After this nasty prank, I think that Eddie would have been about as “welcome” at the Cleaver home as Martin Bormann or Osama bin Laden would have been.

Or, as Eddie (approx.) said in an episode from around that time: I think he'd (Ward would) be happier to see Khrushchev standing there (at the door).

We should start a thread on the many topical references on LITB. I heard that on “The Honeymooners,” Jackie Gleason and the show’s writers refrained from using topical references to help prevent the show from being associated with one specific time period.

Some topical references on LITB:

Wally and Eddie told Ward that they were going to see “Spartacus” at the movies. (I wonder if the voluptuous Marlene Holmes was working at the ticket booth when the guys went to see that terrific Stanley Kubrick film?)

Beaver mentioned he would regularly watch “Men of Annapolis” on tv. (I had never heard of this late 1950s tv show until Jerry Mathers recited that line on the show. You can see all thirty-plus episodes of that show on YouTube, which features many familiar actors, very early in their acting careers.)

Eddie mention heavyweight contender Cassius Clay (before he became Muhammad Ali).

Wally says Lumpy heard about Cuba listening to a (transistor?) radio.

Angela Valentine with the Jackie Kennedy wig

Ward brings home Chinese food from the grocery store that nobody cared for, but it was on sale. He said something like, “Well if Chiang Kei-Shek drops by…”

Larry and Beaver spy on Larry’s sister’s belongings and see a photo of Kookie “from that TV show,” referring to 77 Sunset Strip

Beaver telling Mom that God may be occupied “with the Russians and all” (maybe someone can correct me on this)

With Beaver not appearing on TV live, Gilbert said he may be in The Twilight Zone.

Eddie, I forget to whom he was talking: “Which one are you, Dickens or Fenster?” (reference to the short lived sitcom “I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster”)

Wally telling Beaver how Beaver gets seasick just watching “McHale’s Navy”

Beaver, after being turned down TWICE for a date: “It’ll be just me and Ben Casey.”

Cannot think of many others right now.

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The "Russians and all" comment is correct; I think it was in the episode where Beaver starts embellishing his life in his diary.

Another one: Wally makes reference to Bennett Cerf crying, which he must have done or came close to on the game show What's My Line?"

By the way, the Gilbert remark about Angela Valentine and the Jackie Kennedy wig was censored for many years; it's amazing they were able to reconstruct the full episode.

We should start a thread on the many topical references on LITB. I heard that on “The Honeymooners,” Jackie Gleason and the show’s writers refrained from using topical references to help prevent the show from being associated with one specific time period.


OT, but one episode of the Honeymooners “classic 39” had Norton’s response to Ralph’s correct assumption (maybe about Alice? not sure): “You have just reached the first plateau!”

That got a hoot out of the audience, but as a kid I guess I wondered why.

That was a reference to the popular quiz show at the time, “The $64,000 Question.” Plateaus were certain steps along the way.

Of course, “Question” was also parodied in the classic Honeymooners episode “The $99,000 Answer.”

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The "Russians and all" comment is correct; I think it was in the episode where Beaver starts embellishing his life in his diary.

Another one: Wally makes reference to Bennett Cerf crying, which he must have done or came close to on the game show What's My Line?"

Wow, Bennett Cerf crying….don’t remember that one!

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OT, but one episode of the Honeymooners “classic 39” had Norton’s response to Ralph’s correct assumption (maybe about Alice? not sure): “You have just reached the first plateau!”

That got a hoot out of the audience, but as a kid I guess I wondered why.

That was a reference to the popular quiz show at the time, “The $64,000 Question.” Plateaus were certain steps along the way.

Of course, “Question” was also parodied in the classic Honeymooners episode “The $99,000 Answer.”

cd

I'm not overly familiar with 1950s pop culture, but the "Captain Video" reference in the first of the classic 39 Honeymooners was probably applicable to the time, right?

I'm not overly familiar with 1950s pop culture, but the "Captain Video" reference in the first of the classic 39 Honeymooners was probably applicable to the time, right?

Most indubitably!

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Wow, Bennett Cerf crying….don’t remember that one!

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I also never saw it; either it didn't happen or it's in a missing episode.

And of course Lumpy’s favorite TV show was Captain Kangaroo.

