Ex-TV star loses sign appeal
MINDEN -- Former "Beverly Hillbillies" star Max Baer Jr. has lost an appeal over an outdoor sign for a hotel-casino he's trying to build in Northern Nevada.
Douglas County commissioners voted 3-2 Thursday to uphold the planning commission's denial of the 109-foot sign and 2,423-square-foot readerboard for Baer's Beverly Hillbillies Mansion and Casino.
The sign, shaped like a tulip and reminiscent of classic Beverly Hills street signs, was rejected by the county for its size. County code allows a maximum sign height of 30 feet and sign area of 115 square feet.
Baer, 70, an entrepreneur who played dimwitted "Jethro Bodine" in the 1960s "Hillbillies" series, has been struggling for nearly a year over a sign for the $150 million project, Gardnerville's Record-Courier reported.
Baer, the son of Max Baer, the heavyweight champion of the 1930s, earlier this year failed to win approval for a 143-foot oil derrick to advertise his casino along U.S. Highway 395 in the county's northern end.
Commissioners have approved zoning changes for the resort's first phase.
