Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)

The misadventures of a suburban boy, family and friends.

Creators:

Joe Connelly, Dick Conway, Bob Mosher

Stars:

Barbara Billingsley, Jerry Mathers, Hugh Beaumont

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Barbara Billingsley	...	June Cleaver (235 episodes, 1957-1963)
Jerry Mathers	...	Theodore Cleaver (235 episodes, 1957-1963)
Hugh Beaumont	...	Ward Cleaver (234 episodes, 1957-1963)
Tony Dow	...	Wally Cleaver (234 episodes, 1957-1963)
Ken Osmond	...	Eddie Haskell (95 episodes, 1957-1963)

Storyline

The Cleavers are the 1950's 'All-American Family' in this 'feel-good' family sitcom. Parents Ward and June, and older brother Wally, try to keep Theodore ('the Beaver') out of trouble. However, Beaver continues to end up in one kind of jam or another. Unlike real life, these situations are always easily resolved to the satisfaction of all involved and the Beaver gets off with a few stern moralistic words of parental advice. Instigator and troublemaker Eddie Haskell is an older kid who always manages to avoid being caught.

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Plot Keywords:

sitcom | accountant | slang | buddy | small town | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

It's a Small World

Filming Locations:

Colonial Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gomalco Productions, Kayro-Vue Productions, Revue Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (234 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the state Mayfield was in was never mentioned, although it was said to be somewhere in the Midwest. But in one episode, the Beaver wanted to earn money with a paper route, to join-in with a friend to buy a surf board. That would suggest Mayfield is near the ocean.

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Quotes

Ward Cleaver: Ah, June, Gilbert's always talking about his parents. Have you ever met them?
June Cleaver: Oh, I see her at the supermarket every once in a while. She seems like a calm sensible person.
Ward Cleaver: You can't really go by that. You might look the same way to her.

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Connections

Referenced in American History (1992)

User Reviews

Classic Television: Leave it to beaver.

Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963) was one of the proto-typical television

sitcoms of it's era. Pure American pop culture. The tales of Theodore

Cleaver, his adolescent brother Wally and the rest of the Cleavers are

documented over a six year period. Everyone out there in T.V. land

watched the brothers grow up. Never really a big ratings grabber, the series ended when the "Beaver" got too old for people to really care about.

Now after years in syndication, the Leave it to Beaver cult has grown and

found an even larger audience thirty years later when Hollywood produced

a feature length film based upon this sitcom (the new June Cleaver was too

hot for the movie). But I digress. Twenty years after the last episode, a

new series featuring the principal cast members was made revolving around

them and their children.

Pure white-bred middle class family that many people today wished this

country would return to. If you ever wanted to see what life was

presumably like back in the latter half of the "nifty fifties", then this series will satisfy your curiosity.

I'm Mike Tee Vee. Talk to you next time!