Would You Like To See A LITB Reunion Again??

[VioletRutherford]

Wouldn't it be neat to have a LITB reunion with the entire gang back. Well, except for those who passed away of course!!! I know they had the show "Still Leave It To Beaver" but it really wasn't LITB!! I have found that when they try and dig up these shows and make them into new shows they come up short!! Just the same, I'd love to see how things are with the Beav & Wally!!

:talk:

[sharondp]

I would love to see what The Beaver and Wally are up to.
I`m guessing they have grandchildren by now and are in the computer age.
It could be a great show if it`s done right.
Can you just picture an adult Beaver with a computer?
The possibilities are endless!
Not to mention all the problems of todays world and how Wally and the Beaver would handle them.

[VioletRutherford]

You hit the nail right on the head Sharon. It would be neat to see how Beaver would handle the technological age!!! I remember the episode where Beaver couldn't handle his typewriter!! It's weird to think that Wally & Beaver are now older then Ward!!!

:rolleyes:

[sami dg]

I hate to burst any bubbles but I just dont think another reunion would be very good. The main reason being it just wouldnt be right without Hugh Beaumont. In my opinion his presence is what made Leave it to Beaver such a phenomenal family show. Everyone relied on Ward to solve problems and be their solid rock. I say we should only guess what Beaver is doing today. I think too many times good shows have been tainted with reunion shows and movies i.e. The Brady Bunch, The Andy Griffith Show and countless others. I think we should let it be a good thing and just enjoy the reruns. :)

[VioletRutherford]

I do agree that Ward was instrumental in the show itself. That's the way I felt when they made "Still Leave It To Beaver." I don't generally compare LITB with other family shows cuz it's quite different. I think people for the most part, want to see how the characters grow. I don't think a special every once in awhile is such a bad thing. As Sharon stated, it all depends on how it's done.

[sami dg]

Dont get me wrong I dont think it would be a horrible thing I just think some things are better left alone and I (in my most humble of opinions) think LITB is one of those things.. no shots to anyone who thinks otherwise.

[VioletRutherford]

No, I understand. Quite frankly, I was probably one of those who was in the minority because I didn't like "Still Leave It To Beaver!!" I felt it concentrated on Wally & Beaver's children, not them. All in all though, I still would like to see them every once in awhile.

[sami dg]

agreed:wave:

[Eddie Haskell]

Personally, I wouldn't want to see another reunion; to tell you the truth, it makes me feel too damn old when I see how fat the Beaver is and how gray Wally has got.

Yesterday while digging through some old tapes that I recorded years ago, I found my tape of the pilot show which I believe I recorded around 1993. It was 36 years old at that time.

Diane Brewster (Miss Canfield) and Richard Deacon (Fred Rutherford) played two entirely diifferent characters, who worked for the Franklin Milk Company. I'm new to this site and you may have dicussed this before but I'll ask anyway; has anyone else seen this episode? :confused:

[sharondp]

I found this info in a book called "The Complete Directory to Primetime Network and Cable TV Shows"
It says that the origional pilot episode had Ward played by Casey Adams.
Wally was played by Paul Sullivan and the Eddie Haskell character was called Frankie,played by Harry Shearer.
he used to be on SNL.

I wish I had a copy of that!
And you want to talk about feeling old?
I remember when it was on in primetime!
Yech!!

[VioletRutherford]

I had read about that too. I'm not sure if it was in "The World According to Beaver"(The Official Leave It To Beaver) book, or on some internet site. It's difficult to believe that Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow & Ken Osmond weren't the original actors playing those characters!!! It seems to me that they made those roles. Then again, I guess it's just what you're use to!!

:crazy:

[TheBeaver]

I would love to see another reunion. Of course, just like Still the Beaver/New Leave it to Beaver, it just won't be the same without Hugh Beumont. My kids love Leave it to Beaver, my 3 year old likes the New Leave it to Beaver better than the original (don't ask me why).

[lukes42]

For those who say another reunion isn't possible, well, think again. Both Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow are working on a reunion show, and from what I hear, it may be ready in a couple of years. I understand it is supposed to be a TV movie, similar to the one that was released in 1983 (Still the Beaver). Looks like they are trying to get one out before the 50th Anniversary of the original show. People that have visited the Universal Studio lot where Leave It To Beaver was originally shot have remarked that 'Mayfield' signs have popped up around some of the buildings around the studio tour. So, this is definitely something to stay tuned on. :)

[VioletRutherford]

Thanks for the info!! That's something to look forward to!!!

