Leave It to Beaver: Difference between revisions

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Reverted article to 20 Oct 2007 state, to get around copyvio block placed by dudhhr. See "Copyright problem" section in Talk page.
Tags: copyright violation template removed Disambiguation links added
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Refimprove|date=August 2007}}
<!-- Please do not remove or change this Copyvio message until the issue is settled -->
{{infobox television |
{{nobots}}
| show_name = Leave It to Beaver
{{Copyvio/core
| image = [[Image:Beavertitlea.jpg|250px]]
|url=$1
| caption = ''Leave It to Beaver'''s title screen from 1957 to 1958
|timestamp = 20221129205445
| rating = [[TV-G]]
|fullpage = $2
| format = [[Sitcom]]
}}
| runtime = 30 minutes
<!-- Do not use the "Copyvio/core" template directly; the above line is generated by {{subst:Copyvio}} -->
| creator = [[Bob Mosher]]<br>[[Joe Connelly (producer)|Joe Connelly]]
<!-- End of Copyvio message, feel free to edit beyond this point -->
| starring = [[Barbara Billingsley]]<br>[[Hugh Beaumont (actor)|Hugh Beaumont]]<br>[[Tony Dow]]<br>[[Jerry Mathers]]
| opentheme =
| country = {{USA}}
| network = [[CBS]] (season 1)<br>[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (seasons 2-6)
| first_aired = [[October 4]], [[1957 in television|1957]]
| last_aired = [[June 20]], [[1963 in television|1963]]
| num_episodes = [http://www.epguides.com/LeaveIttoBeaver/ 235 (including pilot)]
| list_episodes =
| website =
| imdb_id = 0050032
| tv_com_id =1422
| Rating= [[TV-G]]
|}}


{{otheruses}}
{{Short description|American sitcom from the 1950s and 1960s}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Beavertitlea.jpg
| caption = Season one title screen
| genre = Sitcom, [[children's television series]]
| creator = [[Joe Connelly (producer)|Joe Connelly]]<br />[[Bob Mosher]]
| starring = {{Plainlist|[[Hugh Beaumont]]<br />[[Barbara Billingsley]]<br />[[Tony Dow]]<br />[[Jerry Mathers]]}}
| theme_music_composer = David Kahn<br />Melvyn Leonard<br />Mort Greene
| opentheme = "The Toy Parade"
| composer = [[Pete Rugolo]] {{small|(1957–62)}}<br />[[Paul Smith (composer)|Paul Smith]] {{small|(1962–63)}}
| company = [[Revue Studios]]<br />[[NBCUniversal Television Distribution|MCA TV]]<br />[[George Gobel|Gomalco Productions]]<br />(1957–1961)<br />(seasons 1–4)<br />Kayro Productions<br />(1961–1963)<br />(seasons 5–6)
| distributor = [[NBCUniversal Television Distribution|MCA TV]]
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 6
| num_episodes = 234
| list_episodes = List of Leave It to Beaver episodes
| executive_producer =
| producer = Joe Connelly<br />Bob Mosher
| location = [[Republic Studios]]<br />[[Universal Studios]]<br />Los Angeles
| runtime = 30 minutes
| network = [[CBS]] {{small|(1957–58)}}<br />[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] {{small|(1958–63)}}
| picture_format = [[Black-and-white]]
| camera = [[Single-camera setup|Single-camera]]
| audio_format = Monaural
| first_aired = {{start date |1957|10|04}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1963|06|20}}
| followed_by = ''[[Still the Beaver]]''<br />''[[The New Leave It to Beaver]]''<br />[[Leave It to Beaver (film)|''Leave It to Beaver'' (1997 film)]]
}}


'''''Leave It to Beaver''''' is an iconic [[United States|American]] [[television]] [[situation comedy]] about an idealized American family of the 1950s and early 1960s. It stars [[Barbara Billingsley]], [[Hugh Beaumont (actor)|Hugh Beaumont]], [[Tony Dow]] and [[Jerry Mathers]] ("as The Beaver", as the opening credits put it).
'''''Leave It to Beaver''''' is an American television [[sitcom]] broadcast between 1957 and 1963 about an inquisitive and often [[Naivety|naïve]] boy, [[Beaver Cleaver|Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver]] ([[Jerry Mathers]]), and his adventures at home, school, and around his suburban neighborhood. The show also starred [[Barbara Billingsley]] and [[Hugh Beaumont]] as Beaver's parents, [[June Cleaver|June]] and [[Ward Cleaver]], and [[Tony Dow]] as Beaver's brother [[Wally Cleaver|Wally]]. The show has attained an [[cultural icon|iconic]] status in the United States, with the Cleavers exemplifying the idealized suburban family of the mid-20th century.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Bornstein | first = Kate | title = My New Gender Workbook | publisher = Routledge | year = 2013 | page = 63}}.</ref>


[[CBS]] first broadcast the show on [[October 4]], [[1957]], but dropped it after one season. [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] picked it up and ran it for another five years, from [[October 2]], [[1958]] to [[June 20]], [[1963]]. It proved to be a scheduling challenge for both networks, airing on four different evenings (Wednesday through Saturday).<ref>http://www.tv.com/show/1422/summary.html</ref> It was produced by [[Gomalco Productions]] (1957-1961) and by [[Kayro Productions]] (1961-1963), and distributed by [[Revue Studios]].
The show was created by the writers [[Joe Connelly (producer)|Joe Connelly]] and [[Bob Mosher]]. These veterans of radio and early television found inspiration for the show's characters, plots, and dialogue in the lives, experiences, and conversations of their own children. ''Leave It to Beaver'' is one of the first primetime sitcom series written from a child's point of view. Like several television dramas and sitcoms of the late 1950s and early 1960s (''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]'' and ''[[My Three Sons]]''), ''Leave It to Beaver'' is a glimpse of middle-class American boyhood. In a typical episode, Beaver gets into some sort of boyish scrape, then faces his parents for reprimand and correction. Neither parent was omniscient or infallible; the series often showed the parents debating their approach to child rearing, and some episodes were built around parental gaffes.


''Leave It to Beaver'' never broke into the [[Nielsen Ratings]] top 30 in its six season run. However, it proved to be much more popular in [[rerun]]s. It also led to an unsuccessful 1997 [[Leave It to Beaver (film)|film of the same name]].
''Leave It to Beaver'' ran for six full 39-week seasons (234 episodes). The series had its debut on [[CBS]] on October 4, 1957. The following season, it moved to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], where it stayed until completing its run on June 20, 1963. Throughout the show's run, it was shot with a single camera on black-and-white [[35 mm movie film|35 mm film]].<ref name="Applebaum"/> The show's production companies included the comedian [[George Gobel]]'s Gomalco Productions (1957–1961) and Connelly and Mosher's own Kayro Productions (1961–1963) with filming at [[Revue Studios]]/[[Republic Studios]] and [[Universal Studios]] in Los Angeles. The show was distributed by [[NBCUniversal Television Distribution|MCA TV]]. The still-popular show ended its run in 1963 primarily because it had reached its natural conclusion: In the final show, Beaver is about to graduate from grade school into high school, but Wally was about to enter college and the fraternal dynamic at the heart of the show's premise would be broken with their separation.


==Premise==
Contemporary commentators praised ''Leave It to Beaver'', with ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' comparing Beaver to [[Mark Twain]]'s [[The Adventures of Tom Sawyer|Tom Sawyer]].<ref name= "Mathers autobio" /> Much juvenile merchandise was released during the show's first run, including [[board game]]s, novels, and [[comic book]]s. The show has enjoyed a renaissance in popularity since the 1970s through [[Broadcast syndication|off-network syndication]], a reunion [[telemovie]] (''[[Still the Beaver]]'', 1983) and a sequel series, ''[[The New Leave It to Beaver]]'' (1985–1989). In 1997, a [[Leave It to Beaver (film)|movie version]] based on the original series was released to negative reviews. In October 2007, [[TV Land]] celebrated the show's 50th anniversary with a marathon. Although the show never broke into the [[Nielsen ratings]] top 30 or won any awards, it placed on ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's unranked 2007 list of "All-TIME 100 TV Shows".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070911082724/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1651341,00.html "All-TIME 100 TV Shows"]. ''Time''. Retrieved April 15, 2008.</ref>
The show is built around young [[Theodore Cleaver|Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver]] ([[Jerry Mathers]]) and the trouble he gets himself into while navigating his way through an often-incomprehensible, sometimes-illogical world. Supposedly, when he was a baby, his older brother Wallace "[[Wally Cleaver|Wally]]" ([[Tony Dow]]) mispronounced "Theodore" as "Tweedor". Their firm-but-loving parents, [[Ward Cleaver|Ward]] ([[Hugh Beaumont (actor)|Hugh Beaumont]]) and [[June Cleaver]] ([[Barbara Billingsley]]), felt "Beaver" sounded better. Conversely, Mathers has said that the real reason for the name "Beaver" is that one of the show’s writers, Joe Connelly, had a shipmate named "The Beaver" in [[World War II]]. And, from that, came the family's name, "Cleaver."<ref>http://www.parade.com/features/touchstones/071003-jerry-mathers.html</ref>


Beaver's friends include the perpetually apple-munching [[Larry Mondello]] ([[Rusty Stevens]]) in the early seasons, and, later, [[Leave It to Beaver#Supporting characters|Gilbert Bates]] ([[Stephen Talbot]]), as well as the old fireman, Gus ([[Burt Mustin]]). His sweet-natured-but-no-nonsense elementary school teachers are [[Miss Canfield]] (to whom Beaver declares his love in the episode entitled "[[Beaver's Crush]]") ([[Diane Brewster]]), [[Miss Landers]] ([[Sue Randall]]) and [[Mrs. Rayburn]] ([[Doris Packer]]), also the school's principal. In the early seasons, Beaver's nemesis in class is [[Judy Hensler]] ([[Jeri Weil]]).
{{toc limit|3}}


Beaver's brother Wally is popular with both peers and adults, getting into trouble much less frequently. He [[Letterman|letters]] in three sports. He has little difficulty attracting girlfriends, among them [[Mary Ellen Rogers]] ([[Pamela Baird]]) and [[Julie Foster]] ([[Cheryl Holdridge]]). His pals include the awkward [[Clarence Rutherford|Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford]] ([[Frank Bank]]) and smart aleck [[Eddie Haskell]] ([[Ken Osmond]]), the [[archetype]] of the two-faced wise guy, a braggart among his peers and an obsequious [[yes man]] to the adults he mocks behind their backs. Eddie often picks on the Beaver.
== Production==
The family lives in the fictional town of Mayfield. Beaver attends Grant Ave. Grammar School, and Wally, Mayfield High School (after graduating from Grant Ave. in season one).


