
Max Baer
Born
February 11, 1909
Died
November 21, 1959 (50 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Omaha - Nebraska - USA
Max Baer is arguably best known today for siring Max Baer Jr., the actor who played Jethro Bodine on the classic TV series The Beverly Hillbillies (1962). However, old-timers, followers of the sweet science, and viewers of the film Cinderella Man (2005) all know that Max Sr. was boxing's heavyweight champion of the world for all of 364 days, from the time he knocked out Primo Carnera on June 14, 1934, to the day he lost his title to Jimmy Braddock on June 13, 1935. Cinephiles also will remember the colorful Max from his numerous bit roles in films, including Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's Africa Screams (1949) to his near-autobiographical turn in the Budd Schulberg boxing expose The Harder They Fall (1956) starring Humphrey Bogart. Ironically, it was his acting in the latter film that likely led to his misrepresentation in "Cinderella Man" as being something akin to a monster, when actually, according to his family and those who knew him, he was an amiable man. Some fight fans thought that it was his good nature, which they attributed to his clowning, that eventually did him in, as he would not bear down on his opponents in the latter part of his career. Max Jr. says that his father wanted to be an actor, an insight that explains the flashy persona he displayed in and outside the ring as he wisecracked and clowned his way through careers as a boxer and performer in movies and nightclubs. Blessed with what "The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall of Fame Official Record Book" terms the most powerful right hand in heavyweight history, Baer used that right to gain a fearsome reputation as a California prizefighter before moving to New York and taking on the top ranks of the heavyweight division.
Known For

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983

Tender Hearted Tiger: Max Baer
1964

Once Upon a Horse...
Ben
1958

Utah Blaine
Gus Ortmann
1957

Requiem for a Heavyweight
Mike
1956

Playhouse 90
Mike · (1 episode)
1956

The Harder They Fall
Buddy Brannen
1956

The Abbott and Costello Show
Killer King · (1 episode)
1952
The Champs Step Out
Max
1951

Skipalong Rosenbloom
Butcher Baer
1951

Riding High
Bertie (uncredited)
1950

Bride for Sale
Litka
1949

Africa Screams
Grappler McCoy
1949

Buckskin Frontier
Tiny
1943

Ladies' Day
Hippo Jones
1943

The McGuerins from Brooklyn
Professor Samson
1942

The Navy Comes Through
Coxswain G. Berringer
1942

Fisticuffs
Himself
1938

Over She Goes
Silas Morner
1937

The Prizefighter and the Lady
Steve Morgan
1933