Maximilian Adelbert Baer Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American former actor, producer, comedian, and director widely known for his role as Jethro Bodine, the dim-witted relative of Jed Clampett (played by Buddy Ebsen) on The Beverly Hillbillies.

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 20's, and 77 Sunset Strip.

[7] He continued to take other parts during the nine-year run of The Beverly Hillbillies and appeared on the television programs Love, American Style, as well as in the Western A Time for Killing.

[9] Following the cancellation of The Beverly Hillbillies in 1971, Baer made numerous guest appearances on television, but he found his TV acting career hampered by typecasting.

Baer wrote and produced the drama Macon County Line (1974),[10] in which he played Deputy Reed Morgan, the highest-grossing movie per dollar invested at the time.

He noted that tourists paid a US$5 to $6 admission to tour the "Ponderosa Ranch", in Incline Village, Nevada, which was the location for filming exterior scenes for episodes of TV's popular program Bonanza.

[16] 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.

[18] In 2014, Baer sued CBS after claiming a secret deal with a Des Moines-based Jethro's BBQ was interfering with his opportunity to cash in on his role from the iconic television show.

The lawsuit claims that Baer negotiated a deal with CBS in 1991 for the rights to use the fictional character and other motifs from the show to create a chain of restaurants, hotels, and casinos.

[20] In January 2008, Baer's live-in girlfriend, 30-year-old Penthouse model Chere Rhodes, died from suicide in the 70-year-old's Lake Tahoe home.