==Cast==
[[Image:B jerpau01.JPG|thumb|267px|Paul Sullivan (right) portraying Wally Cleaver in the pilot episode, in a scene with the permanent Beaver, [[Jerry Mathers]]]]

=== Concept, pilot, and premiere ===
In 1957, the radio, film and television writers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher developed a concept for a TV show about childhood and family life featuring a fictional suburban couple and their children. Unlike ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet]]'', ''[[Father Knows Best]]'' and other sitcoms and domestic comedies of the era, the show would not focus on the parents, but rather on their children, with the series being told from the kids' point of view.<ref>[http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/L/htmlL/leaveittob/leaveittob.htm Orlick, Peter. ''Leave It to Beaver''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080207010235/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/L/htmlL/leaveittob/leaveittob.htm |date=February 7, 2008 }}. Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved April 15, 2008.</ref> Working titles during the show's gestation period included ''It's a Small World''<ref name="Applebaum">Applebaum, Irwyn (1984, 1998). ''The World According to Beaver''. TV Books.</ref> and ''Wally and the Beaver''. The pilot aired April 23, 1957, as "[[It's a Small World (Leave It to Beaver episode)|It's a Small World]]" on the anthology series ''Heinz Studio 57''.<ref name="Mathers autobio">Mathers, Jerry (1998). ''...and Jerry Mathers as The Beaver''. Berkley Boulevard Books. {{ISBN|0425163709}}.</ref>

The stars of the pilot were [[Max Showalter|Casey Adams]] and Paul Sullivan (as father and son Ward and Wally Cleaver). They were replaced as production of the series neared. Six months after the broadcast of the pilot, the series debuted on [[CBS]] on Friday October 4, 1957, as ''Leave It to Beaver'', with the episode third in production order, "[[Beaver Gets 'Spelled (Leave It to Beaver episode)|Beaver Gets 'Spelled]]".<ref name="Mathers autobio"/><ref name="ReferenceC">''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 1: "Beaver Gets 'Spelled".</ref> The intended premiere, "Captain Jack",<ref name="LITB e2">''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 2: "Captain Jack".</ref> displayed a toilet tank (which didn't pass the [[Censorship in the United States|censor]]'s office in time for the show's scheduled debut) and aired the week following the premiere. "Captain Jack" has claimed its place in television history as the first American TV show to display a toilet tank.<ref name="Snopes">{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/firsttoilet.asp|title=Snopes}}</ref> In 1997, it was ranked number 42 in [[TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time]].<ref>{{cite journal |year=1997 |title=Special Collectors' Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time |journal=[[TV Guide]] |issue=June 28 – July 4 }}</ref>

=== Sponsors and budget ===
[[Remington Rand]] was a potential sponsor during the show's conception and counseled against the show's suggested title, ''Wally and the Beaver'', believing viewers would think the show was a nature program. The show was ultimately sponsored by [[Ralston Purina]], with [[General Electric]] (The GE logo was clearly visible on all kitchen appliances) and [[Chrysler Corporation]] sponsoring the later seasons (Ward Cleaver was often seen driving the newest [[Plymouth Fury]] during the opening credits or coming home from work, starting in Season 3. In the first two seasons, he drove a 1957 Ford.).<ref name="Mathers autobio"/>

Episodes were budgeted at $30,000 to $40,000 each (${{Inflation|US|30000|1957|r=-4|fmt=c}} to ${{Inflation|US|40000|1957|r=-4|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars),{{Inflation-fn|US}} making the show one of the most costly to produce at the time. High production costs were in part due to many outdoor scenes. The most expensive single episode, "In the Soup"<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 149: "In the Soup"</ref> (in which Beaver gets stuck in an advertising billboard with a gigantic make-believe cup of soup, curious as to how "steam" came out of the cup), was budgeted at $50,000. Two billboards were built for the episode: one outside on the back lot, and the other inside the studio.<ref name="Mathers autobio"/>

===Characters and casting===
{{Main|Leave It to Beaver characters}}
{{Main|List of Leave It to Beaver cast members}}
{{Main|List of Leave It to Beaver cast members}}
===Main characters===
* [[Barbara Billingsley]] as [[June Cleaver]]. Billingsley has said that June Cleaver's wardrobe was more than a fashion statement.{{Fact|date=July 2007}} The pearl necklace hid a hollow (caused by a surgical scar) in her neck which would have caused shadows<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=49750&cl=4369353&ch=61492&src=news |title=GMA Time Machine - "Leave It to Beaver" is 50 (5 min. 36 sec. video clip)|publisher=abcnews.com |date=[[October 4]] [[2007]]}}</ref> and [[high-heeled shoe]]s were employed to offset the boys' growing height.
* [[Hugh Beaumont (actor)|Hugh Beaumont]] as [[Ward Cleaver]]. Before he made Ward Cleaver his acting trademark, Beaumont sometimes played villains in film and television. He directed a number of ''Leave It to Beaver'' episodes in the last two seasons, including the final one, the retrospective "[[Family Scrapbook]]".
* [[Tony Dow]] as [[Wally Cleaver]].
* [[Jerry Mathers]] as [[Theodore Cleaver|Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver]]. The casting directors noticed that Mathers was uneasy at the auditions and asked him where he'd rather be. Mathers replied that he'd rather be at his [[Cub Scout]] den meeting, where he was going after the audition. That boyish innocence got Mathers the part of Beaver.<ref>http://www.parade.com/features/touchstones/071003-jerry-mathers.html</ref>


===Supporting characters===
[[File:Cleaver family Leave it to Beaver 1960.JPG|thumb|''Leave It to Beaver'' cast (L–R): [[Hugh Beaumont]], [[Tony Dow]], [[Barbara Billingsley]] and [[Jerry Mathers]], circa 1959]]
* [[Ken Osmond]] as [[Eddie Haskell]].
* [[Diane Brewster]] as Miss Canfield (October 4, 1957 — March 21, 1958 air dates), Beaver's first teacher at Grant Ave. Grammar School. Brewster also played Miss Simms in the pilot episode.
* [[Sue Randall]] as Miss Alice Landers (October 16, 1958 — June 20, 1963), Beaver's teacher, replacing Miss Canfield.
* [[Doris Packer]] as Mrs. Rayburn, Beaver's first teacher and later the [[Principal (school)|principal]] of Grant Ave. Grammar School
* [[Stephen Talbot]] as Gilbert Bates (March 19, 1959 — June 6, 1963). Before settling in Mayfield, the Bates family traveled a lot due to Gilbert's father's work, and "Gil," as his father John Bates calls him, tends to make up stories about his family in order to get his classmates to accept him.
* [[Rusty Stevens]] as Larry Mondello. (November 22, 1957 — June 20, 1963)
* [[Richard Correll]] as Richard Rickover. (April 30, 1960 — October 18, 1962)
* [[Stanley Fafara]] as Hubert "Whitey" Whitney. (October 4, 1957 — June 6, 1963)
* [[Jeri Weil]] as Judy Hensler. (October 4, 1957 — October 15, 1960)
* [[Burt Mustin]] as Gus the fireman, head of Auxiliary Firehouse No. 7 (October 4, 1957 — February 24, 1962)
* [[Frank Bank]] as [[Clarence Rutherford|Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford]].
* [[Richard Deacon (actor)|Richard Deacon]] as [[Fred Rutherford]], Lumpy's pompous, demanding father and Ward Cleaver's equally pompous, smug co-worker.
* [[Buddy Hart]] as Chester Anderson.
* [[Tiger Fafara]] as Tooey Brown. Tiger is Stanley's brother.
* [[Pamela Baird]] as Mary Ellen Rogers (April 16, 1958 — June 20, 1963), Wally's first girlfriend.
* [[Cheryl Holdridge]] as Julie Foster (January 7, 1961 — April 11, 1963), another of Wally's girlfriends


==Cultural influence==
Casting directors interviewed hundreds of child actors for the role of Beaver but kept calling back [[Jerry Mathers]], an eight-year-old with substantial acting experience. At one of many auditions, Mathers wore his [[Cub Scouting (Boy Scouts of America)|Cub Scout]] uniform and told casting personnel he was eager to leave for his den meeting. Connelly and Mosher were charmed with Mathers' innocent candor and cast him in the title role.<ref name="Mathers PARADE">[http://www.parade.com/features/touchstones/071003-jerry-mathers.html Interview with Jerry Mathers | PARADE Magazine<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324133248/http://www.parade.com/features/touchstones/071003-jerry-mathers.html |date=March 24, 2009 }}</ref> [[Barbara Billingsley]], an actress with experience in several B movies and one failed television series (''Professional Father''), was then hired to play Beaver's mother, [[June Cleaver|June]].<ref name="Mathers autobio"/> Preteen [[Tony Dow]] accompanied a friend auditioning for ''Johnny Wildlife'' to the studio, and, although Dow had no aspirations to an acting career, tried out for the role of Beaver's brother, [[Wally Cleaver|Wally]], and was hired. Several adult candidates then auditioned for the role of Beaver's father, [[Ward Cleaver|Ward]], but Connelly and Mosher finally signed [[Hugh Beaumont]], an actor and [[Methodism|Methodist]] lay minister who had worked with Mathers in a religious film.<ref name="Applebaum"/>
''Leave It to Beaver'' often aimed toward a moral lesson and is referenced even now as an emblem of simpler American times. Ward stated that his father "had a fine sense of values",<ref>Quote taken from the episode "The Broken Window"</ref> and if Ward himself sometimes seemed possessed of the gentility of a man of the cloth, it may have come from Beaumont's own background: he had become an ordained minister before he took up an acting career. June Cleaver, likewise, became a model of the archetypal [[suburbs|suburban]] 1950s mother who wanted nothing more than to stay at home and take care of the family.


The show strongly promoted the importance of family. The recurring themes expounded parental expectations for children, while the moral messages stressed the importance of teaching children proper behavior. Proper parenting techniques and methods for resolving problems and achieving consensus were demonstrated.
====Main cast====
* [[Hugh Beaumont]] as [[Ward Cleaver]]
* [[Barbara Billingsley]] as [[June Cleaver]]
* [[Tony Dow]] as [[Wally Cleaver|Wallace "Wally" Cleaver]]
* [[Jerry Mathers]] as [[Beaver Cleaver|Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver]]


The series was inventive in the sense that it portrayed the world through the eyes of a young boy and sometimes dealt with somewhat controversial subjects, such as alcoholism and divorce.
====Recurring cast====
* [[Ken Osmond]] as [[Eddie Haskell]], Wally's mischievous, two-faced best friend
* [[Rusty Stevens]] as [[Larry Mondello]], Beaver's apple-eating best friend
* [[Stanley Fafara]] as Hubert "Whitey" Whitney, Beaver's classmate and friend
* [[Rich Correll]] as Richard Rickover, Beaver's classmate and friend
* [[Stephen Talbot]] as Gilbert Bates (Gilbert Gates in first appearance), Beaver's classmate and friend
* [[Jeri Weil]] as [[Judy Hensler]], Beaver's classmate and nemesis
* Patty Turner as Linda Dennison, Beaver's classmate and first love interest
* Karen Sue Trent as Penny Woods, Beaver's classmate and second love interest
* Bobby Mittelstaedt as Charlie Fredericks, a high-achieving classmate of Beaver's
* [[Richard Deacon (actor)|Richard Deacon]] as [[Fred Rutherford]], Ward's overbearing co-worker
* [[Frank Bank]] as [[Lumpy Rutherford|Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford]], Fred's bully of a son and Wally's friend
* Wendy Winkelman and [[Veronica Cartwright]] as Violet Rutherford, Fred's daughter
* [[Buddy Joe Hooker|Buddy Hart]] as Chester Anderson, Wally's friend and classmate
* [[Tiger Fafara]] as Tooey Brown, Wally's friend and classmate
* [[Cheryl Holdridge]] as Julie Foster, Wally's first love interest
* [[Pamela Baird]] as Mary Ellen Rogers, Wally's second love interest and eventual wife
* [[Edgar Buchanan]] as Uncle Billy Cleaver, Ward's globetrotting and whimsical uncle
* [[Madge Kennedy]] as [[Martha Bronson|Aunt Martha Bronson]], June's eccentric spinster aunt
* [[Diane Brewster]] as [[Miss Canfield]], Beaver's second-grade teacher
* [[Wendell Holmes (actor)|Wendell Holmes]] as Mr. Willett (history teacher), Mr. Blair (English teacher) and handyman Andy
* [[Sue Randall]] as Miss Alice Landers, Beaver's third-grade teacher
* [[Burt Mustin]] as Gus, an elderly fireman who acts as a role model for Beaver
* [[Doris Packer]] as Mrs Cornelia Rayburn, the principal of Grant Avenue Grammar School
* [[Madge Blake]] as Mrs Margaret Mondello, Larry's short-tempered and much put-upon mother
* [[Karl Swenson]] and [[George O. Petrie]] as George Haskell, Eddie's father
* [[Ann Doran]] and [[Anne Barton (actress)|Anne Barton]] as Agnes Haskell, Eddie's mother


