Ken Osmond Movies

Inspired by a movie, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) wants to become a hypnotist. This provides prankster Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) with a golden opportunity to pull a fast one. Pretending to be put into a trance by Beaver, Eddie cannot be snapped out of it -- or so he leads poor Beaver to believe. Inevitably, Beav's brother, Wally (Tony Dow), catches on to the practical joke, thereby setting the stage for one of the funniest "comeuppance" scenes in Leave It to Beaver history! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wally (Tony Dow) considers himself the luckiest teen on Earth when the wealthy and "sophisticated" Myra (Pamela Beaird) agrees to date him. There's only one problem -- Myra has made clear that she would like Wally to purchase an orchid for her corsage. This of course, requires more money than Wally has ever seen in his life -- and his dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont) isn't about to lend it to him. This was the first Leave It to Beaver episode directed by Norman Abbott, a future fixture of such '70s sitcoms as Sanford and Son (and incidentally, fans of the first Back to the Future will instantly recognize the exterior of Wally's high school). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Against his father's wishes, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) answers a magazine ad for young models. The modeling agency sends back a letter of acceptance, along with a request for a 30-dollar registration fee -- which Beaver ignores. Ultimately, our hero gets another letter threatening legal action unless he ponies up the 30 bucks immediately. Somehow or other, virtually every plot on this series boils down to, "If I tell Dad, he'll clobber me!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wally (Tony Dow) has taken a summer job selling Igloo ice cream. Naturally, his friends take advantage of Wally, begging him to sell them ice cream on credit. Threatened with bankruptcy, Wally calls in all his debts at once, whereupon an outraged Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) cooks up a clever revenge, placing a phony phone order for ice cream to be delivered at a girl's slumber party -- where, of course, no boys are allowed. The episode's slapstick finale is almost unbearably funny! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Following the example set by Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond), Wally (Tony Dow) combs his hair into a "cool" ducktail. Ward (Hugh Beaumont) and June (Barbara Billingsley) attempt to apply reverse psychology to persuade Wally to drop his new 'do, but he doesn't take the bait. The situation reaches the crisis stage when Beaver (Jerry Mathers) emerges from the bathroom sporting the same hipster hairstyle. (Listen for that "authentic" rock & roll music in the background!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Impulsively removing a cap from an ink bottle, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) accidentally ruins some of his dad's business papers (yes, Dad does have a job!) As a result, Beaver is grounded, forbidden to leave the house all weekend. At the goading of pal Larry (Rusty Stevens), Beaver sneaks out to attend a movie. Which of course leads to the inevitable crisis -- how is The Beav going to explain the fact that he's won a new bike in a contest held at the movie house? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beaver makes friends with Chuey Varella (Alan Roberts Costello), a youngster who can only speak Spanish. Hoping to impress Chuey, Beaver wants to learn a Spanish sentence that will be complimentary to his new pal. Alas, Beaver's "teacher" is the redoubtable Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond), who uses his junior-high Spanish skills to carefully coach Beav in a sentence that, when translated into English, comes out as "You have the face of a pig." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beaver (Jerry Mathers) and Wally (Tony Dow) are pressed into service as baby-sitter when their next-door neighbors go out of town. Well, actually, their not baby-sitters, they're kind of pet-sitters, since their charge is the Donaldson's cat, Puff Puff. Unfortunately, the boys let the cat out of the bag when Eddie Haskell's dog, Wolf, chases Puff Puff away to parts unknown! This was the final episode of Leave It to Beaver's first season, and the last one to be telecast on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After promising Ward (Hugh Beaumont) that he'll paint the garbage cans at 50 cents per can, Wally (Tony Dow) discovers that Eddie (Ken Osmond) has wangled six times as much money from his "old man" for the same job. Hoping to increase his salary, Wally is abruptly informed by Ward that a deal is a deal. Desperate to weasel out of his job, Wally tries to foist the responsibility off to kid brother Beaver (Jerry Mathers) -- which explains why the alternate title for this episode is "Tom Sawyer." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the undisputed classics of American television, the weekly, half-hour sitcom Leave It to Beaver was created by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, who had risen to prominence as principal writers of the TV version of Amos 'n' Andy. Fulfilling their ambition to create a warm, credible sitcom about modern suburban life as seen through the eyes of small children, Connelly and Mosher came up with a pilot film, "It's a Small World," in 1957. This trial balloon featured Jerry Mathers as six-year-old Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, Paul Sullivan as his 11-year-old brother Wally, Casey Adams (aka Max Showalter) as their accountant father Ward, and Barbara Billingsley as their housewife mother June. Also appearing in the pilot were Diane Brewster, Richard Deacon, and, in the one-scene role of a wise guy neighbor kid named Frankie, a very young Harry Shearer. Though the concept did not fly as "It's a Small World" (the pilot would be folded into a syndicated anthology series, Studio 57), CBS evinced interest when it reemerged, with several new cast members, as Leave It to Beaver, which debuted October 4, 1957.