[Kristina]

aww no Ward. :( :crying:

[lukes42]

I know, it's sad that Hugh Beaumont is no longer with us, but he has been gone for quite a few years. As a matter of fact, on May 14th, 2002, it will be 20 years to the day that Hugh left us. They've done a reunion without Ward in the past, so there's no way around it again. They certainly can't recast the role, that would raise quite an uproar! I am sure they will do some sort of tribute to Hugh when the movie comes out in a couple of years. He was a major part of the original series, so just leaving him out would definitely be improper. :)

[DarleneIllyria]

I can picture it happening. I don't see it as an actual reunion movie, but it can be a reunion special. Gather up all the actors that are still alive, and have a special where they just talk about the series. It will kind of be like the TAGS reunion where Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Ron Howard, Jack Dodson, George Lindsey, and Jim Nabors just talked about TAGS. I think that would be better than a reunion movie with a cheesy plot.

[bb]

Originally posted by sharondp
I found this info in a book called "The Complete Directory to Primetime Network and Cable TV Shows"
It says that the origional pilot episode had Ward played by Casey Adams.
Wally was played by Paul Sullivan and the Eddie Haskell character was called Frankie,played by Harry Shearer.
he used to be on SNL.

I wish I had a copy of that!
And you want to talk about feeling old?
I remember when it was on in primetime!
Yech!!

I actually have the pilot of Leave it to Beaver in my collection.
I forgot what the title was but it wasnt Leave it to Beaver. I would say it was called something like "Its a small world" but I cant say for sure. TBS aired it years ago thats where I got a copy of it.

I havent seen it in years but from what I remember it wasnt all that funny. The story centered around a bike contest the two boys entered. The man in charge of the bike contest...Richard Deacon, who of course would later play Lumpy's dad.

The Beaver and Mrs. Cleaver appeared on it. But that was really the only connection between pilot and Beaver.

Paul Sullivan looked nothing like Tony Dow while Casey Adams who played "Ward" did some rather "unWard things" like smoke cigarettes in the pilot. And Shearer didnt act much like Eddie either.

Fun to watch but other than Beaver and Mrs. Cleaver, one wouldnt have known this was the pilot for Leave it to Beaver.

[Eddie Haskell]

I could be mistaken but weren't there a few episodes that Ward (Hugh Beaumont) was seen smoking?

Also, "It's A Small World" is correct; I found a copy of it awhile back while in search of something else. Popped it in and watched it right away. Richard Deacon played Mr. Baxter and worked for the Franklin Milk Co.

Diane Brewster, who played Miss Canfield in the regular shows, was in the pilot playing Miss Sims, the secretary of Baxter.

That's all I know...for now! :crazy:

[TheBeaver]

I have the unaired pilot as well. Your right, it's not very funny. Beaver didn't even seem like Beaver, he just wasn't as funny. The guy that played Wally was mean. Did you notice that Ward smoked? An eighth grader told Beaver there was a contest at the Franklin Milk company and if you collected 1000 of their bottlecaps, you could win a bike. They went around the neighborhood and got 1000. They got the bike from them but eventually the company realized there wasn't really a contest. The boys had to hide the bike cause Ward said the weren't responsible enough to have a bike. The Guy from the Milk company came to get the bike and Ward found out they had the bike. He told them they didn't earn the bike so they had to give it back. Then the boss liked the idea of a contest and the man tried to return the bike to Wally and Beav however they said they didn't want it back cause they didn't earn it. Wally told the man to leave and Beaver even kicked the man. The man left and the next day Ward told them to get a clean shirt to wear at the dinner table. They went upstairs and found a new bike from Ward and June.

Personally, i didn't like it but it did have 3 regulars on it.
June
Beaver
Fred Rutherford..................Yes, the title was It's A Smal World

[bb]

Originally posted by Eddie Haskell
I could be mistaken but weren't there a few episodes that Ward (Hugh Beaumont) was seen smoking?

Also, "It's A Small World" is correct; I found a copy of it awhile back while in search of something else. Popped it in and watched it right away. Richard Deacon played Mr. Baxter and worked for the Franklin Milk Co.

Diane Brewster, who played Miss Canfield in the regular shows, was in the pilot playing Miss Sims, the secretary of Baxter.

That's all I know...for now! :crazy:


I dont remember ever seeing Hugh Beaumont smoke on Beaver,
wasnt he deeply religious, but then again at that time everyone everywhere smoked ( saw a picture once taken in the late 50s at a local drive-in restaurant, shows the cook fixing a hamburger and smoking a cigarette ..at the same time!!! Try to do that today. )

I always thought of Leave it to Beaver as being a rather "anti-smoking" show. Very few scenes of people smoking ( compared to a lot of other shows from the 50s ) and when cigarettes were shown like the episode where Beaver and Larry tried smoking and the one where Wally goes out with a girl who not only smokes but drinks, smoking is shown to be negative.

In this area, Leave it to Beaver was a bit ahead of its time.

[TheBeaver]

You must have read it wrong. I stated that Ward ( in the pilot) not Hugh Beaumont was smoking. The actor who played Ward in the unaired pilot was smoking a cigarette when Beaver and Wally were pulling the bike up in their room.

[Waterston_Fan]

Well, I wish they would air the reunion show that aired in 83....

I don't think it would have worked concerning Hugh cause I think he would have been over 100 years old, could be wrong though if they did a reunion like years ago.