==Episodes==
=== Writers and directors ===
{{Main|List of Leave It to Beaver episodes}}
The show's chief writers, Bob Mosher and Joe Connelly, met while working in New York City for the [[J. Walter Thompson Agency]]. Once in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], the men became head writers for the radio show ''[[Amos 'n' Andy]]'' and continued to write the well-received show when it moved to CBS television in 1950. Although both men initially wrote all the scripts for earlier episodes of ''Leave It to Beaver'', after becoming executive producers they began accepting scripts from other writers, refining them if necessary.<ref name="Mathers autobio"/>
The [[Television pilot|pilot]], titled "It's a Small World", aired on [[April 23]], [[1957]].<ref>http://www.geocities.com/alcus2/smallworld.html</ref> It featured [[Max Showalter]] (credited as Casey Adams) as Ward Cleaver, and Paul Sullivan as Wally Cleaver. [[WTBS|TBS]] re-aired the pilot on [[October 4]], [[1987]], to commemorate the show's 30th anniversary. [[TV Land]] re-aired it on [[October 6]], [[2007]], as part of their twenty-four-hour [[marathon]] to commemorate the show's 50th anniversary.<ref>[http://www.tvland.com/marathon/beaver/ Episodes of Leave It to Beaver Marathon - TV Land.com]</ref> It is also available as a bonus episode on the season-one DVD. 234 episodes followed.


A [[voice-over]] by Hugh Beaumont precedes each episode, providing a background to that episode's theme, though these are omitted in airings on TV Land.
With Mosher the father of two children and Connelly six, the two had enough source material and inspiration for the show's dialogue and plot lines. Connelly's eight-year-old son, Ricky, served as the model for Beaver and his fourteen-year-old son, Jay, for Wally, while Eddie Haskell and Larry Mondello were based on friends of the Connelly boys. Connelly often took the boys on outings while carrying a notebook to record their conversations and activities.<ref name="Mathers autobio"/>


===Opening titles===
Other writers who contributed to the show were Bill Manhoff, Mel Diamond, Dale and Katherine Eunson, Ben Gershman, George Tibbles (who later became the head writer on ''[[My Three Sons]]''), Fran van Hartesvelt, Bob Ross, Alan Manings, Mathilde and Theodore Ferro, John Whedon and the team of Dick Conway and Roland MacLane, who wrote many of the shows for the last two seasons.<ref name="Applebaum"/> Connelly told an interviewer, "If we hire a writer we tell him not to make up situations, but to look into his own background. It's not a 'situation' comedy where you have to create a situation for a particular effect. Our emphasis is on a natural story line."<ref name="Applebaum"/>
Season one: The characters are not shown. A drawing of a street, viewed from above, displays the credits in wet concrete.


Season two: Ward and June, standing at the bottom of the stairs, see the boys off to school as they come down the stairs and exit the front door.
Connelly and Mosher worked to create humorous characters in simple situations, rather than relying on contrived jokes. The two often adapted real-life situations in the lives of their children. "The Haircut", for example, was directly based on an incident involving Bobby Mosher, who was compelled to wear a stocking cap in a school play after giving himself a ragged haircut.<ref name="Mathers autobio"/><ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 4: "The Haircut".</ref> Fourteen-year-old Jay Connelly's preening habits became Wally's frequent hair combing. Seven-year-old Ricky Connelly's habit of dropping the initial syllables of words was incorporated into Beaver's character.<ref name="Applebaum"/>


Season three: Ward and June enter the boys' bedroom to wake them up.
According to Tony Dow, "If any line got too much of a laugh, they'd take it out. They didn't want a big laugh; they wanted chuckles."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Newcott|first=Bill
|title=Beaver's Back!|magazine=[[AARP The Magazine]]|date=July–August 2010|volume=53 |issue=4|page=12}}</ref>


Season four: Ward and June open the front door and stand on the [[Urban stoop|stoop]]. As Wally, followed by Beaver, leave for school, June hands them their lunches and Ward gives them their jackets.
[[Norman Tokar]], a director with a talent for working with children, was hired to direct most of the episodes for the first three years and developed the characters of [[Eddie Haskell]] and [[Larry Mondello]].<ref name="Mathers autobio"/> Other directors included [[Earl Bellamy]], [[David Butler (director)|David Butler]] (who had directed child actress [[Shirley Temple]]), [[Bretaigne Windust]], [[Gene Reynolds]] and [[Hugh Beaumont]]. [[Norman Abbott]] directed most of the episodes through the last three years.


Season five: June takes refreshments out to the men out in the front yard.
=== Filming ===
For the first two seasons, ''Leave It to Beaver'' was filmed at [[CBS Studio Center|Republic Studios]] in [[Studio City, California|Studio City]], Los Angeles.<ref name="Applebaum"/> For its final four seasons, production moved to [[Universal Studios]]. Exteriors, including the façades of the two Cleaver houses, were filmed on the respective studio back lots. [[Stock footage]] was often used for establishing shots.


Season six: June, carrying a picnic basket, walks out the front door towards the car. Ward, carrying another item for the picnic, is next, followed in quick succession by Wally. Beaver, lagging behind, runs out, slamming the door behind him. Ward, with June in the passenger seat and the boys in back, then reverses toward the camera.
The script for an upcoming episode would be delivered to the cast late in the week, with a read-through the following Monday, awkward lines or other problems being noted for rewrites. On Tuesday afternoon, the script was rehearsed in its entirety for the camera and lighting crew. Over the following three days, individual scenes would be filmed with a single camera.


===Musical theme===
Filming was limited to one episode per week (rather than the two typical of television production of the period) to accommodate the large number of child actors, who were allowed to work only four hours a day. Scenes with children were usually filmed first, with adult actors having to wait until after 5:00&nbsp;pm for filming.<ref name="Applebaum"/>
The show's playfully-bouncy theme tune, which became as much of a show trademark as Beaver's baseball cap or Eddie Haskell's false obsequiousness, was "The Toy Parade," composed by David Kahn, Melvyn Leonard, and Mort Greene. For the final season, however, the song was given a jazz-like arrangement by veteran composer/arranger [[Pete Rugolo]].


==Syndication==
Series [[cinematography|cinematographers]] included Mack Stengler with 122 episodes between 1958 and 1962, Jack MacKenzie with 40 episodes between 1962 and 1963, and William A. Sickner with 37 episodes between 1957 and 1959. Fred Mandl (1962), Ray Rennahan (1958), and Ray Flin (1960) served as cinematographers on less than five episodes each.
Reruns of the show became part of CBS affiliates' lineups in the mornings for several years to come. [[TBS (TV network)|TBS]] showed it for many years in the late 1980s, and it currently airs on [[TV Land]]&mdash;where it has been shown since July 1998. Today, [[NBC Universal Television]] owns the syndication rights and all properties related to the series.


==Spinoffs==
=== Opening and closing sequences ===
A made-for-television reunion movie, ''Still the Beaver'', appeared in [[1983 in television|1983]]. The main original cast appeared, except for Beaumont, who had died the previous year. Ward Cleaver was still a presence, however: the film's story used numerous flashbacks to the original show, as it followed young-adult Beaver's struggle to reconcile divorce and newly-minted single fatherhood, straining to cope by what his father might or might not have done, while facing the possibility of his widowed mother selling their childhood home. June Cleaver is later elected to the Mayfield City Council.
In the first season, each episode opens with a [[teaser trailer|teaser]], either featuring clips from the episode, or using generic footage from multiple episodes and a voice-over introduction by Beaumont briefly stating the episode's theme.<ref name="Spelled">Leave It to Beaver, episode 1: "Beaver Gets 'Spelled"</ref> The teaser is followed by the main title and credits in which the show's four main stars are introduced.<ref name="Spelled" /> Midway through the first season, the Beaumont voice-over introduction was discarded in favor of a brief scene extracted from the episode at hand, and, at the end of the first season, the teaser was entirely discarded, moving immediately to the title and credits. In seasons five and six, significant crew are listed in an extension of the opening credits after a commercial break.


Its reception led to a new first-run, made-for-cable series, ''[[The New Leave It to Beaver]]'' (1985&ndash;1989), with Beaver and Lumpy Rutherford running Ward's old firm (where Lumpy's pompous, demanding father &mdash; played by [[Richard Deacon (actor)|Richard Deacon]] in the original series &mdash; had been the senior partner), Wally as a practicing attorney and expectant father, June having sold the old house to Beaver himself but living with him as a doting grandmother to Beaver's two small sons. Eddie Haskell runs his own contracting business and has a son, Freddie, who is every inch his father's son &mdash; right down to the dual-personality.
Each season had an individually filmed sequence for the opening credits. In season one, for example, a cartoon-like drawing of a freshly laid concrete sidewalk was displayed with the show title and stars' names scratched into its surface, while in the final season, the Cleavers left the house through the front door carrying picnic items (see [[List of Leave It to Beaver episodes|List of ''Leave It to Beaver'' episodes]] for specific season opening sequences).<ref name="Spelled" /> Billingsley was the first to be introduced in all opening credit sequences, followed by Beaumont and Dow. Mathers was introduced last, with the voice-over line, "...and Jerry Mathers as The Beaver".<ref name="Spelled" />


===Feature film===
The closing sequence for the first season featured a simple, dark background as the credits rolled.<ref name="Spelled" /> In the second season, Wally and Beaver are seen walking home from school with their schoolbooks and entering the house through the front door.<ref>Leave It to Beaver, episode 40: "Beaver's Poem".</ref> In the third through fifth seasons, Wally and Beaver are seen walking towards the Pine Street house.<ref name="BlindDate">Leave It to Beaver, episode 79: "Blind Date Committee".</ref> Beaver carries a baseball glove and limps along the curbstone.<ref name="BlindDate" /> In the last season, Beaver, arguing with Wally as the two are walking home, pushes Wally into the street and they start chasing each other around a tree and into the house.<ref>Leave It to Beaver, episode 196: "Wally's Dinner Date".</ref>
{{main|Leave It to Beaver (film)}}
[[1997 in film|1997]]'s movie adaptation of the series starred [[Christopher McDonald]] as Ward, [[Janine Turner]] as June, [[Erik von Detten]] as Wally, and [[Cameron Finley]] as Beaver. It was panned by many critics, except for [[Roger Ebert]], who gave it a three-star rating. It performed poorly at the box office, earning only [[United States dollar|$]]11,713,605. Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond and Frank Bank made [[cameo appearance]]s in the film.


