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Max Baer Jr. defended the silliness of The Beverly Hillbillies
"You don't have to think."
Many shows are brushed off by critics and academics on the grounds that they are too simplistic to provide an audience with anything of value. However, there are plenty of wonderful things that a simple show can give an audience, even if one of those things is just pure entertainment.
Television provides an audience with a refuge from real life. These more easygoing shows let their audience take a break and enjoy themselves for a change. There is merit in the average, even if not everyone can see it.
Max Baer Jr. was a fierce defender of the simpler things on television, especially his series, The Beverly Hillbillies. With its comedic tone and rural characters, the series gained a reputation as a rather basic show that was largely unremarkable. However, it was incredibly popular with viewers, who celebrated the show.
Baer, who played Cousin Jethro on the series, was able to communicate the appeal of The Beverly Hillbillies during an interview with The News Tribune. "If you like to laugh and want to sit down and forget your problems for half an hour — if you want to be a little bit silly, or see somebody else be a little silly, watch The Beverly Hillbillies," he said.
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Moreover, Baer believed that the laid-back and unaffected tone of the series wasn't a weakness of the show; it was its greatest strength. "This show relaxes you," said Baer. "You don't have to think. The plot is chewed and digested for you there on the screen. We play for the people, not the critics."
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29 Comments
Everybody was fair game, yet no one was humiliated or belittled. For all its humor, the show was never mean-spirited or vulgar.
And they did some classic, hilarious bits. Granny and the "giant jackrabbit"; Jethro, the "double-naught spy"; and on and on.
Max appeared in a number of 77 Sunset Strips and Hawaiian Eyes. Mainly hoods or
in one just shown on MeTV+ , a greasy haired, leather jacketed drag racer.
And though he is a big guy, he disappeared into those roles and it might take you a few minutes
to say "its Jethro", or you had to wait to read the credits to realize it was Baer.
shows, and sometimes just to laugh and be entertained. I remember one episode, will probably
be on tonight where Granny wanted to get some Crawdads and a cop had detained her in Griffith
Park and Granny said "I want to smoke some crawdads, but first I need a little Pot"
Very far from his father's footsteps
I got a copy on DVD recently, and it's pretty good for its genre. (I had seen it when it was released originally.)
