On Death and Dying

[Scrabjan1]

Ever notice how on LITB death and killing is pretty funny. For instance:

When Beaver walks up to Dudley, dressed in an overcoat and hat in Wally and Dudley, Beaver says "Who died?"

In Wally's Orchid Beaver goes into a florist and says he never saw so many flowers before without someone being dead.

In Beaver's Library Book Beaver and Larry go to the Haydn Public Library and Beaver asks to see Mr. Haydn. She says he's passed away so he asks to see Mrs. Haydn. I'm sorry the whole family is deceased. Larry asks "Don't you got anyone around here who isn't dead?"

Larry and Beaver are discussing bible stories and Larry says there's more killing and dying in the bible than on TV.

Beaver says after his bike got stolen he hoped he would die. He didn't so he came home. Ward forgot to not only register the bike but no insurance. He says "I wished I was dead."

June tells Ward that Mr. Haskell told Eddie if he touches any of his belongings he's going to kill him dead.

Beaver wants to leave the window open in Pet Fair and maybe a parrot will fly in. If not he might get pneumonia and die.

There's more killing and dying on Saturday night than any other night in the week.

Anyone else have a death or killing reference.

[PhoenixAcres]

I can think of one: in one episode when Ms. Landers just got back from sick leave, Judy read a poem the class wrote to welcome her back. The final line was something like "we are all very glad you did not die."

The way they deal with death on the show didn't strike me as disrespectful or that they thought death/killing was funny. When the kids bring up stuff like that so matter-of-factly and often in unusual contexts the humor is derived from the incongruity of the situation and the innocence of the kids. It added to the realism of the show and made it more genuine.

...

And I agree with Alan Brady's Hair about the kids' cynicism. Their dialogue and attitudes are very believable and relatable. The writing on this show was very smart which is why people from all ages appreciate it.

[Scrabjan1]

Oh I agree totally...some of the funniest lines were like that. That was a good one about Judy and the poem and very funny. I wished I thought of it.

Anyone know the whole poem?

I remember "we all shed many a tear. We knew you would get better and we'd see you bye and bye. And we're all so very glad that you did not die.

[tdr]

Originally Posted by Scrabjan1

That was a good one about Judy and the poem and very funny. I wished I thought of it.

Anyone know the whole poem?

I remember "we all shed many a tear. We knew you would get better and we'd see you bye and bye. And we're all so very glad that you did not die.

Welcome back, Miss Landers;
We're glad to see you here.
When you were home and sick in bed
We all shed many a tear.
We hoped that you'd get better
And we'd see you by and by.
And we're all so very, very glad
That you did not die.

[tdr]

Speaking of putting death into poetry, Beaver did that with his poem about the duck:

I would like to be a duck
'Cause mostly ducks have lots of luck.
They swim around all day in a pool,
And mostly never have to go to school.
Then I saw a duck hanging in a butcher store
And I didn't want to be a duck no more!

I remember once writing a few parallels to Beaver's poem, and they followed the same pattern of implied death. Like this one:

I would like to be a moose--
Always prowling; on the loose.
Growing antlers six feet long;
My mating call an off-key song.
Kicking hell out of another bull;
Eating till my belly's full.
But if by a wolf pack I'm surrounded,
Those other moose points become unfounded!

[Torgo]

Beaver: "Dad said he'd croak for me but wouldn't paint me one crummy poster."

[Scrabjan1]

Love the moose poem!!! Great.

That's another good death reference. Loved Beaver's Poster when he made that poster of Paul Revere (wrassling) wrestling a pig. Hey not really mentioning death but June finds a hangman's noose and Ward says at least Wally is training for a field that's not overcrowded.

[Marvo301]

Beaver and Wally often referred to death by using the term croak or croaking. For instance when they had the pet alligator they wanted to take good care of it so it wouldn't croak.

[Samme]

Judy says her parents will kill her if they find out she was suspended from riding the school bus.

It adds to the fun to hear these things said from a kid's perspective and where it usually just applies to what they see in TV shows or movies. When we get older, and it's real life, it's mostly very scary. On the show, even death is casual and innocent. I like how the show treats it.

[Scrabjan1]

Wally asks about the Phoenicians in Baby Picture. Ward tells him how they constructed boats. Wally says they could go to a new island and kill new people. In Beaver Takes a Walk Larry tells him about a guy on TV who walked 20 miles in the desert. Beaver asks if he made it. Larry- No, after 20 miles he was dead. (Not verbatim)

[Scrabjan1]

Beaver and Larry are rowing the boat in Borrowed Boat when the cops beckon them back. Larry- Maybe they want to borrow the boat to look for a body.

[Torgo]

Beaver: "Hey, Wally, you know who we're studying about in history? Henry the 8th."

Wally: "Oh yeah?"

Beaver: "Yeah. He was a king, he chopped all his wife's heads off. He was a neat guy."

Wally: "Yeah we had him. He was a pretty neat guy. He didn't chop them all off though, a couple of them got away."

Beaver: "Oh. Hey what did they do with the heads?"

Wally: "I don't know. They don't tell you that until you get into college."

[PracTz]

I also liked it when Miss Landers class recited they'd written to celebrate her recovery from a long illness capping it with 'we're glad you didn't die'! As usual, she grimly but tactfully thanked them because they did mean well. I recall that there was at least one episode in which the Headmistress Mrs. Rayburn was subbing for her during that illness (and the performer Sue Randall would die a few decades later at the too-early age of 49) so I'm wondering if Miss Randall herself may have had serious health issues at that time!

[stevea]

Originally Posted by PracTz

I also liked it when Miss Landers class recited they'd written to celebrate her recovery from a long illness capping it with 'we're glad you didn't die'! As usual, she grimly but tactfully thanked them because they did mean well. I recall that there was at least one episode in which the Headmistress Mrs. Rayburn was subbing for her during that illness (and the performer Sue Randall would die a few decades later at the too-early age of 49) so I'm wondering if Miss Randall herself may have had serious health issues at that time!

I read somewhere that Sue Randall was a very heavy smoker.

[stevea]

On Beaver's Tree didn't Beaver worry about the tree dying if it wasn't planted soon?