Maximilian Adelbert Baer Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, producer, comedian, and director widely known for his role as Jethro Bodine, the dim-witted relative of Jed Clampett (played by Buddy Ebsen) on The Beverly Hillbillies. Early life Baer was born Maximilian Adalbert Baer Jr. in Oakland, California, on December 4, 1937, the son of boxing champion Max Baer and his wife Mary Ellen Sullivan. His paternal grandfather was of German Jewish descent, and his mother and paternal grandmother were both of Scots-Irish descent. His brother and sister are James Manny Baer (1941–2009) and Maude Baer (b. 1943). His uncle was boxer and actor Buddy Baer. He attended Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, where he earned letters in four sports and twice won the junior title at the Sacramento Open golf tournament. (Playing with Charlie Sifford, he later won the pro–am tournament at the 1968 Andy Williams - San Diego Open.) Baer earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Santa Clara University, with a minor in philosophy. Career 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 20's, and 77 Sunset Strip. His career took off two years later, when he joined the cast of The Beverly Hillbillies. The Beverly Hillbillies In 1962, Baer was cast in the role of the naïve but well-meaning Jethro Bodine, Jed Clampett's cousin Pearl's son. He continued to take other parts during the nine-year run of The Beverly Hillbillies and appeared on the television programs Vacation Playhouse and Love, American Style, as well as in the Western A Time for Killing. He declined to appear in the 1981 TV movie Return of the Beverly Hillbillies and his character was recast as a result. Later career Following the cancellation of The Beverly Hillbillies in 1971, Baer made numerous guest appearances on television, but he found his TV acting career hampered by typecasting. He concentrated on feature motion pictures, especially behind the camera, writing, producing, and directing. Baer wrote and produced the drama Macon County Line (1974), in which he played Deputy Reed Morgan, the highest-grossing movie per dollar invested at the time. Made for US$110,000, it earned almost US$25 million at the box office, a