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Max Baer was born February 11th, 1909

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BAER (bear)

Max Baer: American boxer of the ‘30s and actor
Max Baer, Jr: American actor, screen writer, producer, and director
Common
clues: Boxer Max; Heavyweight champ of 1934; Jethro Bodine portrayer Max; Actor Max; Pugilist Max; Max of “The Beverly Hillbillies”
Crossword puzzle frequency: 2 times a year
Frequency in English language: 60812 / 86800
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Max Baer


I define fear as standing across the ring from Joe Louis and knowing he wants to go home early ~ Max Baer


Maximilian Adelbert "Madcap Maxie" Baer (February 11, 1909 – November 21, 1959) was a famous American boxer of the 1930s, onetime Heavyweight Champion of the World, and actor.



Maximilian Adelbert Baer was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of German immigrant Jacob Baer (1875-1938) and Dora Bales (1877-1938). His older sister was Fanny Baer (1905-1991), and his younger sister and brother were Bernice Baer (1911-1987) and boxer-turned-actor Jacob Henry Baer, better known as Buddy Baer (1915-1986).


Baer's father was a butcher. The family moved to Colorado before Bernice and Buddy were born. In 1921, when Maxie was 12, they moved to Livermore, California, to engage in cattle ranching. Baer often credited working as a butcher boy carrying heavy carcasses of meat for developing his powerful shoulders.


Baer turned professional in 1929, progressing steadily through the ranks. A ring tragedy little more than a year later almost caused him to drop out of boxing for good. Baer fought Frankie Campbell (brother of Brooklyn Dodgers star Dolph Camilli) on August 25, 1930, in San Francisco and with only two blows, knocked him out. Campbell never regained consciousness. After lying on the canvas for nearly an hour, Campbell was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he eventually died of massive brain hemorrhaging. An autopsy revealed that Baer's devastating blows had knocked Campbell's entire brain loose from the connective tissue holding it in place within his cranium.


Although Baer has never been documented as boasting about Campbell's death, the incident earned Maxie the reputation as a "killer" in the ring. Campbell's death was used for promotional purposes to make Baer seem dangerous. This publicity was further sensationalized by Baer's return bout with Ernie Schaff, who had bested Baer in a decision a few years earlier. At the close of the 10th round, Baer nailed Schaff square in the temple with what some witnesses claimed to be the hardest right hand that ever connected in boxing.[citation needed] Schaff was saved by the bell, though he ended up losing the bout by way of decision. Several minutes passed before Ernie Schaff was revived and able to stand under his own power. Schaff was never quite the same after that bout. He complained frequently of headaches and his ring performance lagged immensely in succeeding bouts. Six months after the Baer fight, Schaff died in the ring after taking a weak jab from the Italian behemoth Primo Carnera. Although Carnera was vilified as a "man killer" by some, it was obvious to others that Schaff had died as a result of damage previously inflicted by Baer.


The death of Campbell and accusations over Ernie Schaff's demise profoundly affected Baer, even though he was ostensibly indestructible and remained a devastating force in the ring. According to his son, actor/director Max Baer Jr.:


My father cried about what happened to Frankie Campbell. He had nightmares. "In reality, my father was one of the kindest, gentlest men you would ever hope to meet. He treated boxing the way today's professional wrestlers do wrestling: part sport, mostly showmanship. If I were to make a comparison, he was more like Muhammad Ali than the Sonny Liston of his day. He never deliberately hurt anyone." He helped put Frankie's children through college.


***


Max Baer, Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, screen writer, producer, and director.




He was born Maximilian Adalbert Baer, Jr. in Oakland, California, the son of legendary boxing champion Max Baer and Mary Ellen Sullivan. His brother and sister are James Baer (born 1941) and Maude Baer (born 1943). His first acting role was in Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Blackpool Pavilion in England in 1949.


Baer grew up in Sacramento, California. He attended Santa Clara University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration, with a minor in philosophy and domestic science.


His acting career began in 1960 at Warner Bros., where he appeared on television programs including Maverick, Surfside 6, Hawaiian Eye, Cheyenne and 77 Sunset Strip.


In 1962, Baer was cast in the role of the doltish "Jethro Bodine" on the TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. It was a role for which he continues to receive notoriety. This would prove to be the high point of his acting career.


The Beverly Hillbillies proved to be one of the most successful television series in history. The hit comedy also starred Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, and Donna Douglas. During the nine-year run of the show, he also appeared on Vacation Playhouse, Love, American Style, and in the Western movie A Time for Killing.



This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Max Baer" and “Max Baer Jr”.