Max Baer Jr. Net Worth: $60 Million
What is Max Baer Jr.’s Net Worth?
Best known for portraying the character of Jethro Bodine on the iconic television show The Beverly Hillbillies, Max Baer Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer. After The Beverly Hillbillies, he was a television guest star and soon started directing and producing. Other ventures include plans to develop a hotel and casino enterprise.
Summary
- Max Baer Net worth: $60 Million
- Full name: Maximilian Adalbert Baer Jr.
- Date of birth: 4th of December, 1937 (84 years old)
- Gender: Male
- Birth place: Oakland, California, U.S.
- Height: 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
- Profession: Actor, comedian, director, producer
- Nationality: American
Key Facts
- Known as Jethro Bodine from The Beverly Hillbillies
- His father was a heavy-weight boxer
- Wants to build a casino empire
- Is now the only member of the cast of The Beverly Hillbillies still living
Early Life
Max Baer Jr. was born in Oakland, California on the 4th of December, 1937. His parents were Max Baer Sr., a heavyweight boxing champion, and his mother, Mary Ellen Sullivan.
He was active in sports in the Sacramento high school he attended, lettering in four sports categories. He also won two Sacramento Junior Open golf tournaments and later went on to win the San Diego Open pro/am tournament in 1968.
Baer attended Santa Clara University where he earned a BA in business administration and a minor in philosophy.
Career
Max Baer Jr. started acting in earnest in 1960 when he signed on with Warner Bros., appearing in a variety of television shows including Maverick, Hawaiian Eye, and 77 Sunset Strip. Two years later he was cast as Jethro Bodine, Jed Clampett’s artless but well-intentioned nephew in The Beverly Hillbillies.
The show proved to be enormously popular. While working on The Beverly Hillbillies, Baer also accepted other roles, appearing on Love, American Style, and a Western called A Time for Killing, among others.
Upon the cancellation of The Beverly Hillbillies, Baer had difficulty finding work in Hollywood because of typecasting, so he began directing and producing instead. In 1974 he wrote and produced Macon County Line, a film in which he assigned himself the role of Deputy Reed Morgan.
The film subsequently earned box-office profits of nearly $25 million. He followed up this success a year later, making a film called The Wild McCullochs, again giving the main role to himself, that of Culver Robinson.
A year after this he made the film Ode to Billy Joe, which saw even more success, earning $27 million at the box office alone. After directing one more film in 1979, Hometown U.S.A., he retired from directing.
In the mid-80s, Baer started to invest in and research the gambling industry and sought ways he could make the Jethro character and The Beverly Hillbillies marketable in a casino enterprise.
He has spent years attempting to develop properties that he has purchased into themed hotels and casinos, but his efforts have been thwarted due to ongoing litigation.
Personal Life
In 1966 Max Baer Jr. married Joanne Hill but was divorced only 5 years later.
His father Max Baer wasn’t the only boxer in the family. His uncle, Jacob Henry Baer, was also a boxer, although he later got involved in acting.
Buddy Ebsen, the actor who played Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, was a mentor of Baer’s, and reportedly the two maintained a close friendship throughout the years until his death in 2003. He and co-star Donna Douglas were known to have visited Ebsen in the hospital prior to his death from pneumonia.
Earning Highlights
Max Baer Jr. reportedly earned upwards of $35 million from the 9 year run of The Beverly Hillbillies and other successful film projects following that. He then added to his net worth by entrepreneurial efforts in casino and hotel development.
Real Estate
Max Baer Jr. has a home in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. He owns another property in Douglas County, hoped his plans for casino redevelopment would be realized. Currently, development has been suspended due to continuing litigation between the county, the property developer, and Max Baer Jr.
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