My Exclusive Interview with “Beverly Hillbillies” Icon Max Baer, Jr.
A Look Back at Life With Classic TV’s “Jethro Bodine”
“Yee-hah!”
— Jethro Bodine, as played by Max Baer Jr. on The Beverly Hillbillies
There must be something to being super-dim and mega-handsome. Just ask Jethro Bodine, The Beverly Hillbillies TV character portrayed with earnest by Max Baer, Jr. (who prefers to be known as just Max Baer) on CBS from 1962 to 1971. Jethro may have been born as “mountain folk,” but because his Uncle Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen) struck gold (“Texas tea”), he was fortunate enough to have “loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly . . . Hills, that is” — with the entire Clampett family, including Elly May (Donna Douglas) and Granny (Irene Ryan).
Not exactly the brightest bulb in the bulb box (“If brains was lard, Jethro couldn’t grease a pan”), the young Mr. Bodine was still a hit with the ladies, especially Miss Jane Hathaway (Nancy Culp). Miss Jane, secretary to banker Millburn Drysdale (Raymond Bailey), who guarded Jed’s millions, always had a thing for Jethro — and she wasn’t shy about expressing those feelings. Ultimately, Miss Jane became the voice of “Everywoman” . . . meaning, every woman viewer at home who was attracted to Baer’s brawny and likable performance as Jethro.
