{"id":31465,"date":"2026-01-02T20:37:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=31465"},"modified":"2026-01-02T20:37:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:37:31","slug":"max-baer-jr-is-the-last-living-cast-member-of-the-beverly-hillbillies-this-is-him-today-at-85-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=31465","title":{"rendered":"Max Baer Jr. is the last living cast member of the \u2018Beverly Hillbillies\u2019. This is him today at 85 years old"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"42\" data-end=\"396\"><strong data-start=\"42\" data-end=\"83\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Max Baer Jr.<\/span><\/span><\/strong> is best remembered as <strong data-start=\"106\" data-end=\"147\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Jethro Bodine<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, the lovable, dimwitted cousin on <strong data-start=\"182\" data-end=\"223\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">The Beverly Hillbillies<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. When the series premiered in 1962, it rocketed to the top of the ratings in just three weeks and ran for nine seasons, becoming one of television\u2019s most enduring comedies.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"398\" data-end=\"872\">Born in Oakland in 1937, Baer Jr. was the son of heavyweight boxing legend <strong data-start=\"473\" data-end=\"514\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Max Baer<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. With a business degree from <strong data-start=\"544\" data-end=\"585\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Santa Clara University<\/span><\/span><\/strong> and no formal acting training, he landed Jethro through an open audition, crafting the character\u2019s drawl by studying Andy Griffith and Jonathan Winters. He famously embraced the role\u2019s humor, saying he didn\u2019t care whether audiences laughed <em data-start=\"826\" data-end=\"832\">with<\/em> him or <em data-start=\"840\" data-end=\"844\">at<\/em> him\u2014only that they laughed.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"874\" data-end=\"1325\">After the show ended in 1971, Baer Jr. struggled with typecasting but reinvented himself behind the camera. His 1974 film <strong data-start=\"996\" data-end=\"1037\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Macon County Line<\/span><\/span><\/strong> became the year\u2019s most profitable indie release. In 1991, he bought the rights to <em data-start=\"1120\" data-end=\"1145\">The Beverly Hillbillies<\/em> name from <strong data-start=\"1156\" data-end=\"1197\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">CBS<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, envisioning themed casinos and attractions\u2014ambitions later slowed by legal disputes, including a high-profile lawsuit in 2014.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1327\" data-end=\"1636\">His personal life saw both joy and loss, including a marriage that ended in divorce and the tragic death of longtime partner Chere Rhodes in 2008. Yet Baer Jr. has remained candid about the show\u2019s impact, acknowledging that his career \u201cbenefited greatly\u201d from <em data-start=\"1587\" data-end=\"1612\">The Beverly Hillbillies<\/em> even as it defined him.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1638\" data-end=\"1841\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"><strong data-start=\"1638\" data-end=\"1649\">Legacy:<\/strong> Baer Jr.\u2019s story is one of resilience\u2014an actor who turned typecasting into opportunity and leveraged a single iconic role into lasting influence across film, business, and television history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Max Baer Jr. is best remembered as Jethro Bodine, the lovable, dimwitted cousin on The Beverly Hillbillies. When the series premiered in 1962, it rocketed to the&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Max Baer Jr. is the last living cast member of the \u2018Beverly Hillbillies\u2019. 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