Max Baer, Jr. (Celebrity In Spotlight)

Max Baer, Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, screen writer, producer, and director.He was born Maximilian Adalbert Baer, Jr. in Oakland, California, the son of legendary boxing champion Max Baer and Mary Ellen Sullivan. His brother and sister are James Baer (born 1941) and Maude Baer (born 1943). His first acting role was in Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Blackpool Pavilion in England in 1949.

In 1962,Max Baer was cast in the role of the doltish "Jethro Bodine" on the TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. It was a role for which he continues to receive notoriety. This would prove to be the high point of his acting career.The Beverly Hillbillies proved to be one of the most successful television series in history. The hit comedy also starred Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, and Donna Douglas. During the nine-year run of the show, he also appeared on Vacation Playhouse, Love, American Style, and in the Western movie A Time for Killing.

Max Baer produced the drama Ode to Billy Joe (1976), which turned a big profit. Made for US$1.1 million, it grossed US$27,000,000 at the box-office, plus earnings in excess of US$2.65 million in the foreign market, US$4.75 million from television, and US$2.5 million from video. The movie starred Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor.

Since the success of Ode to Billy Joe, the first movie made at the time based on a popular song, the motion picture industry has capitalized on the trend, producing over 100 song title movies. Baer later 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 movie, he sued, and won a judgment of more than US$2,000,000.