, Max Baer]: Buddy told me a funny story one time, where he was at Madison Square Garden (this was back in the 1930s). My dad was supposed to fight. Buddy was sitting there, waiting and down near ringside. All of a sudden, this guy comes in, and he sits down next to him, he's got a robe on it and everything. But my dad was just real easy, just like nothing was going on, just sitting there in his robe and his shorts and Buddy was very excited because of the fact that (A) My dad sat down there and (B) Years later, the coincidence that he would star in the series with his son.
- [Who talked about one of Buddy Ebsen's off-camera gags]: We play a lot of these flubs, all these screw-ups, we play all these fu*** ups, at the end, at a Christmas party, whenever there was a blooper for all of us; and one time, Buddy was in bed and he was supposed to be sick, but he had his clothes on. I knew he had his clothes on, so, Granny and Elly May came up and the ideal was for Granny and me to pull down his covers and say, 'See, he ain't sick, Granny,' and I pulled it down, and he got this thing, sticking out of his crotch about a foot long, 2 ft. long. Everybody laugh, except Donna. Donna said, 'That's nasty!' Everybody else was laughing, that was Buddy's and Irene's gag.
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