Did Jerry's acting abilities (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=363372) greatly diminish by that point (https://web.archive.org/web/20061031152053/http://www.jumptheshark.com/l/leaveittobeaver.htm)? He was you could say, perfect as the young Beaver, but it seemed like the writers eventually gently shifted the focus to Wally and his friends.

And I've read the argument (https://www.datalounge.com/thread/14636730-the-new-leave-it-to-beaver) that when they did Still the Beaver/The New Leave It to Beaver in the '80s, Jerry was really exposed as a horrible adult actor.

Picture in your mind a classic movie. Gone With the Wind, The Godfather, Ben Hur, etc. Now imagine adult Jerry Mathers or Tony Dow having a major part in any of those movies. You grin & chuckle?

Yes you do.

And yes the writers wisely shifted the focus, to use the talents of Ken Osmond. Jerry's little kid talents had waned. Why?-who knows? Maybe he yearned to be a regular kid, like Rusty Stevens.

He might have been getting sick of it by then....

My favourite shows are when he is younger because he just fit into it better....