Lumpy Rutherford was great as a dense bully, so it’s surprising to learn that he became a successful banker later in life. He was a smart financial planner. He took his earnings and invested it, earning $300,000 per year.
Making a name for himself as a successful stockbroker, he managed the accounts of costars Dow, Mathers, and Billingsley.
This Is How Hugh Beaumont Came to Be an Ordained Minister
Long before he landed the Ward Cleaver gig, Beaumont unwittingly studied for it. As a philosophy student, he obtained his master’s in theology at USC and became an ordained minister.
Afterward, he found Hollywood pay to be exceedingly better than what he could collect at his Sunday service. So, he decided to try his luck in Hollywood.
Tragedy Marked Hugh Beaumont’s Life
When Beaumont got the role of Ward, he decided to move his family out to Hollywood. He had been commuting from Minnesota, but a weekly series would require him to be in California.
When his wife, son, and mother-in-law were driving out west, a terrible crash killed his mother-in-law and badly injured his son. He said the tragic accident made work difficult and as if he was just going through the motions.
Rusty Stevens Had a Mother Who Smothered Him Out of His Job
Rusty Stevens was the child actor who played the Beave’s best buddy, Larry Mondello. Larry was a bit of a dimwit, but fans missed him when he was let go in the fourth season.
According to Barbara Billingsley, the actress who played Beaver’s mom, Rusty Stevens’ mother complained and harassed the producers about her kid so much that they finally just wrote him off the show.
Co-creator Joe Connelly Shared His Inspiration for Leave It to Beaver
Joe Connelly basically framed the entire show around his own family. The adventures of Wally and Beaver were based on his own two sons.
Listening to the conversations of his boys, Ricky and Jay, he developed the brotherly relationship of the Cleaver household.