Max Baer Jr. - Overview

Maximilian Adalbert "Max" Baer Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for playing Jethro Bodine, the dimwitted nephew of Jed Clampett (played by Buddy Ebsen) on The Beverly Hillbillies. After the death of Donna Douglas in January 2015, Baer became the last surviving member of that show's main cast.

Baer's first acting role was in Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Blackpool Pavilion in England in 1949. He began acting professionally in 1960 at Warner Bros., where he made appearances on television programs such as Maverick, Surfside 6, Hawaiian Eye, Cheyenne, The Roaring 20s, and 77 Sunset Strip. His career took off two years later, when he joined the cast of The Beverly Hillbillies.

In 1962, Baer was cast in the role of the doltish Jethro Bodine, Jed Clampett's cousin's son. It proved to be the high point of his acting career and the role for which he is best remembered.

He continued to take other parts during the nine-year run of The Beverly Hillbilles and appeared on the television programs Vacation Playhouse and Love, American Style, as well as in the western A Time for Killing.