Maudie Marian Baer is the daughter of Max Baer, former world heavyweight boxing champion, and his wife Mary Ellen Sullivan, who was a nurse. Maudie is recognized for being the daughter of an American professional boxer, who held the title of world heavyweight champion from June 14, 1934, to June 13, 1935. His victory over Max Schmeling in 1933 and loss to James J. Braddock in 1935 were rated as Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. He is ranked 22 on the list of 100 greatest punchers of all time by The Ring magazine.
Maudie’s uncle Buddy Baer was a heavyweight boxing contender and an actor, having appeared in seventeen films and various television series during the 1950s and 1960s.
Maudie is also known for being the younger brother of American actor, producer, comedian, and director Max Baer Jr., who appeared in more than dozens of films, playing the role of Jethro Bodine in the television sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies aired on CBS from 1962 to 1971.
Maudie Marian Baer’s Family Background
Maudie Marian Baer was born in 1944. Maudie’s parents, Max Baer and Mary Ellen Sullivan were married from June 29, 1935, till his father’s death in 1959. He has two older brothers Max Baer Jr. and James Manny Baer. Maudie’s father was born Maximilian Adelbert Baer on February 11, 1909, in Omaha, Nebraska. Max’s father Jacob Baer’s parents were Jewish emigrants from Alsace-Lorraine and Bohemia, while his mother Dora Bales was of Scots-Irish descent.
Maudie Marian Baer’s Career
Out of the total of 84 professional fights from 1929 to 1941, Max won 71, of which 51 were knockouts, becoming a member of the boxers group who has won 50 or more knockout bouts. Throughout his 12 years of boxing career, he defeated many top professional heavyweight boxers including Kingfish Levinsky, Max Schmeling, Tony Galento, Ben Foord, Tommy Farr Ernie Schaaf, and Walter Cobb.
He remained Heavyweight Champion of the World from June 14, 1934, to June 13, 1935. In 1940 Baer was named “White Heavyweight Champion of the World” after he scored a first-round TKO against Pat Cominsky in a fight at Roosevelt Stadium in New Jersey.
Later Baer worked as a boxing referee and appeared in a couple of films and television shows as an actor. He did cameo roles in Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s Africa Screams (1949) and The Harder They Fall (1956).
Maudie Marian Baer’s Family Net Worth
Maudie along with her siblings inherited a major chunk of wealth accumulated by Max after his death in 1959. Maudie’s brother Max Baer Jr has also raised a net worth of $50 million from careers as an actor. While there is no accurate information about Max’s wealth, he received various national-level honors and awards. In 1988 he was honored with the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. As a tribute to Max, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, of which he was a member, created a charity fund The Max Baer Heart Fund to promote research and education on heart disease and help people combat this disease. The fund has donated millions of dollars to universities, medical centers, and hospitals for heart research and education.
