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Jethro Remembers Jed

Aired July 07, 2003 - 15:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: So who believes the critics?
Not Max Baer. He's joining us right now on the line. He's the actor behind the larger-than-life Jethro Bodean, joins us on the line from Lake Tahoe.

Max, good to have you with us.

MAX BAER, BUDDY EBSEN'S CO-STAR: Nice to be here, but not under these circumstances. Hello, Miles. Hello, Kyra.

O'BRIEN: Yes, let me just pass along our sincere regrets about the whole situation. And, you know...

BAER: Buddy lived a good life -- 95 years is a good run. I hope I get it.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

BAER: He's 30 years older than me.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we can all hope for that. What's your favorite story about working with Buddy Ebsen?

BAER: The favorite story is that what Buddy and I could talk about wouldn't go on radio or television.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're cable, Max. We're cable.

BAER: I used to call him a dirty old man. Well, Donna and I -- Donna Douglas, who played Ellie Mae, and I went down to see Buddy a week ago Sunday. We called Dorothy and we went down there Sunday night, a week ago, and went into the hospital room, and his eyes were shut, and he was laying there, and I came in. I put my hand on his head. And he just never opened his eyes, and he said, "Maxy." He could hardly talk, but he knew it was me. And I told him a couple of jokes and he started to laugh and cough because he had all that fluid in his lungs, and he said -- and he said -- and said, "Buddy, you're still a pervert, even at 95." And he started laughing. And he says, -- and Dorothy says, "You're going to kill him. He's going to choke to death."

But he was -- even to the end, Buddy had a sense of humor, and he was such a wonderful person. And I'm a real strange guy. Most people that know me realize. But if a son of a bitch, when he's alive is a son of a bitch, when he's dead, he's just a dead son of a bitch. Buddy happens to be a good person. And his loss is really my loss because I loved him to death.

O'BRIEN: Those are words to remember, by the way.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we won't forget those.

Max, take us back. I mean, we're looking at video here. We were looking at some old clips of the two of you. Take us back to the set. Take us back to the day when you shot "The Beverly Hillbillies" and just tell us some stories. What was he like on set with all of you?

BAER: Well, Buddy had a lot of class. He did things that most people don't do. He was the star of the show, and I was just a beginning actor. And he treated me as an equal. And he made the people around the set treat me as an equal.

And -- it's hard for me to talk about it because he was such a terrific guy. He took -- he basically took my father's place because I was just a kid, and I lost my dad in '59, and Buddy was my dad's age. Buddy was born in 1908. My dad was born in 1909. And the first time I ever saw Buddy Ebsen was a picture on my wall at my dad's house in Sacramento signed, "Max to Mary Ellen and the three little bears." That was my brother, sister, myself and it was Buddy Ebsen. And I never believed that I would ever end up working with him.

And Buddy was the kind of a guy that respected his profession, that no matter where he was, if he was in his dressing room or wherever, when anybody else came time to do their lines, he wanted the assistant director, go get him, and he would come back and stand next to the camera and do the lines for the actor that was on camera.

O'BRIEN: Really?

BAER: He said -- he said, "That is part of your obligation as an actor and don't ever let me see you shirk it because you'll remain in the business if you do." And this is the kind of a gentleman he was. He just had total class. But he was unpretentious.

And to qualify that, when he went to -- when he went to the premiere of "Breakfast at Tiffany's," -- this was before "The Beverly Hillbillies, " he drove up in his tuxedo in his red pickup truck. That's the way Buddy was. He was just a -- he was from Belleville, Illinois originally, and moved to Orlando, Florida. But he was just a -- he was a guy. Buddy was just a good guy.

PHILLIPS: Well, Max, we couldn't think of a better person to come on and share these memories. Thank you so much for being with us.

BAER: Hey, you're very, very, very welcome. God bless us all.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Amen to that. Max Baer, Jr. And we should point out the reason his father would have got that picture, he was a very famous prizefighter. Max Baer, Sr. So just to add that little part of that story there. It was good to hear from him today and sharing memories of a good guy, and a quote I'll remember, that's for sure.

PHILLIPS: SOB.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Good old SOB.