=== Music ===
==House==
The Cleavers moved from 485 Mapleton Drive to 211 Pine Street, both in Mayfield, for the start of season three. In 1969, the house was reused for another Universal-produced television hit, ''[[Marcus Welby, M.D.]]'' This house can still be seen at [[Universal Studios]], though the original façade was replaced in 1988 for the following year's ''[[The 'Burbs]]'' and sits in storage elsewhere on the Universal lot. The façade was replaced again for the 1996 ''Leave It to Beaver'' movie.
The show's opening and closing sequences are accompanied by an orchestral rendition of the show's bouncy theme music, "The Toy Parade", by David Kahn, Melvyn Leonard, and Mort Greene. For the third season, the tempo was quickened and the tune whistled by a male [[choir|chorus]] over an orchestral accompaniment for the closing credits and for the production credits following the opening sequence. For the final season, the song was given a [[jazz]]-like arrangement by the veteran composer and arranger [[Pete Rugolo]]. Though [[lyrics]] exist for the theme tune, an instrumental arrangement was used for the show's entire run.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leaveittobeaver.org/showinfo/showinfo_lyrics.htm|title="The Toy Parade" lyrics.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813184051/http://www.leaveittobeaver.org/showinfo/showinfo_lyrics.htm|archive-date=August 13, 2006|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Elements of the theme tune were given a subdued musical arrangement, which was then used as background music for tender and sentimental scenes. Occasionally, a few phrases from well-known musical compositions, such as [[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]]'s "[[Piano Sonata No. 2 (Chopin)|Funeral March]]" and "[[La Marseillaise]]", the French national [[anthem]], were quoted.


==DVD releases==
This CBS show required "wall-to-wall" music, a term for productions that utilize musical "tag" pieces between scenes as needed. While "The Toy Parade" theme was written for the show, incidental music was not. This is evident through the progression of the series, as the theme matured, the usual background music did not. This is the equivalent of the "needle-drop" library of prerecorded music that is still prevalent today. This incidental music was likely a product of the CBS Television Orchestra and clearly sounds reminiscent of the early 1950s, especially by 1963. Many of the musical cues were utilized in multiple series, including such varying shows as ''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]'', ''[[The Munsters]]'', ''[[Wagon Train]]'', and ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]''.
[[Universal Studios Home Entertainment]] has released seasons 1 and 2 of ''Leave It to Beaver'' on [[DVD region code| DVD Region 1]]. It is expected the remaining four seasons will follow.

=== Settings ===

====Time setting====
The time setting of ''Leave It to Beaver'' is contemporary with its production—the late 1950s and the early 1960s. References to contemporary news issues or topics are infrequent. [[Communism]] is mentioned in the episode "Water, Anyone?"<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 7: "Water, Anyone?"</ref> The launching of the Russian satellite ''[[Sputnik]]'', which coincided with the debut of the series, is mentioned in several episodes, as is the rapidly expanding [[missile defense]] sector in the 1962 episode "Stocks and Bonds". In Gilbert's first appearance, he tells Beaver that he is in training for the [[1968 Olympics]]{{Disambiguation needed|date=November 2022}}.

Contemporary cultural references are more frequent but not overwhelming. The show acknowledges the [[greaser (subculture)|greaser]] subculture<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 73: "Wally's Haircomb".</ref> and, in the last season, [[Twist (dance)|"The Twist"]], a popular song and dance craze of the early 1960s.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 204: "Beaver Joins a Record Club".</ref> The dance's promoter, [[Chubby Checker]], is hinted at in the episode's fictional "Chubby Chadwick" and his fictional hit tune, "[[Surf Board]] Twist". Wally and his friends perform a tepid version of The Twist at Wally's party in "The Party Spoiler". The 1960 [[Kirk Douglas]] vehicle ''[[Spartacus (film)|Spartacus]]'' is brought up in "Teacher's Daughter", [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], [[Nikita Khrushchev]] and [[Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.]] are mentioned and, in one episode, Beaver's best friend Gilbert says Angela Valentine wore a "[[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jackie Kennedy]] wig" to class. Contemporary celebrities mentioned on the show include [[Rock Hudson]], [[Tuesday Weld]], [[Cary Grant]], [[Sal Mineo]], [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Edd Byrnes]], [[Tony Curtis]], [[Sonny Liston]], [[Muhammad Ali|Cassius Clay]], [[Bob Cousy]], [[Chet Huntley]], [[David Brinkley]], [[Jack Paar]], [[John Glenn]], [[Bennett Cerf]], [[Warren Spahn]], [[Fabian Forte]], [[Bobby Vinton]], [[Frankie Avalon]] and others. Then current [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] celebrity star [[Don Drysdale]] appears as himself in the 1962 episode titled "Long Distance Call". When Beaver appears on a TV show, not knowing it is being recorded to air another day, Gilbert compares the misunderstanding with "a [[Rod Serling]] ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|Twilight Zone]]''". The 1963 episode "The Poor Loser" opens with a shot of June marking a 1961 wall calendar and in the 1963 episode "Beaver's Graduation," June and Ward inspect the gift they have for Beaver's graduation and read the inscription, "...Class of '63".

''Leave It to Beaver'' is set in the fictitious community of Mayfield and its environs. In Mayfield, the principal setting is the Cleaver home. The Cleavers live in two houses over the series' run. However, they lived in another house prior to the start of the series.<ref name="PreviousHouse">''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 32: "Beaver's OldkelFriend".</ref> The move during the series was necessary when the façade of the original house, located at Republic Studios, became unavailable for filming following the production's move to Universal. The new house stood on the Universal backlot. The address of the first house is 485 Mapleton (sometimes Maple) Drive, and the second at 211 Pine Street.

==== Mapleton Drive house ====
[[Image:B house01.JPG|thumb|Mapleton Drive house]]

Surrounded by a [[picket fence]], the Mapleton Drive house is two stories with a first floor kitchen, [[dining room]], [[living room]] and adjoining [[patio]], and at least three [[bedroom]]s on the second floor—one for the boys, one for the parents, and a guest room into which Beaver moves for a night.<ref name="auto">''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 21: "Cleaning Up Beaver".</ref> The cellar is accessible through a diagonal door in the kitchen.<ref name="LITB e2"/> A kitchen door opens onto a small side yard, the driveway, and a single-car garage—a frequent setting for get-togethers between the boys, their father, and the boys' friends.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 55: "The Boat Builders".</ref><ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 28: "Next Door Indians".</ref><ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 24: "The State vs. Beaver".</ref><ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 57: "The Garage Painters".</ref>

Toward the close of season two, the Cleavers discuss moving.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 68: "Beaver Says Goodbye"</ref> In the season's closer, Ward tells the boys the Mapleton Drive house has been sold.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 78: "Most Interesting Character".</ref> In the season three opener, the Cleavers are comfortably settled in their new home.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 79: "Blind Date Committee".</ref> No episode features the actual move.

==== Pine Street house ====
The Pine Street house consists of several rooms (kitchen and laundry room, dining room, living room, den) on the ground floor and at least three bedrooms on the second floor. None of the furnishings from the Mapleton Drive house appear in the new house. Reproductions of [[Thomas Gainsborough|Gainsborough]]'s ''[[The Blue Boy]]'' and [[Thomas Lawrence (painter)|Lawrence]]'s ''[[Pinkie (Lawrence painting)|Pinkie]]'' hang in the front entry above graceful [[bergère]]s. An [[upholstery|upholstered]] [[wing chair]] at the edge of the [[hearth]] in the living room is covered in a [[chinoiserie]] print.

[[Image:Beaver House 2003.jpg|thumb|left|Pine Street house in 2003]]

During the final episode at the Mapleton Drive house, the boys announce they are excited for the move as the new house will allow them their own separate bedrooms. Yet in subsequent episodes taking place at the Pine Street residence, the brothers apparently still share the same bedroom. Even the arrangement of the furniture is nearly identical, though a portable TV is present by late 1962.

After the move to Pine Street, the boys continue to attend the same schools, frequent the same hang-outs, and visit the same friends. The Pine Street house is in the vicinity of the Mapleton Drive house; in one episode,<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 86: "Beaver's Tree".</ref> Beaver and Larry walk to the Mapleton Drive house, uproot a small tree, and transport it to the Pine Street house in a wagon.

In the Pine Street house, Ward has a den near the main entry, which serves as a setting for many scenes. The garage at the Pine Street house is used less often as a setting for masculine get-togethers than the Mapleton Drive garage had been. June and Ward's bedroom is seen for the first time in the Pine Street house. They have their own bath, sleep in twin beds and have a portable TV in the room. The Cleavers' phone number is KL5-4763.

Two years before ''Leave It to Beaver'' went into production, the Pine Street façade and its neighborhood were employed extensively in the 1955 [[Humphrey Bogart]] film ''[[The Desperate Hours (1955 film)|The Desperate Hours]].''

In 1969, the Pine Street house was reused for another Universal-produced television hit, ''[[Marcus Welby, M.D.]]'' This house can still be seen at [[Universal Studios]], though the original façade was replaced in 1988 for the following year's ''[[The 'Burbs]]'' and sat in storage elsewhere on the Universal lot. The façade was replaced again for the 1997 ''[[Leave It to Beaver (film)|Leave It to Beaver]]'' movie. The house and the street it sits on were used as the main exterior set for Wisteria Lane of ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'', was also previously used as the Pearson family house on ''[[The Bill Engvall Show]]'' and also for a time shown on CBS daytime's ''[[The Young and the Restless]]'' as Victoria Newman Abbott and Billy Abbott's home.

== Themes and recurring elements ==

=== Format and content ===
''Leave It to Beaver'' is light comedy drama with the underlying theme that proper behavior brings rewards while improper behavior results in undesirable consequences. The juvenile viewer finds amusement in Beaver's adventures while learning that certain behaviors and choices (such as skipping school<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 56: "Beaver Plays Hooky".</ref> or faking an illness in order to be the recipient of "loot" from parents and schoolmates<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 31: "New Doctor".</ref>) are wrong and invite discussion and lessons-learned. The adult viewer enjoys Beaver's adventures while discovering tips for teaching children correct behavior and methods for successfully handling common childhood problems. Parents are reminded that children view the world from a different perspective and should not be expected to act like miniature adults. The writers urged parents to serve as moral role models.<ref name="Lillico"/>

A typical episode generally follows a simple formula: Beaver or Wally (or both) get into a predicament they then try to get out of, and then face their parents for a lecture regarding the event. Lectures sometimes take the form of fables,<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 100: "Larry's Club".</ref><ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 115: "Wally's Play".</ref> with Ward and June allowing the boys to discover their moral meanings and applying those meanings to their lives. Occasionally, when offenses are serious, punishments such as being grounded<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 82: "Beaver's Prize".</ref> are dealt the miscreants. The parenting is quite egalitarian for the time period, with Ward and June together debating the best approach to the situation. Other episodes (especially in earlier seasons) even reverse the formula, with Ward or June making a parenting mistake and having to figure out how to make up for it.

