Max Baer, Jr.
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| Max Baer, Jr. | |
 Max Baer Jr. starring as Jethro Bodine |
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| Birth name | Maximilian Adalbert Baer, Jr. |
| Born | December 4, 1937 (age 69) Oakland, California  United States |
| Notable roles | Jethro Bodine of The Beverly Hillbillies |
Max Baer, Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, screen writer, producer, and director.
He was born Maximilian Adalbert Baer, Jr. in Oakland, California, the son of legendary boxing champion Max Baer and Mary Ellen Sullivan. His brother and sister are James Baer (born 1941) and Maude Baer (born 1943). His first acting role was in Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Blackpool Pavilion in England in 1949.
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[edit] Acting career, producing and directing
Baer grew up in Sacramento, California. He attended Santa Clara University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration, with a minor in philosophy and domestic science.
His acting career began in 1960 at Warner Bros., where he appeared on television programs including Maverick, Surfside 6, Hawaiian Eye, Cheyenne and 77 Sunset Strip.
[edit] The Beverly Hillbillies, career sky-rockets
In 1962, Baer was cast in the role of the doltish "Jethro Bodine" on the TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. It was a role for which he continues to receive acclaim. This would prove to be the high point of his acting career.
The Beverly Hillbillies proved to be one of the most successful television series in history. The hit comedy also starred Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, and Donna Douglas. During the nine-year run of the show, he also appeared on Vacation Playhouse, Love, American Style, and in the Western movie A Time for Killing.
[edit] Later career
After The Beverly Hillbillies went off the air in 1971, Baer made several more guest appearances on TV, but found himself typecast. His major contribution to the entertainment industry was in the field of feature motion pictures.
Baer wrote and produced the drama Macon County Line (1974), in which he also played Deputy Reed Morgan. It was the highest-grossing movie per dollar invested of all time (a record that would later be dwarfed by The Blair Witch Project). Made for US$110,000, it garnered almost US$25,000,000 at the box-office.
He wrote, produced, and directed the drama The Wild McCullochs (1975), in which he also played Culver Robinson. Baer then conceived the idea of using the title of a popular song to make a movie and acquired the rights to a 1967 Bobbie Gentry hit song.
Baer produced the drama Ode to Billy Joe (1976), which turned a big profit. Made for US$1.1 million, it grossed US$27,000,000 at the box-office, plus earnings in excess of US$2.65 million in the foreign market, US$4.75 million from television, and US$2.5 million from video. The movie starred Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor.
Since the success of Ode to Billy Joe, the first movie made at the time based on a popular song, the motion picture industry has capitalized on the trend, producing over 100 song title movies. Baer later decided to pursue the rights to the hit song "Like a Virgin," recorded by the singer Madonna in 1984. When ABC tried to prevent him from making the movie, he sued, and won a judgment of more than US$2,000,000.
He directed the comedy Hometown USA (1979), then retired to his home at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, making occasional guest appearances on TV.
[edit] Jethro's Casino
In 1985, Baer began studying the gambling industry. He also noticed that tourists would pay US$5.00 to US$6.00 admission to tour the "Ponderosa Ranch", which was the site location for filming on some episodes of TV's Bonanza. Once inside, all there was to see was a working ranch, but people enjoyed it mostly because of the Bonanza connection. Baer decided if tourists would pay to see a ranch because of a well-known series, then surely they would gladly pay "nothing" to see something dealing with the series The Beverly Hillbillies, whose TV audience was much larger than that of Bonanza. He came to terms with his "Jethro Bodine" identity and began to see it as a good marketing opportunity toward the gambling and hotel industry. In that direction, Baer began acquiring the contracts necessary to obtain the rights for marketing his latest idea.
In late 2003, Baer began developing an empty Wal-Mart building and its property at the south end of Carson City into a Beverly Hillbillies-themed hotel and casino called Jethro's Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino. It has yet to open.
[edit] Personal
- He has had only one wife, Joanna Hill, in a short-lived marriage from 1970–1971.
- He dated, for a time, adult film actress Christy Canyon.
[edit] Trivia
- Max Baer, Jr. is left-handed.
- His father, a former World Heavyweight Champion boxer, is depicted in the 2005 motion picture Cinderella Man. The portrayal of Baer Sr. in that film has since been criticized, as it placed him in a very negative light. Baer Jr. has stated that the film's portrayal of his father is inaccurate and insulting.
