“Leave it to Beaver” was a popular TV show of the 1950s, running from 1957 to 1963. During its original run, it never broke into the top 30 Nielsen ratings, but thanks to reruns, it became an even bigger hit. All I remember hearing about “Leave it to Beaver” was that my parents did not allow my older brothers to watch it, due to the character of Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond), a wise-ass who has little respect for adults. They were afraid he might rub off on them. Jerry Mathers played the title character, and is shown here with his sister Susie at Disneyland’s Fort Wilderness. From the publicity caption:
MAPREADING BEAVER
ANAHEIM, CALIF.: As his sister Susie, 8, points helpfully, Jerry Mathers, 10, who stars as Beaver on ABC-TV’s program “Leave it to Beaver,” consults a map of Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland, in Anaheim, California. Busy little star that he is, Jerry couldn’t resist taking time out for a tour of the famous Park. 1/21/59.
If you want a look at the brochure Jerry is reading, here you go:
…and the reverse side:
A color view of Fort Wilderness, from March 1959, right about the time Mathers made his visit:
A wide view of the area where Mathers was shot, October 1958:
Good thing Eddie Haskell wasn’t there; he probably would have told The Beav to jump! From July 1959, you can see kids loved to be up on “the balcony”:
In later years, Mathers and Tony Dow (who played his older brother, Wally) filmed a PSA at Disneyland City Hall encouraging people to register to vote:
See more Disneyland Fort Wilderness photos at my main website.
4 comments:
Wow, am I naive? I grew up knowing Leave it to Beaver as re-runs so I assumed it was a popular show at the time, little did I know... Also, I assumed it was as wholesome as TV could get without putting you to sleep. I never considered that Eddie Haskel would be cause for controversy. I hope your parents never had to see the world of TV we have now.
so sad and disappointed about the plans to remove WDW's rivers
Bryan - I didn't realize that about the ratings, either, until I wrote this article! I checked with the brothers - it was because the phrase “shut up” was used that the show became verboten in our home!
Max - you can be sad and disappointed, but are you surprised?
Dave, one wonders what your parents did when they were growing up! I think every generation finds fun in being a bit rowdy during the early years. Then we "mature" and tell our kids not to be like we were. As for TSI, it was literally the best playground any youngster could find. Much to the frustration of my parents, I could happily spend hours there. Hopefully it will remain for many more years for kids to learn there is more to life than video games. KS
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