While the earlier seasons focus on Beaver's boyhood adventures, the later seasons give greater scope to Wally's high school life, dating, and part-time work. Several episodes follow Wally's acquisition of a driver's license and a car. The show's focus is consistently upon the children; June and Ward are depicted from one episode to the next as an untroubled, happily married couple.

=== Themes ===
[[Education]], [[Job|occupation]], [[marriage]], and [[family]] are presented in ''Leave It to Beaver'' as requisites for a happy and productive life.<ref name="Lillico">Lillico, Neil B. ''Television as Popular Culture: An attempt to influence North American Society? An Ideological analysis of Leave it to Beaver (1957–1961)''. A memoir submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.A. degree in History. University of Ottawa. 1993.</ref>

Beaver and Wally both attend public schools and are encouraged to pursue college educations as a means to prepare for their futures.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver,'' episode 126: "Beaver's I.Q".</ref> Ward and June attended prep school and boarding school, respectively, and both attended college; their sons are expected to do the same. While both boys consider prep-school educations{{em dash}}Wally at the Bellport Military Academy and Beaver at an eastern school called Fallbrook<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 222: "Beaver's Prep School".</ref>{{em dash}}both remain at home and attend Mayfield High with their friends. School and homework are often a challenge for Beaver. In "Beaver's Secret Life", the boy decides to become a writer in adulthood because "you don't have to go to school or know nothing ... You only have to make up adventures and get paid for it." Beaver's teachers and parents encourage him to value education and the school experience, while helping him to navigate missteps (such as skipping school with Larry Mondello) along the way.

The importance of attending college and having a future is presented as important to the happy life. Ward represents the successful, college-educated, middle-class professional with a steady but obscure office job. Even June, the competent and happy homemaker, had a college degree and came from an upper-class background (her maiden name of "Bronson" is often associated with class in her family). While June and Ward come from middle-class backgrounds and value economic mobility, they encourage Beaver and Wally to value all people. When Beaver befriends the [[garbage collector]]'s children his parents, especially June, initially express discomfort, but then come to see the importance of such friendships.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 14: "Part Time Genius".</ref>

According to the social mores represented in the show, a happy marriage is the cornerstone of successful [[middle-class]] family life, and June and Ward represent the warm, happily married, co-parenting successful middle class couple. In contrast, Beaver's friend Larry Mondello's father is frequently out of town on business, and Larry's mother struggles single-handedly to raise her children, sometimes depending on (usually reluctant) Ward to help discipline Larry.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 77: "Found Money".</ref><ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 93: "Larry Hides Out",</ref> The one episode dealing with [[divorce]]<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 119: "Beaver's House Guest".</ref> shows it as having negative effects on children and family life.

[[Religion]] is lightly touched upon in the series, if only as one of the pillars of traditional Americana. In a sprinkling of episodes, Beaver refers to having attended church earlier on a Sunday or refers to a lesson learned in Sunday School. Ward uses parables{{em dash}}some from the Bible{{em dash}}to impart wisdom to the boys after they've experienced a difficult situation. He also often paraphrased from Greek fables to educate Wally and The Beaver about morality issues. God is explicitly discussed on occasion.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 129: "Beaver and Kenneth".</ref>

June and Ward are keenly aware of their duty to impart traditional, but proven, middle-class family values to their boys. They do so by serving as examples in word and deed, rather than using punitive means. Ward and June are models of late-1950s, conscientious parenting, but practice more egalitarian parenting than other shows of the time (such as "Father Knows Best"). Stay-at-home June maintains a loving, nurturing home, while Ward supervises the behavior and moral education of his sons, usually with June's input. While the series portrays the world through the eyes of a young boy, it sometimes dealt with controversial and adult subjects such as [[alcoholism]] and divorce.<ref name="Mathers autobio"/>

June remains calm amid household tumult, providing crucial guidance to her sons while shielding them from nefarious outside influences with a matronly force of will. Her protection is frequently needed against the pernicious intrigues of [[Eddie Haskell]], who engages in impulsive, selfish, disruptive, and malevolent schemes. For crafty Eddie, each day is one more step toward the twilight of the adults, which will herald his ascension to neighborhood ruler.<ref name="Jeffrey Shaffer 1999">Jeffrey Shaffer, "Epic Beaver Cleaver", ''The Christian Science Monitor'', May 28, 1999, Vol. 91, Issue 128</ref>

Ward is a [[Solomon]]-like figure of quiet dignity who dispenses parental justice tempered with understanding. He sometimes finds himself punishing his sons for deeds he admits he committed as a child. Ward relates to the peer-pressure the boys sometimes face as when he defends them for wanting to view a horror movie with Eddie Haskell. June objects, but Ward responds by telling her he saw hundreds of horror films as a boy and even had a subscription to ''[[Weird Tales]]''. Ward often finds himself learning the most in the episode from something his sons, or sometimes his wife, do.

=== Signature show elements ===
[[Image:B juneboys01.JPG|thumb|June supervises the boys and their friends, Tooey and Eddie.]]

==== Slang ====
The show employs contemporary kid-[[slang]] extensively. Wally and Beaver both use "gyp" (to swindle), "mess around" (to play), and "hunka" (meaning "hunk of" in relation to food portions such as "hunka cake" or "hunka milk"). "Junk", "crummy", "gee whiz", "gosh", "wiseguy", "dry up", "grubby", "clobber", "chicken", "rat", and "creep" are frequently heard. The word "beef" was also used at times (mostly by Wally) over the course of the show's run, meaning "disagreement" (as in contemporary [[hip-hop]]). Ward and June disapprove. Wally uses "sweat" to his mother's annoyance; she prefers "perspiration" and asks him not to use the slang words "flip" or "ape". "Goofy" is one of Beaver's favorite adjectives, and it is applied to anything that lies outside the bounds of 1950s [[conformism]]. "Giving me/you/him/her the business" was a phrase used to describe a character being [[sarcastic]] with or otherwise [[teasing]] another character. "Pipe down" was often used by Wally's friends to tell The Beaver to leave them alone. "No foolin'?" was frequently used as a [[euphemism]] for "really?"

==== Punishment ====
[[Physical punishment]] looms large in the boys' imaginations, but such punishment is never seen. Though Ward tells Wally and Beaver he has never physically punished them, both boys remind their father of past incidents when he did. In one episode, Beaver mentioned a time when he spilled ink on a rug and his father [[spanked]] him.<ref name="ReferenceC"/> Ward himself mentions that his father used a belt on him,<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 102: "The Hypnotist".</ref> and Larry's homelife is described as one of being hollered at and hit. In one episode, Larry begs, "Don't hit me! Don't hit me!" when his mother discovers him reading his sister's diary.<ref name="LITB e93">''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 93: "Larry Hides Out".</ref> Punishment in the show is restricted to being grounded, spending time in one's bedroom, losing movie-going or television privileges, or pulling weeds in the yard.<ref name="LITB e93"/>

==== Cleanliness ====
Cleanliness and grooming are a recurrent source of humor. Ward and June stress cleanliness, bathing, and good grooming, but the boys generally prefer being unwashed and dressed in dirty clothes. In the premiere episode,<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 1: "Beaver Gets 'Spelled"</ref> Wally and Beaver fake bathing (by rumpling towels and tossing dirt in the bathtub to make a ring) in a way that suggests they have done it many times before. In "Cleaning Up Beaver",<ref name="auto"/> June and Ward commend Wally on his neat appearance and chide Beaver for his untidiness. Beaver temporarily moves into the guest room where he can be his own messy self without criticism, but the boys eventually strike a middle ground: Beaver will be a bit tidier and Wally will be a bit sloppier. By the final season, Beaver shows signs to being neater, a sign of growing up.

==== Bathrooms ====
''Leave It to Beaver'' is unique in 1950s television sitcom history for its extraordinary number of bathroom scenes. Beaver and Wally have an en-suite bathroom, and many scenes are set in it. One early episode, "Child Care", is set almost entirely in their bathroom.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 18: "Child Care".</ref> Other episodes include major scenes set in the boys' bathroom.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 47: "The Shave".</ref><ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 80: "Beaver Takes a Bath".</ref> Additionally, in almost every scene set in the boys' bedroom, the bathtub, shower curtain, or vanity can be seen through the open bathroom door. Beaver uses the bathroom several times to escape his brother when angry, slamming the door to express his emotions. At such times, June and Ward are called upon to order Beaver to vacate his refuge. In "Beaver's Good Deed",<ref name="ReferenceB">''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 214: "Beaver's Good Deed".</ref> a scene is set in Ward and June's bathroom. A tramp takes a bath in their tub and slips away wearing one of Ward's suits and a pair of his shoes. In the "Captain Jack" episode, Wally and Beaver try to hide a baby [[alligator]] they bought by keeping it in their bathroom's toilet tank.

==== Beaver and girls ====
Beaver's attitude toward girls is a thread that runs throughout the series, providing comic contrast to his brother's successful dating life and his parents' happy marriage. Beaver tells off his female classmates, telling Violet Rutherford she drinks gutter water, calling Linda Dennison a "smelly old ape" and threatening to punch Judy Hensler if she "gets mushy" on him. Though loathing girls his own age, Beaver develops crushes on schoolteachers Miss Canfield and Miss Landers, and in one episode says he's going to marry a "mother" when the time comes.<ref>''Leave It to Beaver'', episode 8: "Beaver's Crush".</ref> Beaver disparages marriage saying, "just because you're married doesn't mean you have to like girls." In the later seasons, Beaver has matured into a teenager, adjusted his outlook, and dates a few girls, though his dates are rarely as successful as Wally's. In one of the last episodes, Beaver and Gilbert vie for the attentions of guest star Lori Martin, who had played the Elizabeth Taylor role in the TV series, "National Velvet," but the joke is that they both lose out to the otherwise hapless Whitey.

== Episodes ==
{{main|List of Leave It to Beaver episodes}}

== Cancellation and subsequent developments ==

=== Final episode ===
In its first season on CBS (1957–58), ''Leave It To Beaver'' received disappointing Nielsen ratings and CBS canceled it. ABC then picked up the program, and although the series never entered the list of the top 30 television shows, its ratings were nonetheless solid enough to warrant a five-year run. By the start of the 1962–63 season, the show was reaching an impasse. The series was still popular with audiences, but Jerry Mathers wanted to retire from acting at the end of the sixth year to attend regular high school. As a result, ''Leave It To Beaver'' ended its network run on June 20, 1963. The series finale, "[[Family Scrapbook (Leave It to Beaver episode)|Family Scrapbook]]", was directed by Hugh Beaumont, written by Connelly and Mosher, and is regarded as being one of the first sitcom episodes written expressly as a series finale.<ref name="Applebaum"/>

=== Cast appearances on ''Lassie'' ===
[[Image:BeaumontLassie.jpg|thumb|Beaumont in ''Lassie'' with Jan Clayton and George Cleveland]]

Several ''Leave It to Beaver'' performers appeared on the CBS television series ''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]''. Hugh Beaumont had yet to snag his role as Ward Cleaver when he appeared in "The Well", one of the two pilots filmed for the series.<ref>''Lassie'', episode 24: "The Well".</ref> The episode was filmed in color and aired monochromatically in the series' first season (1954). In 1968, Jerry Mathers appeared in "Lassie and the 4-H Boys", an episode about two teen brothers quarreling over the disposition of a prize-winning bull,<ref>''Lassie'', episode 485: "Lassie and the 4-H Boys".</ref> while, the same year, Tony Dow appeared with [[Jan-Michael Vincent]] as a hippie-type character in a three-part story called "Hanford's Point".<ref>''Lassie'', episodes 470, 471, 472: "Hanford's Point".</ref> Stephen Talbot (Gilbert) was featured in two episodes of "Lassie" in 1959, "The Flying Machine" and "Growing Pains," and a third in 1960, "The Big Race". Before their commitments to ''Leave It to Beaver'', "Tiger" Fafara appeared in one ''Lassie'' episode<ref>''Lassie'', episode 66: "Friendship".</ref> while Madge Blake made appearances in two episodes.<ref>''Lassie'', episode 29: "The Kittens".</ref><ref>''Lassie'', episode 89: "The Artist".</ref> In the 1960–61 season, Richard Correll played Steve Johnson, one of Timmy Martin's Calverton friends in two episodes.<ref>''Lassie'', episode 250: "The Greyhound".</ref><ref>''Lassie'', episode 253: "Timmy and the Martians".</ref> Ken Osmond played a delivery boy in a season two episode<ref>''Lassie'', episode 36: "The Rival".</ref> and a smart-aleck kid whose carelessness causes a forest fire in the season four episode "The Cub Scout".<ref>''Lassie'', episode 138: "The Cub Scout".</ref>

=== Reunion telemovie (1983) ===
Except for Beaumont, who had died in 1982, and Stanley Fafara, who was replaced as Whitey by [[Ed Begley, Jr.]], the main cast appeared in the reunion [[telemovie]] ''Still the Beaver'' (1983). The film followed adult Beaver's struggle to reconcile his recent divorce and single parenthood, while facing the possibility of his widowed mother selling their childhood home. June Cleaver is later elected to the Mayfield City Council.

=== Sequel series (1984–1989) ===
The enthusiastic reception to ''Still the Beaver'' led to a new first-run, made-for-cable TV series, ''[[The New Leave It to Beaver]]'' (1984–1989), with Beaver and Lumpy Rutherford now running Ward's old firm (where Lumpy's pompous, demanding father – played by [[Richard Deacon (actor)|Richard Deacon]] in the original series and reunion movie before his death in 1984 – had been the senior partner), Wally, who married his high school girlfriend Mary Ellen Rogers, as a practicing attorney and expectant father, and June having sold the old house to Beaver himself but living with him as a doting grandmother to Beaver's two young sons. Eddie Haskell runs his own contracting business and has two sons; eldest son Freddie (played by [[Ken Osmond]]'s real-life son, Eric Osmond), who was every inch his father's son – right down to the two-faced personality, and a younger son, Eddie, Jr., aka "Bomber" (played by Osmond's younger real-life son, Christian Osmond), who was often away at military school, but would periodically return home to visit.

== Media information ==

=== Broadcast history ===
The show proved to be a scheduling headache for CBS and ABC, airing on four different evenings (Wednesday through Saturday) during the series' run.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/show/1422/summary.html|title=Leave It to Beaver|website=TV.com}}</ref>

[[CBS]] first broadcast the show on Friday, October 4, 1957, at 7:30&nbsp;pm (EST) opposite ''[[Saber of London]]'' on NBC and ''[[The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin]]'' on ABC. In March 1958, ''Beaver'' was moved to Wednesdays at 8:00&nbsp;pm opposite ''[[Wagon Train]]'', then on NBC.

CBS dropped the show after one season. ABC picked it up and ran it for another five seasons, from October 2, 1958, to June 20, 1963. In his memoirs, Jerry Mathers states the move was the decision of the sponsor, [[Ralston Purina]], who arranged a better deal with ABC than with CBS.<ref name="Mathers autobio"/>

On ABC, the show saw several time slots over its run. From October 1958 to June 1959 it aired on Thursdays at 7:30&nbsp;pm (EST), with summer 1959 reruns airing at 9:00&nbsp;pm. From October 1959 to September 1962 the show was televised Saturdays at 8:30&nbsp;pm, and during its last season (1962–63) the show aired Thursdays at 8:30&nbsp;pm.

The series entered syndication in many cities four days following completion of the ABC summer repeats. By the mid-1970s, the show was only on in a few markets, one of which was [[Atlanta, Georgia]] on [[Ted Turner]]'s Channel 17, [[WPCH-TV|WTCG]]. In 1976, when WTCG went on satellite and became a Superstation available nationwide, ''Leave It To Beaver'' was exposed nationwide. From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, the series gained new popularity. In Chicago, reruns originally aired on second-tier independent station [[WSNS]]. But when WSNS began to phase in subscription TV in 1980, they did not renew and [[WGN-TV]], which also became a Superstation, picked it up. So in the early 1980s the show was airing in most large, major, and medium TV markets. It also aired on [[Freeform (TV channel)|CBN]] from 1981 until 1984. Still, [[TBS (TV network)|TBS]] and [[WGN America|WGN]] showed it for many years in the late 1980s and into the 90s (TBS sometimes running it back-to-back with the ''New Leave It to Beaver'' on occasion), and briefly on [[Nick at Nite]] from July 12, 2002, to August 10, 2002, as part of TV Land Sampler.<ref name=sitcomsonline.com>{{cite web|title=Nick at Nite Summer Camp 2002|url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=37289|publisher=sitcomsonline}}</ref> It aired on [[TV Land]] from July 1998 to November 2012. Today, [[NBC Universal Television]] owns the syndication rights and all properties related to the series.

The show also aired on the digital TV network [[Retro Television Network|Retro TV]] from 2006 to July 2011, when Retro's rights to MCA/Universal product expired. Digital TV network [[Antenna TV]] picked the series up and ran it from October 3, 2011, to April 27, 2013,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=3500 |title=Leave it to Beaver, Dragnet & ADAM 12 Now Featured on Antenna TV |access-date=2011-09-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926085227/http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=3500 |archive-date=September 26, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> when it moved over to [[MeTV]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://metvnetwork.com/spring2013.php |title=Spring 2013 |access-date=2013-04-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423131352/http://metvnetwork.com/spring2013.php |archive-date=April 23, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> On January 5, 2015, the series moved back to Antenna TV, airing on weekday afternoons. It returned to MeTV on January 2, 2017.

In early 2014, Netflix video streaming service acquired rights for all six seasons. The broadcast rights were for one year. The seasons were remastered for digital TV. All six seasons are available for purchase through the Amazon Prime video on demand service. In 2020, NBCUniversal launched their own streaming service [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]] which carries all six seasons.

=== Marketing and merchandise ===
[[Image:Pinback 01.JPG|thumb|Pinback, circa 1960]]

During the show's first run, merchandise including novels, records, and [[board game]]s was generated for the juvenile market. With the show's renaissance in popularity decades later, merchandise produced was aimed toward the adult baby boomer/nostalgia collectors market and included pinback buttons, clocks, greeting cards, calendars, non-fiction books about the show's production, memoirs, and miscellaneous items. In 1983, Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow appeared on boxes of Kellogg's Corn Flakes. In 2007, one of the cereal boxes fetched $300 at auction. Promotional photographs from the studio, autographs, original scripts, copies of ''[[TV Guide]]'' and other magazines from the period featuring articles about the show are all collectibles. Props and costumes from the show with documentation establishing provenance are highly prized.

==== Books ====
During the series' run, [[Little Golden Books]] published ''Leave It to Beaver'' (1959), an inexpensive storybook for young children. Distinguished children's author [[Beverly Cleary]] published three softcover novels based on the series, ''Leave It to Beaver'' (1960), ''Here's Beaver!'' (1961), and ''Beaver and Wally'' (1961). [[Whitman Publishing]] printed ''Leave It to Beaver: Fire!'' (1962), a hardcover novel by Cole Fanin. In 1983, ''The Beaver Papers'' ({{ISBN|0-517-54991-3}}) by [[Will Jacobs]] and [[Gerard Jones]] was published. The book is a [[parody]] of a lost season comprising twenty-five episodes written in the style of various authors such as [[Tennessee Williams]], [[Ernest Hemingway]], and [[William Faulkner]] – a 30th Anniversary Edition was published in 2013 by Atomic Drop Press.

==== Dell comic books ====
[[Dell Comics]] published six ''Leave It to Beaver'' [[comic book]]s with photo covers of Beaver, Beaver and Wally, or Beaver and Ward. The first comic book (Four Color No. 912) is dated June 1958 and the last (Four Color No. 01-428-207) May–July 1962. In 2004, all six Dell ''Leave It to Beaver'' comic books in 'Near Mint' condition were valued in excess of two hundred dollars each.<ref>Overstreet, Robert M. ''Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, 2004.'' Gemstone Publishing, 2004.</ref>

==== Hasbro board games ====
Three ''Leave It to Beaver'' juvenile board games were released in 1959 by toymaker [[Hasbro]]. The games were typical roll-and-move track games for two to four players. All three game box covers feature photographic portraits of Jerry Mathers as Beaver.

"Leave It to Beaver Rocket to the Moon Space Game", rather than using dice or a spinner to advance players along the track, employs a rocket-shaped cone that is flipped onto a board to determine the number of spaces to be moved. "Leave It to Beaver Ambush Game" is a track game with an Old West theme.

=== Feature film adaptation ===
{{Main|Leave It to Beaver (film)}}

1997's movie adaptation of the series starred [[Christopher McDonald]] as Ward, [[Janine Turner]] as June, [[Erik von Detten]] as Wally, and [[Cameron Finley]] as the Beaver. It was panned by many critics, with the notable exception of [[Roger Ebert]], who gave it a three-star rating. It performed poorly at the box office, earning only $11,713,605. Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond, and Frank Bank made [[cameo appearance]]s in the film.

===Home media===
[[Universal Pictures Home Entertainment|Universal Studios]] released the first two seasons of ''Leave It to Beaver'' on DVD in Region 1 in 2005/2006. Season one was released in two versions: an inexpensive cardboard slip-cased collection and a costlier version in which the DVDs were contained in a retro-styled, plastic photo album tucked inside a plaid metal lunch box displaying portraits of the cast on its exterior. Both of these seasons were released in the troublesome DVD-18 format which plagued many of Universal Studios' boxed set releases.