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At the end of the fifth season Wally describes a gift the class of '62 is giving the school--something like a water fountain. Not really descriptive of a famous event of the time, but still dating the show. Also, it implies, but never states, Wally is in that class.

And of course Lumpy’s favorite TV show was Captain Kangaroo.

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A funny Fred line would have been: "Ward, I really like the Dick Van Dyke Show. That Mel Cooley guy cracks me up!"

I think that Eddie may have mentioned the Berlin Wall and Wally may have possibly mentioned something about the Cuban Missile Crisis. I remember that one of my friends’ fathers started to clear out the basement in their home just in case the Russians did attack the United States in a nuclear strike during that extremely tense crisis. Of course, with us living about five miles from New York City, we weren’t very likely to survive an A-bomb blast on The Big Apple if World War III had actually started!

And, in the infamous “Box Office Attraction” episode on LITB, Ward and June might have discussed the ramifications of The Kinsey Report after meeting the alluring Marlene Holmes, Wally’s fetching date and aspiring interior decorator.

I think the Cuban Missile Crisis was a Wally comment about Lumpy hearing about Cuba while checking on a radio contest.

Early on, Wally was talking about the President--he possibly mentioned something about him being in WW II, but not mentioning his name.

Didn’t Wally (or maybe it was Beaver?) speculate on how many home runs the great Mickey Mantle would hit for the New York Yankees during the current baseball season?

Yes, and of course there was the guest appearance by Don Drysdale.

I remember seeing the late, great Don Drysdale and also fellow Dodger/Hall of Famer Duke Snider appear on “The Rifleman,” a tv Western that, no doubt, Wally, Beaver, Eddie, Lumpy, Larry and the rest of the young guys in Mayfield enjoyed watching every week.

I wonder if after Wally and the Beaver had gone to bed, Ward and June would watch the late, great Groucho Marx on “You Bet Your Life,” an extremely popular quiz show aired during the 1950s?

Mr. Marx could get a big laugh out of the studio audience by just rolling his eyes suggestively while interviewing an especially attractive and zaftig young female contestant on the show.

And, years later, actor George Fenneman, who was Mr. Marx’s sidekick/announcer on the quiz show, appeared on television to present some of the wickedly-funny, edited outtakes uttered by the irrepressible Groucho Marx on the quiz show. Somehow, I don’t think that Aunt Martha would have approved of Groucho’s slightly lascivious late-night humor, but I think that Uncle Billy would have absolutely loved Groucho’s randy remarks.

Any viewing of Groucho by June and Ward would be secret information, known only by them and J. Edgar Hoover, but definitely not by Aunt Martha (Uncle Billy, himself undoubtedly a viewer, would say "I'm in.")

Groucho was barely tolerated on the What's My Line? panel, on his limited nuber of appearances. Perhaps when he put his glasses on upside down over his blindfold, it broke the ice a little, and maybe even Dorothy Kilgallen cracked a smile.

Yes, many of the “What’s My Line” episodes are available on YouTube. One uproariously funny segment on WML was when a woman, who owned and managed a nudist camp was a contestant on the show.

When celebrity panelist Steve Allen asked the woman if he availed himself of the lady’s services, would he look any different to his his friends and family, even host John Daly, along with the studio audience, lost it completely. It was also hilarious to see Mr. Allen, absolutely befuddled as to why everyone was laughing at his questions to the lady.

As I remember, on Sunday night, many people first watched Marlin Perkins on “Wild Kingdom” on NBC at 7:30 PM, followed by “”The Ed Sullivan Show” on CBS at 8:00 PM, then back to NBC at 9:00 PM to watch “Bonanza,” and finally back to CBS at 10:00 PM to watch “What’s My Line.”

No doubt, Ward and June were also faithful viewers of these classic Sunday night tv shows of the 1950s/1960s.

At the end of the fifth season Wally describes a gift the class of '62 is giving the school--something like a water fountain. Not really descriptive of a famous event of the time, but still dating the show. Also, it implies, but never states, Wally is in that class.

Correction: this was in the tag scene of the Junior Fire Chief episode, near the end of season 4.

A funny Fred line would have been: "Ward, I really like the Dick Van Dyke Show. That Mel Cooley guy cracks me up!"

It definitely would predate the infamous 1978-ish episode of “Happy Days” where Robin Williams first appeared as alien Mork-from-Ork.