O'BRIEN: Let's leave it at that. Yes.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 7, 2003 - 15:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: So who believes the critics?
Not Max Baer. He's joining us right now on the line. He's the actor behind the larger-than-life Jethro Bodean, joins us on the line from Lake Tahoe.

Max, good to have you with us.

MAX BAER, BUDDY EBSEN'S CO-STAR: Nice to be here, but not under these circumstances. Hello, Miles. Hello, Kyra.

O'BRIEN: Yes, let me just pass along our sincere regrets about the whole situation. And, you know...

BAER: Buddy lived a good life -- 95 years is a good run. I hope I get it.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

BAER: He's 30 years older than me.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we can all hope for that. What's your favorite story about working with Buddy Ebsen?

BAER: The favorite story is that what Buddy and I could talk about wouldn't go on radio or television.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're cable, Max. We're cable.

BAER: I used to call him a dirty old man. Well, Donna and I -- Donna Douglas, who played Ellie Mae, and I went down to see Buddy a week ago Sunday. We called Dorothy and we went down there Sunday night, a week ago, and went into the hospital room, and his eyes were shut, and he was laying there, and I came in. I put my hand on his head. And he just never opened his eyes, and he said, "Maxy." He could hardly talk, but he knew it was me. And I told him a couple of jokes and he started to laugh and cough because he had all that fluid in his lungs, and he said -- and he said -- and said, "Buddy, you're still a pervert, even at 95." And he started laughing. And he says, -- and Dorothy says, "You're going to kill him. He's going to choke to death."

But he was -- even to the end, Buddy had a sense of humor, and he was such a wonderful person. And I'm a real strange guy. Most people that know me realize. But if a son of a bitch, when he's alive is a son of a bitch, when he's dead, he's just a dead son of a bitch. Buddy happens to be a good person. And his loss is really my loss because I loved him to death.

O'BRIEN: Those are words to remember, by the way.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we won't forget those.

Max, take us back. I mean, we're looking at video here. We were looking at some old clips of the two of you. Take us back to the set. Take us back to the day when you shot "The Beverly Hillbillies" and just tell us some stories. What was he like on set with all of you?

BAER: Well, Buddy had a lot of class. He did things that most people don't do. He was the star of the show, and I was just a beginning actor. And he treated me as an equal. And he made the people around the set treat me as an equal.

And -- it's hard for me to talk about it because he was such a terrific guy. He took -- he basically took my father's place because I was just a kid, and I lost my dad in '59, and Buddy was my dad's age. Buddy was born in 1908. My dad was born in 1909. And the first time I ever saw Buddy Ebsen was a picture on my wall at my dad's house in Sacramento signed, "Max to Mary Ellen and the three little bears." That was my brother, sister, myself and it was Buddy Ebsen. And I never believed that I would ever end up working with him.

And Buddy was the kind of a guy that respected his profession, that no matter where he was, if he was in his dressing room or wherever, when anybody else came time to do their lines, he wanted the assistant director, go get him, and he would come back and stand next to the camera and do the lines for the actor that was on camera.

O'BRIEN: Really?

BAER: He said -- he said, "That is part of your obligation as an actor and don't ever let me see you shirk it because you'll remain in the business if you do." And this is the kind of a gentleman he was. He just had total class. But he was unpretentious.

And to qualify that, when he went to -- when he went to the premiere of "Breakfast at Tiffany's," -- this was before "The Beverly Hillbillies, " he drove up in his tuxedo in his red pickup truck. That's the way Buddy was. He was just a -- he was from Belleville, Illinois originally, and moved to Orlando, Florida. But he was just a -- he was a guy. Buddy was just a good guy.

PHILLIPS: Well, Max, we couldn't think of a better person to come on and share these memories. Thank you so much for being with us.

BAER: Hey, you're very, very, very welcome. God bless us all.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Amen to that. Max Baer, Jr. And we should point out the reason his father would have got that picture, he was a very famous prizefighter. Max Baer, Sr. So just to add that little part of that story there. It was good to hear from him today and sharing memories of a good guy, and a quote I'll remember, that's for sure.

PHILLIPS: SOB.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Good old SOB.

O'BRIEN: Let's leave it at that. Yes.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com