dakine
Champion Author
Orange County
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Message Posted: Oct 26, 2010 7:56:42 AM
I loved that show.
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HOTSKEL
Champion Author
Pennsylvania
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Message Posted: Oct 24, 2010 9:46:45 PM
Use to catch it every week in the late 50's till 1963
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sdm6061
Champion Author
Orange County
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Message Posted: Oct 17, 2010 9:39:36 PM
Mrs Cleaver is dead, but I will always remember her fondly as jive speaking grandma on Airplane...
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mweyant
Champion Author
Maryland
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Message Posted: Oct 17, 2010 6:00:15 PM
I'm old enough to remember when it was originally shown! If my memory serves me well, my family watched Leave It to Beaver on one of the two stations we could get(Altoona or Johnstown, PA) at 7pm on Saturday night! We also used to watch Perry Mason, Have Gun Will Travel(I had to look that one up), and Gunsmoke on Saturday night, except during the 6 months each year that Grandma lived with us, which meant we included Lawrence Welk in the Saturday night line-up!
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commguy
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Phoenix
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Message Posted: Oct 17, 2010 4:09:01 PM
I agree, Ms. Billingsley was very good as June Cleaver; she will be sorely missed (thank goodness for video tape!).
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bongobro
Champion Author
St. Louis
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Message Posted: Oct 17, 2010 2:17:49 PM
"Leave it to Beaver" ran for years at 5:00 p.m. Monday through Fridays in St. Louis, and I don't think it was so much cheesy as it was old-fashioned and, as someone else described it, "gentle." I figured out early on that my mother didn't wear pearls and high heels when she ran the vacuum cleaner, and that Dad didn't look or sound like Ward Cleaver when he gave out advice!
But for many of us baby boomers, Ward, June, Wally and the Beav were the kind of family we all secretly hoped we could have.
As for Barbara Billingsley, however, June Cleaver's gentleness gave her many opportunities in later years. Who else could shatter her image so hilariously as the jive-talkin' translator in the first "Airplane!" movie in 1980?
And my two daughters grew up with Barbara Billingsley as the voice of "Nanny" on "Muppet Babies" on CBS Saturday mornings--so she entertained a new generation although she was never seen on screen (much less anything above the striped stockings Nanny wore!)...she even sounded a bit like June Cleaver when she delivered her signature line, "Is everything all right in here?" after the Muppet Babies raised a ruckus!
We'll miss you, Mrs. Cleaver...you were the best mom on TV!
[Edited by: bongobro at 10/17/2010 3:19:19 PM EST]
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capt93
Champion Author
Twin Cities
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Message Posted: Oct 17, 2010 11:33:26 AM
Wow, didn't realize she was 94 years old. Seems just like yesterday I saw her in Airplane! May she rest in peace!
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BburgCW
Champion Author
Virginia
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Message Posted: Oct 17, 2010 8:12:20 AM
Sad to see Barbara Billingsley has passed on.
I also didn't watch Leave it to Beaver when I was little, but have seen many episodes in the last year while watching with my elderly mother-in-law. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this gentle show.
She did a wonderful job as as Mrs. Cleaver. May she rest in peace.
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jcs72
Champion Author
Dayton
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Message Posted: Aug 13, 2010 2:53:36 AM
I don't have any childhood memories of the show (I was born in 1972), but I have managed to catch reruns of the show and became a fan that way.
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capt93
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Twin Cities
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Message Posted: Aug 11, 2010 7:18:12 PM
I was talking only 20 per season, I agree most new shows are a 10 episode or less order and if they don't do well in the numbers they are gone. Just think if they used that same thought process for MASH, it was almost cancelled in the first and second season.
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bytebug
Champion Author
Orange County
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Message Posted: Aug 10, 2010 7:24:43 PM
>> What do we get now, if we're lucky on most shows its 20 episodes.
I think most initial orders are for less than half that, with a pickup for some more if you can cultivate an audience.
And these days, how many shows are canceled after just a couple of episodes?
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capt93
Champion Author
Twin Cities
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Message Posted: Aug 10, 2010 8:02:26 AM
Wow, 39 episodes per season, the inhumanity of it all! How could they expect them to work that much, and still be kids! What do we get now, if we're lucky on most shows its 20 episodes.
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bytebug
Champion Author
Orange County
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Message Posted: Aug 9, 2010 10:08:16 PM
"Leave It To Beaver: The Complete Series"
DVD box set with all 234 episodes (six seasons) is now available.
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guzlinsuv
Champion Author
Sacramento
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Message Posted: Aug 9, 2010 1:34:23 AM
what a great show, wonder how many times the story-lines have been copied in other sitcoms in one form or another
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wwsmith
Rookie Author
West Virginia
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Message Posted: Aug 7, 2010 11:36:56 PM
"Gee Beave... Well, golly Wally."
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Speedster2945
Champion Author
San Antonio
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Message Posted: Aug 7, 2010 2:12:15 AM
It was prime family entertainment and I remember the show very well, although I cannot remember a single episode at this moment.
Back then, B&W was all that was available. I also remember fondly watching The Lone Ranger and The Roy Rogers Show. The openings for each of these shows is burned into my brain although I don't remember any particular episodes, but Leave It To Beaver was a learning experience, as was Father Knows Best and The Donna Reed Show.
Those were good times and great memories.
I especially remember when Saturday mornings were reserved for REAL cartoons like Heckyl & Jeckyl, Mighty Mouse, Woody Woodpecker, Felix the Cat, etc., not like some of today's Power Rangers, etc.
[Edited by: Speedster2945 at 8/7/2010 3:14:48 AM EST]
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HOTSKEL
Champion Author
Pennsylvania
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Message Posted: Aug 6, 2010 7:53:00 PM
Being a baby boomer I caught most episodes the first time around. Unlike other shows that focused on the parents, Beaver focused on the children. I wish there was more of Eddie Haskell, he sure made it fun.
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capt93
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Twin Cities
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Message Posted: Aug 6, 2010 5:09:07 PM
Rmember it well, my favorite was when he climbed up into the soup bowl on the billboard and couldn't get out!
Loved Lumpy and Eddie. Eddie kind of reminded me of a cousin of mine. My cousin wasn't so cheesy, but did look like him!
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commguy
Champion Author
Phoenix
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Message Posted: Aug 6, 2010 10:17:34 AM
I remember it when it first came out. One of the episodes I remember most, was when the Beaver was challenged to walk a number of miles wearing a pedometer. It was so funny to see him walking s-curves on the street to and from school and elsewhere in town.
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