[30] In the season three opener, the Cleavers are comfortably settled in their new home. "No foolin'?" In Chicago, reruns originally aired on second-tier independent station WSNS. Colonial Street to the west of the Cleaver house to the left, we see a side view of the "House of Seven Gables" (from the 1940 film by that name), and to the right, we see a glimpse of the "Maxim Home" (named for resident family in So Goes My Love, 1946), which would later be transformed into the home of "The Munsters." It has remained as the best family sitcom to date and fans are wondering what the cast is … On August 13, 2019 it was released on Blu-ray. Audio languages. [54] The episode was filmed in color and aired monochromatically in the series' first season (1954). Leave It to Beaver, episode 196: "Wally's Dinner Date". Beaver and Wally apologize then ride away. [60][61] Ken Osmond played a delivery boy in a season two episode[62] and a smart-aleck kid whose carelessness causes a forest fire in the season four episode "The Cub Scout".[63]. 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. Toward the close of season two, the Cleavers discuss moving. Fred Mandl (1962), Ray Rennahan (1958), and Ray Flin (1960) served as cinematographers on less than five episodes each. They didn't want a big laugh; they wanted chuckles."[14]. It was panned by many critics, with the notable exception of Roger Ebert, who gave it a three-star rating. At such times, June and Ward are called upon to order Beaver to vacate his refuge. By 1816 it was split into . [78], 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". WELCOME TO BEAVER VALLEY LODGE Come as a guest, Leave as a friend Beaver Valley Lodging is located on 50 acres in the beautiful country foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Leavenworth (Plain), WA. 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). "[3], The film grossed an estimated $10.9 million in the United States and Canada against a $15 million production budget. 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.[3]. Still, TBS and 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. In its final season, the show was up against 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. The writers urged parents to serve as moral role models.[35]. This CBS show required "wall-to-wall" music, a term for productions that utilize musical "tag" pieces between scenes as needed. 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. 26min. Leave it to Beaver, Season Five: Eddie Quits School. Dell Comics published six Leave It to Beaver comic books with photo covers of Beaver, Beaver and Wally, or Beaver and Ward. [12] 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. 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. Then the leaf vacuum explodes and throws dirt through the truck driver's window, causing him to slam on his brakes and have his sticky pies thrown about. [3], 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. [19] Elements of the theme tune were given a subdued musical arrangement, which was then used as background music for tender and sentimental scenes. 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 Twilight Zone". Then current Los Angeles Dodgers celebrity star Don Drysdale appears as himself in the 1962 episode titled "Long Distance Call". Many of the musical cues were utilized in multiple series, including such varying shows as Lassie, The Munsters, Wagon Train, and The Virginian. 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. 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. School and homework are often a challenge for Beaver. Communism is mentioned in the episode "Water, Anyone? Ward and June disapprove. In 2020 NBCUniversal launched their own streaming service Peacock which carries all six seasons. He sometimes finds himself punishing his sons for deeds he admits he committed as a child. The Andy Griffith show and Real McCoy's also brought family value situations along with comedy to the Television screen. ... had traditionally served as nesting areas for birds and had provided wood for beaver dams. 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. The adult viewer enjoys Beaver's adventures while discovering tips for teaching children correct behavior and methods for successfully handling common childhood problems. “Leave It to Beaver,” which aired from 1957 until 1963, chronicled the misadventures of a suburban boy, along with his family and friends. Contemporary commentators praised Leave It to Beaver, with Variety comparing Beaver to Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. (1961), and Beaver and Wally (1961). The show also aired on the digital TV network Retro TV from 2006 to July 2011, when Retro's rights to MCA/Universal product expired. [2], Critical reception of the series was generally favorable. Her protection is frequently needed against the pernicious intrigues of Eddie Haskell, who engages in impulsive, selfish, disruptive, and malevolent schemes. "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. Beaver and Wally have an en-suite bathroom, and many scenes are set in it. "Leave It to Beaver Ambush Game" is a track game with an Old West theme. Our emphasis is on a natural story line. Many in-jokes and sub-plots relating to the series are adapted for the film. The following season, it moved to ABC, where it stayed until completing its run on June 20, 1963. An upholstered wing chair at the edge of the hearth in the living room is covered in a chinoiserie print. [4], 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. The Roku Channel is available on a variety of streaming platforms in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Exteriors, including the façades of the two Cleaver houses, were filmed on the respective studio back lots. (1962), a hardcover novel by Cole Fanin. TV-G. 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. "Summer Sneaks; Cut-Rate Comedy; 'Leave It to Beaver' producer Robert Simonds loves a good, cheap laugh. In 1983, The Beaver Papers (.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}ISBN 0-517-54991-3) by Will Jacobs and Gerard Jones was published. In March 1958, Beaver was moved to Wednesdays at 8:00 pm opposite Wagon Train, then on NBC. CBS first broadcast the show on Friday, October 4, 1957, at 7:30 pm (EST) opposite Saber of London on NBC and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin on ABC. The series entered syndication in many cities four days following completion of the ABC summer repeats. In 1984, Jerry Mathers was awarded the Young Artist's Former Child Star Special Award, and in 1987, Ken Osmond and Tony Dow were both honored with the Young Artist's Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award. With the show's renaissance in popularity decades later, merchandise produced was aimed toward the adult babyboomer/nostalgia collectors market and included pinback buttons, clocks, greeting cards, calendars, non-fiction books about the show's production, memoirs, and miscellaneous items. The importance of attending college and having a future is presented as important to the happy life. 