The Last Surviving Main Star of The Beverly Hillbillies

Max Baer Jr. at 88: The Last Surviving Main Star of The Beverly Hillbillies
More than six decades after The Beverly Hillbillies first became a television phenomenon, one member of its beloved main cast remains alive: Max Baer Jr., the actor millions of viewers remember as Jethro Bodine.

Born on December 4, 1937, in Oakland, California, Baer is 88 years old in 2026. Contrary to viral social-media posts claiming that he is 103, that number is incorrect.

His real story hardly needs exaggeration. Baer went from playing one of television’s most famous comedy characters to becoming a filmmaker, producer and businessman, while living long enough to become the final surviving member of the sitcom’s principal cast.

The Man Behind Jethro Bodine
Maximilian Adelbert Baer Jr. was born into an already famous family. His father, Max Baer Sr., was the former world heavyweight boxing champion.

Rather than following his father into professional boxing, the younger Baer eventually pursued entertainment.

His life changed dramatically in 1962 when he was cast as Jethro Bodine on a new CBS comedy called The Beverly Hillbillies.

Few could have predicted just how successful the program would become.

The Beverly Hillbillies Becomes a Phenomenon
The Beverly Hillbillies premiered in 1962 and followed the Clampett family after they became wealthy from oil and moved from their rural home to Beverly Hills.

Buddy Ebsen played family patriarch Jed Clampett, Irene Ryan portrayed Granny, Donna Douglas became Elly May and Max Baer Jr. played the unforgettable Jethro Bodine.

Jethro was enthusiastic, confident and frequently hilariously unaware of his own limitations.

The character became one of the show’s most recognizable figures.

The series ultimately remained on television for nine seasons, ending in 1971 after becoming one of the defining American sitcoms of the 1960s.

Baer Was Very Different From Jethro
One reason Baer’s performance was so effective was that the actor himself was considerably different from the character audiences saw every week.

Jethro was intentionally portrayed as comically unsophisticated, while Baer had studied business administration and had ambitions that extended far beyond acting.

Behind the exaggerated expressions and country accent was someone who wanted to write, direct and produce his own projects.

Unfortunately, playing Jethro so convincingly created another problem.

Hollywood Could Not Stop Seeing Jethro
After The Beverly Hillbillies ended, Baer struggled with typecasting.

Audiences loved Jethro, but that enormous identification with a single character made it difficult for casting directors to imagine Baer playing dramatically different roles.

It is one of Hollywood’s great paradoxes: an actor can become so successful in one role that the success itself limits what comes afterward.

Baer eventually realized that waiting for Hollywood to give him another major opportunity might not work.

So he began creating opportunities himself.

What happened next proved that the man Hollywood remembered as Jethro was much more business-minded than his famous television character.

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