Max Baer Jr. is most commonly known as Jethro Bodine from The Beverly Hillbillies, but whatever happened to this legend after the show?
This is Max Baer Jr today, age 84.
Comedy show The Beverly Hillbillies followed the story of the Clampett family, with Jed Clampett, played by Buddy Ebsen, who found himself accumulating wealth extremely fast.
Jed became a millionaire overnight, deciding to move to Beverly Hills, California. The crux of the story? The family maintained their hillbilly way of life.
Max Baer Jr – Jethro Bodine
The street-smart Jed brought his Clampett family clan with him, and among the many popular characters was one that stood out.
Max Baer Jr played the role of Jethro Bodine, the son of Jed’s cousin, Pearl, a naive and borderline dim-witted man who showed off his great math skills with his multiplication classic “five gozinta five one times, five gozinta ten two times.”
The Beverly Hillbillies was an instant success when it aired in 1962. It rose to the No. 1 spot quicker than any other show in television history within the first three weeks after its debut, according to IMDB.
Television audiences loved the show. It ran for 11 years, amassing a total of nine seasons and 274 episodes, before being cancelled in 1971
The Beverly Hillbillies was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show Comedy in 1964, in addition to four Emmy nominations.
The Beverly Hillbillies – Jethro
As for Max’s character, he had a goofy year-to-ear grin, his laugh made everyone else laugh, and, above all else, he made everyone believe his character Jethro Bodine was real.
Max had practiced his backwood accent by listing to Andy Griffith and Jonathan Winters records. He was able to couple this with maintaining a constantly stupid look on his face, which obviously had fans laughing.
Max Baer Jr was truly an American comedy icon while portraying the country bumpkin Jethro. Not only that, but the show gave Max his big breakthrough.
Sadly, his life after the show didn’t turn out as many would’ve thought. This is the story of the man behind Jethro Bodine – a character people in Hollywood never wanted to let go of.
