I’ll have to take the side of Max Baer Jr on this one. He was not well compensated when they were shooting these episodes, they wrecked any future career for him as a result of his being typecast, and I would say an person ought to pretty much own their own image.
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According to IMDB he made $35 million on the movie Macon County Line.
Looked it up. The MOVIE made 30 million world wide. I don't know how much of that ended up in his pocket, but he was the writer, the director, and an actor in it, so he ought to have been compensated well for it.
This does not really impact his claim to the Jethro Bodine character. For that character, he pretty much ruined his future career in acting (this movie that he wrote and directed being the exception) he wasn't well compensated for his Jethro character, It is my understanding he didn't get any royalties or residuals, and he ought to be able to own his own face.