Max Baer Jr.

Max Baer Jr. is an American Actor, writer, director and producer who is best known for playing Jethro Bodine on "The Beverly Hillbillies." His father was the heavyweight boxer Max Baer Sr. Max Jr. studied drama at the University of California at Santa Clara and soon after graduation became a bit player at Warner Brothers. In 1962, he was cast as the dim-witted nephew Jethro on the CBS situation comedy "The Beverly Hillbillies." The show lasted nine seasons, but when it was over Baer found himself a victim of typecasting. He battled this by producing, writing and starring in his own production, 1974's "Macon County Line," in which he played a murderous Southern sheriff pursuing two brothers. The low-budget suspense film was a major hit, holding the record for its profits until 1999. Baer wrote, directed and starred in "The Wild McCullochs" the following year, a less successful Southern-themed comedy drama. In 1976, he directed the moderately successful "Ode To Billy Joe," based on the popular song by Bobbie Gentry. Baer directed the last of his period films in 1979, when he helmed "Hometown U.S.

A," a 1950s youth comedy in the spirit of "American Graffiti." Baer continued to make occasional television appearances in the 1980s and 1990s. Baer, who lives in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, has over the years attempted to build a Beverly Hillbillies-themed casino.