On January 26, 2010, it was announced that [[Shout! Factory]] had acquired the rights to the series (under license from [[Universal Studios Home Entertainment|Universal]]). They subsequently released the remaining seasons on DVD as well as a complete series box set.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Leave-Beaver-The-Complete-Series/13428|title=Leave It to Beaver DVD news: Date Change for Leave It to Beaver - The Complete Series - TVShowsOnDVD.com|website=www.tvshowsondvd.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307223911/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Leave-Beaver-The-Complete-Series/13428|archive-date=March 7, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

On January 31, 2012, Shout! Factory released a 20 episode best-of set titled ''Leave It to Beaver: 20 Timeless Episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Leave-Beaver-20-Timeless-Episodes/16061|title=Leave It to Beaver DVD news: Box Art for Leave It to Beaver - 20 Timeless Episodes - TVShowsOnDVD.com|website=www.tvshowsondvd.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114164712/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Leave-Beaver-20-Timeless-Episodes/16061|archive-date=January 14, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref>


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!DVD name
!DVD Name
!Ep #
!Ep #
!Release date
!Release Date

!Ref(s)
|-
|-
| The Complete First Season
| The Complete First Season
| align="center"|39
| 39
| November 22, 2005
| [[November 22]] [[2005]]
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=743807|title=Leave It To Beaver: The Complete First Season (DVD 1957) - DVD Empire}}</ref>
|-
|-
| The Complete Second Season
| The Complete Second Season
| align="center"|39
| 39
| May 2, 2006
| [[May 2]] [[2006]]
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=938121|title=Leave It To Beaver: The Complete Second Season (DVD 1958) - DVD Empire}}</ref>
|-
|-
| The Complete Third Season
| Season Three
| align="center"|39
| 39
| TBA
| June 15, 2010
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1533244|title=Leave It To Beaver: Season Three (DVD 1959) - DVD Empire}}</ref>
|-
|-
| The Complete Fourth Season
| Season Four
| align="center"|39
| 39
| TBA
| September 14, 2010
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1546945|title=Leave It To Beaver: Season Four (DVD 1960) - DVD Empire}}</ref>
|-
|-
| The Complete Fifth Season
| Season Five
| align="center"|39
| 39
| TBA
| December 14, 2010
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1556926|title=Leave It To Beaver: Season Five (DVD 1961) - DVD Empire}}</ref>
|-
| Season Six
| align="center"|39
| March 1, 2011
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1568935|title=Leave It To Beaver: Season Six (DVD 1962) - DVD Empire}}</ref>
|-
| The Complete Series
| align="center"|234
| June 29, 2010
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1535240|title=Leave It To Beaver: The Complete Series (DVD 2010) - DVD Empire}}</ref>
|-
|-
| The Complete Sixth Season
| 39
| TBA
|}
|}


== Reception ==
==Urban legends==
In the mid 1970s, Mathers appeared on ''[[The Tomorrow Show]]'' hosted by [[Tom Snyder]]. Snyder pointed out that he hadn't worked for a long time and that there was rumor going around that he had been killed "in the war in Southeast Asia". Mathers replied that he had heard that rumor and that he had no idea how it got started. The earliest appearance of the story in print was in a student newspaper at the [[University of Kansas]] in 1972. The author later admitted that she had only heard the story from someone who had heard it a party in Omaha, Nebraska earlier that year. The paper printed a retraction, but by then the story had spread throughout the U.S. The story was later attributed to a member of a defunct Omaha comedy improv group whose hobby was concocting outrageous stories and then convincing people they were true. "Beaver died in Vietnam"[http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/beaver.htm] was a classic [[urban legend]], memorable for its juxtaposition of idyllic 1950s imagery with the chaos and violence of the late 1960s.


Another urban legend was that actor Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell) became porn star [[John Holmes (actor)|John Holmes]]. Holmes took Osmond's name and did several movies satirically under the name "Eddie Haskell". It started because there was some facial resemblance between the two men, which porn distributors exploited by using the name Eddie Haskell in advertising Holmes's films. "It was a pain in my butt for eleven years," says Osmond,{{Fact|date=May 2007}} who brought a $25 million defamation suit against porn houses, producers and distributors. The suit went all the way to the California Supreme Court. The court ruled for Mr. Holmes, saying the name was protected as a satire. This case set a precedent in the matter, and is still referred to in other cases in California today.<ref>{{cite web
=== Ratings ===
| last =
In spite of solid and consistent ratings, ''Leave It to Beaver'' never climbed into the Nielsen's top-30 though similar sitcoms of the period such as ''[[Father Knows Best]]'', ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]'', ''[[The Real McCoys]]'', and ''Dennis the Menace'' managed to do so.
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 3, California
| title = Osmond v. EWAP, Inc.
| work =
| publisher =
| date = March 28, 1984
| url = http://www.casp.net/Osmond%20v.%20EWAP.html
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate =}}</ref>


==References==
''Leave It to Beaver'' faced stiff competition in its time slots. During its next to last season, for example, the show ran against ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'', a program examining highly charged courtroom cases. In its final season, the show was up against ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' and ''[[Dr. Kildare]]'' but was in the ABC line-up with television greats ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet]]'', ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]'', and ''[[My Three Sons]]''.<ref name="Applebaum"/>
{{reflist}}


==External links ==
===Critical response===
* {{imdb title|id=0050032|title=Leave It to Beaver (1957-1963 TV-series)}}
Critical reception of the series was generally favorable. In the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'', John Crosby stated the show was "charming and sincere" and featured "the wonderful candor and directness with which children disconcert and enchant you". ''Variety'' favorably compared the premiere episode with the classic ''[[Tom Sawyer]]'' and noted at the fourth season's opening that the show had "never been a yock show in the sense of generating big and sustained laughs, but it has consistently poured forth warmth, wit and wisdom without condescension or pretense." ''TV Guide'' dubbed the show "the sleeper of the 1957–58 season" and later noted that the show was "one of the most honest, most human and most satisfying situation comedies on TV". The ''New York Times'', however, found the show was "too broad and artificial to be persuasive".<ref name="Applebaum"/>
* [http://www.tv.com/leave-it-to-beaver/show/1422/summary.html TV.com]
* [http://www.leaveittobeaver.org/ LeaveIttoBeaver.org]
* [http://www.epguides.com/LeaveIttoBeaver List of ''Leave It to Beaver'' episodes]
* [http://www.sitcomsonline.com/leaveittobeaver.html Sitcomsonline.com]
* [http://www.theatrecrafts.com/studiotourforum/viewtopic.php?t=333 Colonial Street (Beaver house set) history: The studio tour forum discussions]
* [http://www.tvland.com/shows/litbeaver/ ''Leave It to Beaver'' on TVLand.com]
* [http://www.geocities.com/alcus2/beaver.html ''Leave It to Beaver'' website from Vintage TV & Movies]


{{Leave It to Beaver}}
A comparison of how children interact with their brothers and sisters on such 1950s situation comedy television programs as ''Leave It To Beaver'' and ''[[Father Knows Best]]'' with those on such 1980s programs as ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' and ''[[Family Ties]]'' found that children interacted more positively in the 1950s but were more central to the main story action in the 1980s.<ref>Mary Strom Larson, "Sibling Interactions in 1950s Versus 1980s Sitcoms: A Comparison", ''Journalism Quarterly'' 1991 68(3): 381–387</ref>


[[Category:American television sitcoms]]
=== Awards and nominations ===
[[Category:CBS network shows]]
The show received two [[Emmy]] nominations in 1958 for Best New Program Series of the Year and Best Teleplay Writing—Half Hour or Less (Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher) for the premiere episode, "[[Beaver Gets 'Spelled (Leave It to Beaver episode)|Beaver Gets 'Spelled]]". In 1984, Jerry Mathers was awarded the [[Young Artist Award|Young Artist's Former Child Star Special Award]], and in 1987, Ken Osmond and Tony Dow were both honored with the [[Young Artist Award#Special Awards|Young Artist's Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award]]. In 2003, Diane Brewster was nominated for TV Land's Classic TV Teacher of the Year Award while, in 2005, Ken Osmond was nominated for TV Land's Character Most Desperately in Need of a Timeout Award. ''Leave It to Beaver'' placed on Time's "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time" list. [[Bravo (US TV channel)|Bravo]] ranked Beaver 74th on their list of the 100 greatest TV characters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bravotv.com/The_100_Greatest_TV_Characters//index.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015070449/http://www.bravotv.com/The_100_Greatest_TV_Characters/index.shtml| archive-date=October 15, 2007|title=The 100 Greatest TV Characters|publisher=Bravo|access-date=October 19, 2010}}</ref> In 1999, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked Eddie Haskell number 20 on its "50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time" list.<ref>{{cite book |title=TV Guide Book of Lists |year=2007 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-0-7624-3007-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/tvguidebookoflis0000unse/page/190 190] |url=https://archive.org/details/tvguidebookoflis0000unse/page/190 }}</ref>
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company network shows]]

[[Category:Television series by NBC Universal Television]]
== Notes ==
[[Category:1957 television program debuts]]
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:1963 television program series endings]]
;General
[[Category:1950s American television series]]
* Applebaum, Irwyn, ''The World According to Beaver'', TV Books, 1984, 1998. ({{ISBN|1575000520}}).
[[Category:1960s American television series]]
* Bank, Frank, ''Call Me Lumpy: My Leave It To Beaver Days and Other Wild Hollywood Life'', Addax, 2002. ({{ISBN|1886110298}}), ({{ISBN|978-1886110298}}).
* Colella, Jennifer, ''The Leave It to Beaver Guide to Life: Wholesome Wisdom from the Cleavers!'' Running Press, 2006. ({{ISBN|0762427736}}), ({{ISBN|9780762427734}}).
* Ehrlich, John, and Richard A., ''75 Aromatic Years of Leavitt & Pierce in Recollection of 31 Harvard Men, 1883-1958''. Cambridge: Leavitt and Pierce Tobacconists, 1958.
* Genzlinger, Neil, "Golly, Beav, We’re Historic," ''The New York Times'', New York: The New York Times Company, 5 Jun 2010, Internet website, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/arts/television/27beaver.html].
* Kassel, Michael B, "Mass Culture, History and Memory and the Image of the American Family", PhD dissertation, Michigan State University, 2005 65(9): 3537-A. DA3146050 613p.
* Keck, William, "Leave It to Jerry 'Beaver' Mathers, Tony Dow". ''USA Today'', 2007 Oct 3, Internet website [https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-10-03-beaver-boys_N.htm].
* Osmond, Ken, ''Eddie: The life and times of America's preeminent bad boy'', 2014. ({{ISBN|0990727300}})
* Mathers, Jerry, ''...And Jerry Mathers as "The Beaver"'', Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998. ({{ISBN|0425163709}})
* Shaffer, Jeffrey, "Epic Beaver Cleaver", ''Christian Science Monitor'', 28 May 1999, 91:128.
* Todt, Ron, "Beaver College Announces New Name," ''ABC News'', 6 Jan 2006, Internet website [https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=94962&page=1].
* Universal Studios, ''"Leave It to Beaver:" The Complete Series--Seasons 1-6'', Los Angeles: DVD Empire, beginning 2005. ({{ISBN|1417074876}})

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Leave It to Beaver}}
*[https://archive.today/20130204220146/http://www.tvland.com/fullepisodes/leaveittobeaver/?xrs=wiki_beaver Full episodes of ''Leave It to Beaver''] on [[TV Land|TVLand.com]] (USA only)
*{{IMDb title|0050032|Leave It to Beaver}}

{{Leave It to Beaver}}
{{Beverly Cleary}}
{{Portal bar|1950s|1960s|Television|United States}}
{{Authority control}}


[[de:Erwachsen müßte man sein]]
[[Category:Leave It to Beaver| ]]
[[Category:1950s American sitcoms]]
[[Category:1957 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1960s American sitcoms]]
[[Category:1963 American television series endings]]
[[Category:Television series set in the 1950s]]
[[Category:Television series set in the 1960s]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company original programming]]
[[Category:American television series revived after cancellation]]
[[Category:Black-and-white American television shows]]
[[Category:CBS original programming]]
[[Category:English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Single-camera television sitcoms]]
[[Category:Television series about children]]
[[Category:Television series about families]]
[[Category:Television series by Universal Television]]

Revision as of 13:39, 15 December 2022

Leave It to Beaver
Hugh Beaumont
Tony Dow
Jerry Mathers
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes235 (including pilot)
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBS (season 1)
ABC (seasons 2-6)
ReleaseOctober 4, 1957 –
June 20, 1963
For other uses, see Leave It to Beaver (disambiguation).

