After the second season of “Leave It to Beaver,” the Cleavers moved to a new house located on the fictional Pine Street in the Universal backlot. Forty years later, guess who moved in?
The street name changed, but the house stayed the same. Now called Wisteria Lane, the house was featured as a home on “Desperate Housewives.” Stay-at-home moms on TV sure did change, by golly!
Writers Didn’t Want the Show to Be Too Funny
Why wouldn’t the writers want big belly laughs from the viewing audience? We couldn't tell you! Apparently, they were looking for a steady stream of chuckles instead of bursts of uproarious laughter that shows like "I Love Lucy" evoked.
Tony Dow said that they would take a line out if it got too much of a laugh. Funnily enough, reading this years later had us laughing out loud!
There Was a Character Named Frankie
In the pilot, Frankie hoodwinked the Beaver into falling for a free bicycle scam. The "Frankie" character did not make it to the "Leave it to Beaver" series, but the actor a name you've probably heard of before.
Harry Shearer went on to "SNL" in the 1980s. We know his voice as Ned Flanders on the notorious show, "The Simpsons." He also voices Principal Skinner and Mr. Burns.
Mathers Dabbled in the Music Business
When "Leave it to Beaver" went off the air in 1963, Jerry Mathers was a teenager. He decided to give a shot at a singing career. He got a contract with Atlantic Records and recorded a self-titled single called “Don’t Cry.”
Unfortunately, the song was not a hit. He tried forming a band next. He called it Beaver and the Trappers. You’ve probably never heard of it. Similar to Mathers's song, it was not a hit.
Stanley Fafara Ended up on the All-Too-Common Child Actor Route
Stanley played one of the Beave’s best schoolyard buddies, Hubert “Whitey” Whitney. When the show ended in 1963, Stanley started high school at North Hollywood High and got in with the wrong crowd.
His life spiraled downward from there, and by 2003, he died without a dime to his name. Unfortunately, the actor couldn’t even afford a tombstone for his grave.