by Herbie J Pilato
“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).