The Beverly Hillbillies' Jethro Bodine would fall somewhere between Barney Fife and Kramer on any list of great TV sidekicks. Part buffoon and part beautiful dreamer, Jethro was a childlike mind plopped into the body of a backwoods Hercules. These days, the man who played the slack-jawed Jethro, Max Baer Jr, is pleased people still love the Hillbillies and that TV Land is running an all-you-can-watch Jethro marathon on, appropriately, April Fools' Day. Baer, however, is not a foolish man — he made millions with his own brand of country-fried entertainment in the '70s (Macon County Line and Ode to Billy Joe), and is currently working on a dream project: a hotel and casino based on The Beverly Hillbillies that he hopes to open in Nevada in 2010. We chatted with him about his famous character and the latest on h
read more
Beverly Hillbillies star Max Baer's girlfriend has died, days after reportedly shooting herself in Lake Tahoe. Baer, 70, played Jethro in the 1960s TV series. He called authorities after discovering his live-in girlfriend, Chere Rhodes, 30, at their home Thursday with a gunshot in her chest. She was still conscious, but had left a suicide note. Rhodes was put on life support at a hospital in Reno, but her family took her off it on Sunday. Authorities say no foul play is suspected in the case. — Anna Dimond
read more
