Leave it to Beaver (1957): 15 Weird Facts You Didn’t Know

[TMC]

Remember when the Cleavers were America’s most perfect family — or so we thought. Leave It to Beaver didn’t just define suburban sitcoms, it quietly rewrote TV history behind the picket fence. From baffling rumors and bizarre casting twists to courtroom drama and a very controversial bathroom scene, we’re counting down 15 weird facts you probably never learned in reruns. Featuring Jerry Mathers, Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond, Tony Dow, and Hugh Beaumont… plus one extremely famous toilet tank.

Chapters:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:41 - #15: Death Rumors Gone Wild — Jerry Mathers
• 03:14 - #14: The Adult Film Star Mix-Up — Ken Osmond
• 04:58 - #13: A Very Different Pilot — Harry Shearer
• 07:20 - #12: A Role Earned by Honesty
• 09:20 - #11: From Pool to Primetime — Tony Dow
• 10:40 - #10: Why June Dressed That Way — Barbara Billingsley
• 13:02 - #9: A TV Dad With Real Convictions — Hugh Beaumont
• 14:45 - #8: When Judy Just Disappeared — Jeri Weil
• 16:47 - #7: Lumpy’s Second Act — Frank Bank
• 18:37 - #6: The Origin of “Beaver”
• 20:10 - #5: A Toilet Tank Changed TV
• 21:41 - #4: The House That Wouldn’t Stay Put
• 23:57 - #3: Breaking Out of the Mold
• 26:05 - #2: TV’s First Real Finale
• 27:50 - #1: A Revival That Meant Something

[stevea]

A lot of these are popping up on Youtube - here one that recently was done on Leave it to Beaver. I've pre-screened it, and found two items not too widely known, or at least pretty interesting:

1. June Cleaver's pearls are widely panned, but here's the real reason she wore them. At 10:40.

2. Was Judy Hensler written out of the show? Find out at 14:45.