It really ticks me off that they made him or allowed him to do that. Even though he was eating fruit in a lot of scenes, it still was not good for his health.

Not to mention Mrs. Mondello, eating her bonbons while talking to June on the phone,. Of course since she's an adult we didn't see her as much.

It's curious that how he was portrayed as such a glutton, and yet by the standards of today, he would be a health nut by his voracious appetite for apples rather than junk food.*

What strikes me regarding his gluttony, is the moments when he asks for, or at least inquires to the possibility of, apples from the Cleavers ( via Beaver ) all the while having his own in his pockets. What a greed-head.

* The 'Chocolate Rockets' being an obvious exception since they were plot driven and both of them got more than their fill of them.

Larry is given an Italian surname, but Italian food is never mentioned. Even if Mrs Mondello wasn't Italian she'd be cooking a lot of Italian dishes for her husband.


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Did they ever mention Italian food on LITB? I think there may have been a scene where Mrs. Cleaver is putting uncooked spaghetti into a pot of boiling water, but I’m not sure.

I liked your comment about how Mrs. Mondello probably prepared Italian food for her husband and the Mondello kids. I remember my Irish grandmother preparing numerous Italian dishes for my Italian grandfather after she had learned how to prepare Italian meals from her Italian mother-in-law. Mangia and Erin go Bragh!

And, with both Larry Mondello and Lumpy Rutherford being so roly-poly, I bet that former First Lady Michelle Obama would be absolutely appalled at such youthful obesity on the show.

I took notice to see that Larry's apples never are turning brown while eating & the filming, which means he was really chomping them down during the scene !

Did they ever mention Italian food on LITB? I think there may have been a scene where Mrs. Cleaver is putting uncooked spaghetti into a pot of boiling water, but I’m not sure.

I liked your comment about how Mrs. Mondello probably prepared Italian food for her husband and the Mondello kids. I remember my Irish grandmother preparing numerous Italian dishes for my Italian grandfather after she had learned how to prepare Italian meals from her Italian mother-in-law. Mangia and Erin go Bragh!

And, with both Larry Mondello and Lumpy Rutherford being so roly-poly, I bet that former First Lady Michelle Obama would be absolutely appalled at such youthful obesity on the show.

I don't remember any mention of having spaghetti, pizza, lasagna, or any other Italian food. June could have been putting spaghetti into boiling water but I just don't remember the scene.

When the What's for dinner? question came up, I remember roast beef being the answer a few times. Ward brought home Chinese frozen dinners no one wanted, and also pickles that were equally unpopular. One other time June and Beaver were grinding hamburger. And I think they were having meatloaf and carrots when Larry ran away (Larry didn't like any of it).

One other time June and Beaver were grinding hamburger.

So they bought a better cut of meat and then ground it themselves?

Did they not have hamburger meat then? There has always been hamburger meat since I was old enough to know about it.

Hmm, when did the auger/grinder type concept get thought up?

It was an odd scene. I know we had hamburger in the 60s and never ground it.

Larry is awesome!!

I always think about Wally saying he and Larry were always hanging out as friends between takes, playing catch with a football or whatever ... Larry being a big kid in size closer to Wally's size +-

Rusty relates similar stories.

Jerry eventually became friends with Rich Correll.

The purpose of having Larry always eating was to portray him as a sort of vice figure who was Beaver's "tempter" (as Jerry Mathers has described him). Having him eat apples probably figures in with Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, etc.

The purpose of having Larry always eating was to portray him as a sort of vice figure who was Beaver's "tempter" (as Jerry Mathers has described him). Having him eat apples probably figures in with Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, etc.

Very solid and interesting analysis.:wave:

Having him eat apples probably figures in with Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, etc.

Do you think the kids watching are sophisticated enough to make this connection?

I doubt I would make the connection.

I dont think anyone would :D