Richie was out somewhere while Mork was watching TV. You only heard the audio, “The Andy Griffith Show!” Mork: “I love that boy Opie!” That got a big laugh.

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Yes, many of the “What’s My Line” episodes are available on YouTube. One uproariously funny segment on WML was when a woman, who owned and managed a nudist camp was a contestant on the show.

When celebrity panelist Steve Allen asked the woman if he availed himself of the lady’s services, would he look any different to his his friends and family, even host John Daly, along with the studio audience, lost it completely. It was also hilarious to see Mr. Allen, absolutely befuddled as to why everyone was laughing at his questions to the lady.

As I remember, on Sunday night, many people first watched Marlin Perkins on “Wild Kingdom” on NBC at 7:30 PM, followed by “”The Ed Sullivan Show” on CBS at 8:00 PM, then back to NBC at 9:00 PM to watch “Bonanza,” and finally back to CBS at 10:00 PM to watch “What’s My Line.”

No doubt, Ward and June were also faithful viewers of these classic Sunday night tv shows of the 1950s/1960s.

For some reason, Mr. Allen was seemingly always chosen to begin the questioning when the producers knew that his usual questions would garner the guffaws. I cannot give certain examples, but the laughter from the audience while Allen looked totally befuddled NEVER got old.

When “The Name’s the Same” was on, and many are on YouTube, Joan Alexander was in the “Steve Allen” position.

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For some reason, Mr. Allen was seemingly always chosen to begin the questioning when the producers knew that his usual questions would garner the guffaws. I cannot give certain examples, but the laughter from the audience while Allen looked totally befuddled NEVER got old.

When “The Name’s the Same” was on, and many are on YouTube, Joan Alexander was in the “Steve Allen” position.

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Steve Allen was the first to ask that "bigger than a breadbox" question. And depending on the product, it did generate some laughs over the years.

Steve Allen was the first to ask that "bigger than a breadbox" question. And depending on the product, it did generate some laughs over the years.

Wasn’t there one guest on the show whose “line” it was, making breadboxes? I don’t remember.

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I am sure that many contemporary-to-LITB celebrities have not been mentioned yet. This season 4 ep had this dialogue:

Eddie: Hey squirt, did anybody tell you that you look like Sal Mineo?
Beaver: No!
Eddie: Well, I’m not surprised, because you don’t!

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I am sure that many contemporary-to-LITB celebrities have not been mentioned yet. This season 4 ep had this dialogue:

Eddie: Hey squirt, did anybody tell you that you look like Sal Mineo?
Beaver: No!
Eddie: Well, I’m not surprised, because you don’t!

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Yes, and there was another episode where Beaver used the same joke on Eddie.

And re WML--there was a breadbox as a product in one episode. IIRC, the panel had trouble with it.

Didn’t Wally (or maybe it was Beaver?) speculate on how many home runs the great Mickey Mantle would hit for the New York Yankees during the current baseball season?

In "Wally Goes Steady," from Wikipedia: At the Hendersons, Wally tries to make conversation by wondering if Roger Maris or Mickey Mantle will hit 60 home runs in the current baseball season.

The "Russians and all" comment is correct; I think it was in the episode where Beaver starts embellishing his life in his diary.

The "Russians" line is from the episode where Beaver's friend Kenneth is stealing things from school.

They referred to Tony Curtis on several occasions.

Beaver makes a comment in the Barons episode that they don't even use the word "keen" on Dobie Gillis anymore.

Beaver makes a comment in the Barons episode that they don't even use the word "keen" on Dobie Gillis anymore.

In the same episode, Wally says he's going to the gym to work out, and Eddie says, "What are you, Vic Tanny or something?" AI:

Vic Tanny gyms were a chain of fitness clubs founded by bodybuilder Vic Tanny, known for their modern facilities and innovative membership plans. They flourished in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming a significant part of the fitness culture in the U.S. before eventually declining due to over-expansion and management issues.

In "Wally Buys a Car", Eddie comes into the boys' bedroom and says, "Hi, Sam Benedict. What's the verdict?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Benedict

^ NIIIIICE catch there! Between references to “Sam Benedict” & “I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster” (60 episodes TOTAL for both!), maybe I need to watxh these again!

I would totally ignored Eddie’s line there as a throwaway, despite me knowing the titles of quite a few early TV shows.

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