The Beverly Hillbillies affects the actor in both positive and negative ways.
The Beverly Hillbillies was a popular sitcom during the 1970s. It told the saga of widower Jed Clampet who struck oil on his property in the Tennessee hills and became a millionaire. He moved to Beverly Hills California along with his daughter Ellie Mae, his mother inlaw Granny(Daisy Moses) and his nephew Jethro Bodine. The Clampets never lost their country way of thinking and continued to eat food such as possum shanks, deviled buzzard eggs and owl soup. This was the basis for most of the laughs on the sitcom.
Jethro was portrayed by Maximilian Adalbert Baer Jr. who is the only surviving member of the cast. The actor’s father was famous champion boxer Max Baer Sr. and his uncle was actor and boxer, Buddy Baer. The first acting role for Max Jr. was in 1949 in Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Blackpool Pavilion in England. His professional acting career began at Warner Brothers studio’s, in 1960 when he made appearances on television programs such as 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick, Surfside 6, The Roaring 20s, Cheyenne, and Hawaiian Eye.
Two years later, a 25 year old Baer joined the cast of The Beverly Hillbillies as dimwitted but lovable 17 year old country bumpkin Jethro Bodine. This naive, but well-meaning young man was always getting “whooped” by his younger tomboy cousin Ellie Mae Clampet and whomped with frying pans by Granny. Jethro had a 6th grade education having spent several years in each previous grade. His mother Pearl Bodine was portrayed by Bea Benaderet,(Kaste Bradley on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres).
Baer had a dual role, also portraying his sister Jethrine, whose voice was supplied by Linda Kaye Henning, daughter of Paul Henning the series creator. Henning also played Betty Jo Bradley on Petticoat which was another creation of her father. Max Baer appeared on other television shows during his run on The Beverly Hillbillies. These include Love American Style, Vacation Playhouse, and A Time for Killing. In 1968 he was a panelist for 5 episodes of The Hollywood Squares.
When the Beverly Hillbillies ended the actor found he was typecast on television as when auditioning for other roles. He broke out of the mold in 1971 when he starred in the hit movie Macon County Line. In 1975 Baer wrote, directed, and starred in The Wild McCoulough’s. The actor said that taking the role of Jethro hindered his career and he refused to be a part of the film Return of the Beverly Hillbillies. He did take part in a television special in 1993 titled The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies.
By 1999 Max Baer Jr. realized how marketable the sitcom and the characters were and decided to profit from his popular role as Jethro. He had 65 Beverly Hillbillies slot machines installed inside of 10 different gambling casinos. Baer remains close to his co-stars and he and Donna Douglas, (Ellie Mae) vied buddy Ebsen, (Jed) prior to his death from pneumonia.
The Beverly Hillbillies ran from 1964-1971 on CBS and although the show was a top 10 hit it was canceled. CBS decided to do away with rural themed sitcoms even though they were popular with viewers. Green Acres and Petticoat Junction were canceled at the same time. The 3 programs had a connection and there were characters that crossed over from one to the other. All 3 have made returns to syndicated television at various times and can be seen on TV land or MeTV. You can also catch these blasts from the past on streaming services such as Hulu.
For those who enjoyed the antics of the Clampet family during the initial run of the series, and are excited to recreate the magic and relive fond memories from the past I have good news. The Beverly Hillbillies can be seen on Hulu, Roku, and randomly on TV Land and MeTV so be sure to check your local listings.