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. 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. 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. From October 1959 to September 1962 the show was televised Saturdays at 8:30 pm, and during its last season (1962–63) the show aired Thursdays at 8:30 pm. Ward represents the successful, college-educated, middle-class professional with a steady but obscure office job. [65] It aired on TV Land from July 1998 to November 2012. The show employs contemporary kid-slang extensively. Beaver asks Wally to write a fake response to the teacher, but Wally says heck no, he couldn’t do that because it would be dishonest. Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond, and Frank Bank made cameo appearances in the film. [2] The show's production companies included the comedian George Gobel's Gomalco Productions (1957–61) and Connelly and Mosher's own Kayro Productions (1961–63) with filming at Revue Studios/Republic Studios and Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Todt, Ron, "Beaver College Announces New Name,", This page was last edited on 29 March 2021, at 02:07. Beaver goes into the city and gets hit by a truck, but is unharmed. Beaver, Gilbert and Richard have to find a home for their new burro! [2], According to Tony Dow, "If any line got too much of a laugh, they'd take it out. From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, the series gained new popularity. [6] Ward himself mentions that his father used a belt on him,[46] and Larry's homelife is described as one of being hollered at and hit. [79] In 1999, TV Guide ranked Eddie Haskell number 20 on its "50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time" list. CBS dropped the show after one season. [3], The stars of the pilot were Casey Adams and Paul Sullivan (as father and son Ward and Wally Cleaver). Ward had found out about Beaver skipping football practice and says Beaver can quit the team; but Beaver rejoins the team. [39] Ward and June attended prep school and boarding school, respectively, and both attended college; their sons are expected to do the same. 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. In the boys' bedroom, they get into a fight, which sends Beaver's new computer flying out the window. 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. None of the furnishings from the Mapleton Drive house appear in the new house. While Ward and June stress cleanliness, bathing, and good grooming (ordering both boys to wash their faces, hands, and fingernails before dinner), both boys generally prefer being unwashed and dressed in dirty clothes. [3] 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, and was hired. A Riverside Beaver County School District employee has been placed on administrative leave. In "Cleaning Up Beaver",[24] June and Ward commend Wally on his neat appearance and chide Beaver for his untidiness. Reproductions of Gainsborough's The Blue Boy and Lawrence's Pinkie hang in the front entry above graceful bergères. 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. The movie opens with a bakery truck driving down the street, and Beaver and Wally riding together on Wally's bicycle, delivering morning newspapers. All three game box covers feature photographic portraits of Jerry Mathers as Beaver. Sitcoms like: Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, and Leave It To Beaver were all excellent about showing us the American way of life. Digital TV network Antenna TV picked the series up and ran it from October 3, 2011, to April 27, 2013,[66] when it moved over to MeTV[67] On January 5, 2015, the series moved back to Antenna TV, airing on weekday afternoons. Each season had an individually filmed sequence for the opening credits. 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 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. On Tuesday afternoon, the script was rehearsed in its entirety for the camera and lighting crew. [3][6] The intended premiere, "Captain Jack",[7] displayed a toilet tank (which didn't pass the censor's office in time for the show's scheduled debut) and aired the week following the premiere. 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. References to contemporary news issues or topics are infrequent. Kyle trips the Beaver to help his little brother escape, and Wally retaliates by pushing Kyle into a tub of fudge. In 2007, one of the cereal boxes fetched $300 at auction. Leave a comment. Leave It To Beaver is one of the first American sitcoms, which ran for six seasons from 1957 to 1963. The New York Times, however, found the show was "too broad and artificial to be persuasive". Connelly often took the boys on outings while carrying a notebook to record their conversations and activities. The film was released on January 20, 1998 on VHS, DVD, and LaserDisc. Scenes with children were usually filmed first, with adult actors having to wait until after 5:00 pm for filming.[2]. In 1997, a movie version based on the original series was released to negative reviews. Beaver and Wally both attend public schools and are encouraged to pursue college educations as a means to prepare for their futures. [2], 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. Stock footage was often used for establishing shots. While June and Ward come from middle-class backgrounds and value economic mobility, they encourage Beaver and Wally to value all people. Bravo ranked Beaver 74th on their list of the 100 greatest TV characters. Mary Strom Larson, "Sibling Interactions in 1950s Versus 1980s Sitcoms: A Comparison", TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time, Young Artist's Former Child Star Special Award, Young Artist's Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award, Interview with Jerry Mathers | PARADE Magazine, "Leave It to Beaver DVD news: Date Change for Leave It to Beaver - The Complete Series - TVShowsOnDVD.com", "Leave It to Beaver DVD news: Box Art for Leave It to Beaver - 20 Timeless Episodes - TVShowsOnDVD.com", "Leave It To Beaver: The Complete First Season (DVD 1957) - DVD Empire", "Leave It To Beaver: The Complete Second Season (DVD 1958) - DVD Empire", "Leave It To Beaver: Season Three (DVD 1959) - DVD Empire", "Leave It To Beaver: Season Four (DVD 1960) - DVD Empire", "Leave It To Beaver: Season Five (DVD 1961) - DVD Empire", "Leave It To Beaver: Season Six (DVD 1962) - DVD Empire", "Leave It To Beaver: The Complete Series (DVD 2010) - DVD Empire", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leave_It_to_Beaver&oldid=1014786062, American Broadcasting Company original programming, American television series revived after cancellation, Black-and-white American television shows, Television series by Universal Television, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox television with unknown empty parameters, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 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, Genzlinger, Neil, "Golly, Beav, We’re Historic,". 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