Biography for
Jerry Mathers More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

2 June 1948, Sioux City, Iowa, USA

Birth Name

Gerald P. Mathers

Nickname

The Beav

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Spouse

Teresa Modnick	(30 January 2011 - present)
Rhonda	(1977 - 1997) (divorced) 3 children

Trivia

B.A. from U.C. Berkeley. [1974]

Forever embraced as the cute young star of "Leave It to Beaver" (1957), he later toured with his TV brother, Tony Dow, in the 1980s stage productions of "Boeing, Boeing" and "So Long, Stanley".

Older brother of Jimmy Mathers and former child actress Susie Mathers.

Played in a rock band called Beaver and the Trappers.

Served in Air Force National Guard during Vietnam War.

Earned his BA in Philosophy. Worked in banking and real estate in 1970s.

Spokesman for National Psoriasis Foundation.

Father of Noah Mathers, Mercedes Mathers and Gretchen Mathers.

No relation to Marshall Mathers who is better known as Eminem.

Is Diabetic.

Served in the military after he grew up. Was mistakenly reported as killed in the Vietnam War, when a similarly-named soldier was reported dead.

Won his most famous role as the Beaver by admitting he'd rather be at his Cub Scout meeting than auditioning for the show. The producers chose him, because they wanted a boy with a "real boy" attitude.

In the late 1990s, Jerry owned and operated a sideline catering company in Santa Clarita, California. It was called, "Cleaver's Catering" with Jerry using his "Beaver" photo. He was sued by the studio that produced the show. However, the court ruled the studio did not own the image of Jerry's face. Concerning the company name, Jerry proved he also butchered meat for his company using cleavers.

Best known by the public for his starring role as the title character on "Leave It to Beaver" (1957).

Acting mentor was Barbara Billingsley.

Personal Quotes

I have several computer companies. One of them I have a program for wide-format printing. I have a beauty program. So I have several different programs that I own for printing.

[When he auditioned for "Leave It to Beaver" (1957) at age 8]: All the original Leave It to Beavers were from real-life, so that things that really did happen to boys, say, in the 1920s, '30s, that really happened in the '50s can go on forever.

[About being a TV star, all the while prior to being a son to his real-life family]: I had a very special family life. My mother and father made sure when we were home, we were part of the family, not a TV star. And the other thing: my father was fully employed while I was doing the series.

Our generation is the first to have grown up with TV. I'm one of the first kids that they watched grow up on television.

[on the death of Barbara Billingsley]: I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend and lifetime mentor Barbara Billingsley. She will live in the hearts of her fans as a wonderful actress and be remembered by her friends as a gracious lady. She will be deeply missed by all of her family, friends, fans and most especially by me.

[on his on- and off-screen relationship with Barbara Billingsley, who played June Cleaver]: Barbara Billingsley, who was my TV mom June, is as nice in person as she appeared on the show.

[Of Barbara Billingsley]: Well, you know, Barbara was very much on manners, so she taught me a lot of manners. I was always a rambunctious little boy, and so when we go places [a lot of times], she would walk [of course, as a lady] very slowly, and I would sometimes try to dash ahead of her, and she would always grab me by the little hairs right there in the back of my neck, and she would say, 'Ladies first!' And I would always say, 'OK, oh, but I wanted to make sure nobody was going to hurt you, you know?' No, no! She said, 'Ladies first!', and she pulled me back. She had a way of teaching manners that stuck with you.