Leave It to Beaver is an iconic

Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers
("as The Beaver", as the opening credits put it).

Revue Studios
.

Leave It to Beaver never broke into the

Nielsen Ratings top 30 in its six season run. However, it proved to be much more popular in reruns. It also led to an unsuccessful 1997 film of the same name
.

Premise

The show is built around young

Hugh Beaumont) and June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley), felt "Beaver" sounded better. Conversely, Mathers has said that the real reason for the name "Beaver" is that one of the show’s writers, Joe Connelly, had a shipmate named "The Beaver" in World War II. And, from that, came the family's name, "Cleaver."[2]

Beaver's friends include the perpetually apple-munching

Mrs. Rayburn (Doris Packer), also the school's principal. In the early seasons, Beaver's nemesis in class is Judy Hensler (Jeri Weil
).

Beaver's brother Wally is popular with both peers and adults, getting into trouble much less frequently. He

Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford (Frank Bank) and smart aleck Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond), the archetype of the two-faced wise guy, a braggart among his peers and an obsequious yes man
to the adults he mocks behind their backs. Eddie often picks on the Beaver.

The family lives in the fictional town of Mayfield. Beaver attends Grant Ave. Grammar School, and Wally, Mayfield High School (after graduating from Grant Ave. in season one).

Cast

Main article:
List of Leave It to Beaver cast members

Main characters

  • Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver. Billingsley has said that June Cleaver's wardrobe was more than a fashion statement.[citation needed] The pearl necklace hid a hollow (caused by a surgical scar) in her neck which would have caused shadows[3] and high-heeled shoes were employed to offset the boys' growing height.
  • Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver. Before he made Ward Cleaver his acting trademark, Beaumont sometimes played villains in film and television. He directed a number of Leave It to Beaver episodes in the last two seasons, including the final one, the retrospective "Family Scrapbook
    ".
  • Tony Dow as Wally Cleaver.
  • Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver. The casting directors noticed that Mathers was uneasy at the auditions and asked him where he'd rather be. Mathers replied that he'd rather be at his Cub Scout den meeting, where he was going after the audition. That boyish innocence got Mathers the part of Beaver.[4]

Supporting characters

  • Ken Osmond as Eddie Haskell.
  • Diane Brewster as Miss Canfield (October 4, 1957 — March 21, 1958 air dates), Beaver's first teacher at Grant Ave. Grammar School. Brewster also played Miss Simms in the pilot episode.
  • Sue Randall as Miss Alice Landers (October 16, 1958 — June 20, 1963), Beaver's teacher, replacing Miss Canfield.
  • principal
    of Grant Ave. Grammar School
  • Stephen Talbot as Gilbert Bates (March 19, 1959 — June 6, 1963). Before settling in Mayfield, the Bates family traveled a lot due to Gilbert's father's work, and "Gil," as his father John Bates calls him, tends to make up stories about his family in order to get his classmates to accept him.
  • Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello. (November 22, 1957 — June 20, 1963)
  • Richard Correll
    as Richard Rickover. (April 30, 1960 — October 18, 1962)
  • Stanley Fafara as Hubert "Whitey" Whitney. (October 4, 1957 — June 6, 1963)
  • Jeri Weil as Judy Hensler. (October 4, 1957 — October 15, 1960)
  • Burt Mustin as Gus the fireman, head of Auxiliary Firehouse No. 7 (October 4, 1957 — February 24, 1962)
  • Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford
    .
  • Richard Deacon as Fred Rutherford, Lumpy's pompous, demanding father and Ward Cleaver's equally pompous, smug co-worker.
  • Buddy Hart
    as Chester Anderson.
  • Tiger Fafara as Tooey Brown. Tiger is Stanley's brother.
  • Pamela Baird as Mary Ellen Rogers (April 16, 1958 — June 20, 1963), Wally's first girlfriend.
  • Cheryl Holdridge as Julie Foster (January 7, 1961 — April 11, 1963), another of Wally's girlfriends

Cultural influence

Leave It to Beaver often aimed toward a moral lesson and is referenced even now as an emblem of simpler American times. Ward stated that his father "had a fine sense of values",

suburban
1950s mother who wanted nothing more than to stay at home and take care of the family.

The show strongly promoted the importance of family. The recurring themes expounded parental expectations for children, while the moral messages stressed the importance of teaching children proper behavior. Proper parenting techniques and methods for resolving problems and achieving consensus were demonstrated.

The series was inventive in the sense that it portrayed the world through the eyes of a young boy and sometimes dealt with somewhat controversial subjects, such as alcoholism and divorce.

Episodes

Main article: List of Leave It to Beaver episodes

The pilot, titled "It's a Small World", aired on April 23, 1957.[6] It featured Max Showalter (credited as Casey Adams) as Ward Cleaver, and Paul Sullivan as Wally Cleaver. TBS re-aired the pilot on October 4, 1987, to commemorate the show's 30th anniversary. TV Land re-aired it on October 6, 2007, as part of their twenty-four-hour marathon to commemorate the show's 50th anniversary.[7] It is also available as a bonus episode on the season-one DVD. 234 episodes followed.

A voice-over by Hugh Beaumont precedes each episode, providing a background to that episode's theme, though these are omitted in airings on TV Land.

Opening titles

Season one: The characters are not shown. A drawing of a street, viewed from above, displays the credits in wet concrete.

Season two: Ward and June, standing at the bottom of the stairs, see the boys off to school as they come down the stairs and exit the front door.

Season three: Ward and June enter the boys' bedroom to wake them up.

Season four: Ward and June open the front door and stand on the

stoop
. As Wally, followed by Beaver, leave for school, June hands them their lunches and Ward gives them their jackets.

Season five: June takes refreshments out to the men out in the front yard.

Season six: June, carrying a picnic basket, walks out the front door towards the car. Ward, carrying another item for the picnic, is next, followed in quick succession by Wally. Beaver, lagging behind, runs out, slamming the door behind him. Ward, with June in the passenger seat and the boys in back, then reverses toward the camera.

Musical theme

The show's playfully-bouncy theme tune, which became as much of a show trademark as Beaver's baseball cap or Eddie Haskell's false obsequiousness, was "The Toy Parade," composed by David Kahn, Melvyn Leonard, and Mort Greene. For the final season, however, the song was given a jazz-like arrangement by veteran composer/arranger Pete Rugolo.

Syndication

Reruns of the show became part of CBS affiliates' lineups in the mornings for several years to come.

NBC Universal Television
owns the syndication rights and all properties related to the series.

Spinoffs

A made-for-television reunion movie, Still the Beaver, appeared in 1983. The main original cast appeared, except for Beaumont, who had died the previous year. Ward Cleaver was still a presence, however: the film's story used numerous flashbacks to the original show, as it followed young-adult Beaver's struggle to reconcile divorce and newly-minted single fatherhood, straining to cope by what his father might or might not have done, while facing the possibility of his widowed mother selling their childhood home. June Cleaver is later elected to the Mayfield City Council.

Its reception led to a new first-run, made-for-cable series, The New Leave It to Beaver (1985–1989), with Beaver and Lumpy Rutherford running Ward's old firm (where Lumpy's pompous, demanding father — played by Richard Deacon in the original series — had been the senior partner), Wally as a practicing attorney and expectant father, June having sold the old house to Beaver himself but living with him as a doting grandmother to Beaver's two small sons. Eddie Haskell runs his own contracting business and has a son, Freddie, who is every inch his father's son — right down to the dual-personality.

Feature film

Main article: Leave It to Beaver (film)

1997's movie adaptation of the series starred Christopher McDonald as Ward, Janine Turner as June, Erik von Detten as Wally, and Cameron Finley as Beaver. It was panned by many critics, except for Roger Ebert, who gave it a three-star rating. It performed poorly at the box office, earning only $11,713,605. Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond and Frank Bank made cameo appearances in the film.

House

The Cleavers moved from 485 Mapleton Drive to 211 Pine Street, both in Mayfield, for the start of season three. In 1969, the house was reused for another Universal-produced television hit,

Universal Studios, though the original façade was replaced in 1988 for the following year's The 'Burbs
and sits in storage elsewhere on the Universal lot. The façade was replaced again for the 1996 Leave It to Beaver movie.

DVD releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released seasons 1 and 2 of Leave It to Beaver on DVD Region 1
. It is expected the remaining four seasons will follow.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 39 November 22 2005
The Complete Second Season 39 May 2 2006
The Complete Third Season 39 TBA
The Complete Fourth Season 39 TBA
The Complete Fifth Season 39 TBA
The Complete Sixth Season 39 TBA

Urban legends

In the mid 1970s, Mathers appeared on The Tomorrow Show hosted by Tom Snyder. Snyder pointed out that he hadn't worked for a long time and that there was rumor going around that he had been killed "in the war in Southeast Asia". Mathers replied that he had heard that rumor and that he had no idea how it got started. The earliest appearance of the story in print was in a student newspaper at the University of Kansas in 1972. The author later admitted that she had only heard the story from someone who had heard it a party in Omaha, Nebraska earlier that year. The paper printed a retraction, but by then the story had spread throughout the U.S. The story was later attributed to a member of a defunct Omaha comedy improv group whose hobby was concocting outrageous stories and then convincing people they were true. "Beaver died in Vietnam"[1] was a classic urban legend, memorable for its juxtaposition of idyllic 1950s imagery with the chaos and violence of the late 1960s.

Another urban legend was that actor Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell) became porn star John Holmes. Holmes took Osmond's name and did several movies satirically under the name "Eddie Haskell". It started because there was some facial resemblance between the two men, which porn distributors exploited by using the name Eddie Haskell in advertising Holmes's films. "It was a pain in my butt for eleven years," says Osmond,[citation needed] who brought a $25 million defamation suit against porn houses, producers and distributors. The suit went all the way to the California Supreme Court. The court ruled for Mr. Holmes, saying the name was protected as a satire. This case set a precedent in the matter, and is still referred to in other cases in California today.[8]

References

  1. ^ http://www.tv.com/show/1422/summary.html
  2. ^ http://www.parade.com/features/touchstones/071003-jerry-mathers.html
  3. ^ "GMA Time Machine - "Leave It to Beaver" is 50 (5 min. 36 sec. video clip)". abcnews.com. October 4 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ http://www.parade.com/features/touchstones/071003-jerry-mathers.html
  5. ^ Quote taken from the episode "The Broken Window"
  6. ^ http://www.geocities.com/alcus2/smallworld.html
  7. ^ Episodes of Leave It to Beaver Marathon - TV Land.com
  8. ^ "Osmond v. EWAP, Inc". March 28, 1984. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leave_It_to_Beaver&oldid=1127572982"