Max Baer, Jr. was born December 4, 1937, and is best known for playing Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies television program in the 1960s.

In January 2015, after the death of Donna Douglas (Ellie Mae), Baer became the last surviving member of the show’s cast.

Three days after celebrating his 87th birthday, Max Baer Jr. — forever remembered as the lovable Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies — was quietly seen at a place far removed from the lights of Beverly Hills.
He wasn’t at a party. He wasn’t giving an interview.
He was standing alone at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery in Santa Monica, California — paying his respects at the crypt of his beloved co-star, Irene Ryan.
Irene, who played the unforgettable Granny Clampett, passed away in 1973.

She rests in the Mausoleum of Memories at Woodlawn — a peaceful spot just minutes from where so many Hollywood legends once lived, laughed, and worked.

Clutching a small bouquet of white lilies, Max stood in front of the marble crypt, his eyes fixed on the nameplate that reads:
IRENE RYAN — Beloved Actress. Beloved Sister.

Witnesses say he stayed for a long while, silently reflecting, before gently touching the stone and whispering:
“Granny, I still hear your laugh. Thank you for everything.”

To millions, Jethro and Granny were comedy gold — mismatched in brains but perfectly matched in heart. But to Max, she was more than a co-star. She was family.
And even after all these years, that bond clearly hasn’t faded.

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 (Buddy Ebsen) 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.

At this writing, Baer, at 87, is the only surviving cast member.

The Beverly Hillbillies went off the air in 1971, and Baer made numerous guest appearances on television.

To counter typecasting, he concentrated on working in feature motion pictures.

Baer wrote and produced the drama Macon County Line (1974), in which he played Deputy Reed Morgan. It was the highest-grossing movie per dollar invested at the time. Made for just $110,000, it earned almost $25 million at the box office. This record lasted until The Blair Witch Project broke it in 1999.

Baer also wrote, produced, and directed the drama The Wild McCullochs (1975), as well as playing the role Culver Robinson.

He then had the idea of using the title of a popular song as a movie title and acquired the rights to the Bobbie Gentry hit song and producing Ode to Billy Joe (1976). Made for $1.1 million, it grossed $27 million at the box office, plus earnings in excess of $2.65 million outside the US, $4.75 million from television, and $2.5 million from video.

The film starred Robby Benson and Glynnis O’Connor.

Since the success of Ode to Billy Joe, the motion picture industry has produced more than 100 song title movies. Baer decided to pursue the rights to the hit song “Like a Virgin,” recorded by the singer Madonna in 1984.

When ABC tried to prevent him from making the film, he sued and won a judgment of more than $2 million.

He directed the comedy Hometown USA (1979) before retiring to his home at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. He continued to make occasional guest appearances on television.

Baer has said that playing Jethro Bodine sank his acting career. When producer Paul Henning asked him to reprise the role for a 1981 television movie, he declined. Yet when the feature film The Beverly Hillbillies was made 12 years later, reports cited Baer’s dissatisfaction that only Buddy Ebsen was asked to do a cameo.

Baer appeared in the 1993 TV special, “The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies,” reprising his role as Jethro.

By 2004, Baer recognized the marketability of The Beverly Hillbillies and appeared with actress Donna Douglas at the annual “TV Land Awards.”

In 1985, Baer began investigating the gambling industry. He noted that tourists paid a $5 to $6 admission to tour the “Ponderosa Ranch”, which was the location for filming some episodes of TV’s Bonanza. There was nothing to see but a working cattle ranch, but people enjoyed it because of the Bonanza connection.

Baer decided that tourists would also pay for something dealing with The Beverly Hillbillies. He began using his Jethro Bodine role as a marketing opportunity toward the gambling and hotel industry.

He obtained the sublicensing rights, including food and beverage rights, to The Beverly Hillbillies from CBS in 1991. His business partner estimates the cost of obtaining the rights and developing the ideas has been $1 million.

Sixty-five Beverly Hillbillies slot machines were built in 1999 and placed in 10 casinos.

In late 2003, Baer attempted the redevelopment of a former Walmart location in Carson City into a Beverly Hillbillies-themed hotel and casino, but was unsuccessful due to building code conflicts and other developers on the neighboring properties.

On May 4, 2007, Baer announced the sale of the property and the purchase of another parcel just outside of Carson City, in neighboring Douglas County, where he expected less resistance to his plans.

He purchased a 2.5-acre parcel in north Douglas County for $1.2 million, and with the intent to purchase an additional 20 acres once he obtained the required zoning variances.

He planned for a 40,000-square-foot gambling area with 800 slot machines and 16 tables, flanked by various eateries including “Jethro’s All You Ken Et Buffet.”

The project would feature a showroom, cinema complex and a 240-room, five-story hotel.

Plans also included a 200-foot-tall mock oil derrick spouting a 20- to 30-foot flame.

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