Carried over from "It's a Small World" were Jerry Mathers and Barbara Billingsley, while new to the cast were Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver and Tony Dow as Wally. Likewise retained were Diane Brewster and Richard Deacon, albeit in different roles as respectively, Beaver's schoolteacher Miss Canfield and Ward's co-worker Fred Rutherford. The basic original premise was also kept on, with Beaver and Wally trying to interpret the ways of the world through their own youthful and naïve perspective. The Cleavers lived in the town of Mayfield, and shared many of the same trials and tribulations as the "nuclear families" who comprised the series' fan base. What really sold the series was the warm, realistic rapport between the Cleaver kids and their parents, and the authentic-sounding dialogue, full of the slang and idioms common to youngsters of the Eisenhower era. The huge supporting cast included Rusty Stevens as Beaver's chubby pal Larry Mondello, who was invariably seen chomping on an apple and who lived in fear of his disciplinarian father who always seemed to be on a business trip to Cincinnati (Madge Blake, aka Batman's Aunt Harriet, was occasionally seen as Larry's mom); Stanley "Tiger" Fafara as another Beaver buddy, the adenoidal Whitey Whitney; Stephen Talbot as young Gilbert Bates, who spent most of his time talking Beaver into getting in trouble; Richard Correll as Richard, evidently brought in during the series' third season as a Larry Mondello replacement; Jeri Weil as snotty, insulting Judy Hensler, Beaver's classroom nemesis; Frank Bank as Wally's school chum (and Fred Rutherford's son) Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford, an amiable, none-too-bright oaf; Pamela Beard as Mary Ellen Rogers and Cheryl Holdridge as Judy Foster, Wally's erstwhile girlfriends; and Sue Randall and Doris Packer respectively as Miss Canfield's successors at Beaver's school, Miss Landers and Miss Rayburn. By far the most famous and celebrated of the series' supporting players was Ken Osmond as Wally's pal Eddie Haskell, that juvenile Uriah Heep who laid on the insincere charm whenever he was around Beaver's parents ("Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver. My, Mrs. Cleaver, you're looking lovely tonight. Are Wallace and Theodore at home?"), but who reverted to his true personality as a weaselly, conniving creep whenever he was alone with Wally and The Beav. Moving from CBS to ABC for its second season, Leave It to Beaver ultimately lasted six seasons and 234 episodes, signing off only because Tony Dow and especially Jerry Mathers had outgrown their roles. The final network episode aired on September 12, 1963; one week later, the series entered rerun syndication, where it has flourished ever since. And in 1985, most of the original cast (minus the late Hugh Beaumont) were reunited in their same roles in a new series, The New Leave It to Beaver, which was a spin-off of the earlier retro special Still the Beaver, and which remained in production until 1989. While the newer version is not held in terribly high esteem by fans, the original remains an audience favorite. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wally (Tony Dow) and his friends build a clubhouse and then (naturally) form a club, with one-dollar dues for their fellow eighth-graders. When Beaver asks to join the club, he is flatly informed that dues for younger kids amount to three bucks! Though it's daunting task, Beav canvasses the neighborhood in search of the ways and means to scare up the money. Veteran character actors James Gleason, Raymond Hatton, and Charles Wagenheim make this episode a treat for movie-trivia buffs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After visiting their Aunt Martha (Madge Kennedy), Beaver (Jerry Mathers) and Wally (Tony Dow) were supposed to use the money given them by their dad to purchase two train tickets home. Alas, their train is delayed, and in the interim the boys spend all their cash on hot dogs and ice cream. How are they going to get out of this one without getting clobbered? Watch for Bess Flowers, "queen of the Hollywood dress extras," in the train-station sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The formerly slovenly Wally (Tony Dow) has decided to become a well-groomed fashion plate, mainly so that he and his pal Eddie (Ken Osmond) can impress the girls at the local movie house. Impressed by Wally's metamorphosis, Ward (Hugh Beaumont) and June (Barbara Billingsley) decide it is high time for Beaver (Jerry Mathers) to clean up his act as well. Unfortunately, asking Beav to wash his hands and face and actually getting him to do it are two entirely different matters! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide