My Three Sons (1962)

Though it continued to change directors during its first three seasons, from Peter Tewksbury in Season 1, to Richard Whorf in Season 2, to Gene Reynolds in Season 3, My Three Sons had pretty much settled into a formula by the second half of Season 2, alternating between attempted madcap comedic episodes and sentimental melodramatic episodes, both emphasizing the theme that the Douglas family, with its many shortcomings, was as good or better than any other. While its varied formula vaulted it to #11 in the Nielsen ratings for 1961-62, the highest ranking of the show's 12 seasons, it had already started wearing thin by Season 3, when it fell to #28.

The series begins to repeat itself from the outset of 1962 with the episode "Chip Leaves Home" (January 4, 1962) mirroring "Bub Leaves Home" (January 12, 1961) a year prior. Both Chip and Bub feel unappreciated, which is why they seek a better life elsewhere but then come to realize a la Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz that there is no place like home. However, in Chip's case, he doesn't even last a single night on the lam, getting frightened by an alley cat and a pair of police patrolmen so that he sneaks back home and sleeps overnight in the attic. But when Robbie finds his goodbye note stuffed in Tramp's collar and his bed empty, the rest of the family, particularly Steve, manically try to get the police to find him, only to eventually realize he never left. Thus this episode begins with the series' melodramatic mold and switches to its madcap comedy theme. But the series keeps coming back to Chip and Bub feeling unappreciated in future episodes such as "Le Petit Stowaway" (February 15, 1962) in which Chip sneaks on to an airplane Steve is taking on a top-secret business trip to France after their original plans to travel to Chicago together get canceled; "Chip's Party" (March 22, 1962) in which no one shows up for Chip's birthday party because parents are worried about Steve having contracted German measles; "Chip's Last Fight" (November 15, 1962) in which Chip is insulted that he has to have a babysitter on a night when everyone else is going out, so he tries to join a secret boys' club that requires him to fight a bigger boy as a rite of initiation; and "Mother Bub" (December 27, 1962) in which Chip is disappointed that Steve is going to be out of town on his birthday, so he follows Sudsy's advice to fake being sick to nudge Steve into buying him an expensive toy car. 

This last episode also reprises the sentimental trope that Bub is as good if not better than any mother already covered in the Season 2 episode "Chip's Composition" (November 30, 1961): Sudsy tries to convince Chip that he has it made since he doesn't have a mother to say "no" when he wants something after his father has approved it. When is caught Chip faking his illness and tells his father about Sudsy's philosophy of the role mothers and fathers play in a child's life, Steve pulls out photos of Bub baking a cake for Chip's first birthday and escorting him on his first day of school to remind him that Bub has fulfilled all the duties of a typical mother. And when Steve agrees to buy Chip the toy car despite his attempt to trick him into it, Bub puts his foot down because he doesn't want Chip to think he can manipulate his father into getting anything he wants, and Chip willingly lets the toy car go because he says he already has everything he needs, meaning Bub. The idea that Bub is more than a match for any biological mother is reinforced in "What's Cooking?" (November 8, 1962) in which Bub wins a PTA-sponsored cook-off against two female competitors. But like many a housewife, Bub decides to break the monotony of housework to seek employment outside the household in "Bub Gets a Job" (February 8, 1962) only to find out that his "salty" temperament is a poor match for working in retail when he can't restrain himself from telling off demanding customers. The rest of the family, however, comes to appreciate Bub's contributions once again as the boys' cooking efforts while he is busy with his new job are scarcely edible.

Despite the series' efforts to depict the Douglas household as humble but better than any other, again reinforced for Mike and Robbie in "Innocents Abroad" (April 12, 1962) when they sneak off to a nearby town to get jobs during a school break to earn extra money just like Steve's college friend tells them their father did in his youth, the Douglas boys and their father still have many warts that can't be washed away. We've already touched on Chip's underhanded tactics in trying to get a toy car and stowing away on an international flight to France, in addition to passing off a drawing of Bub's as his own work in "The Masterpiece" (March 1, 1962). Robbie intentionally tries to catch Chip's illness to avoid taking a math test that could disqualify him from an important football game in "The Big Game" (March 15, 1962), tries to get rich quick so he can impress girls in "Robbie's Employment Service" (September 27, 1962), fakes a photo with a pretty girl at school to make others thinks he is going out with her in "Pretty as a Picture" (November 1, 1962), turns in an old assignment of his father's as his own so that he can spend a weekend at the lake with another pretty girl in "Steve Gets an A" (November 22, 1962), and cheats on his steady girlfriend forcing her to break up with him in "Going Steady" (December 20, 1962). This last episode paints Steve in an unflattering light as well as he uses the girlfriend's mother's concern about the children being too young to go steady as a way to romance the mother and then tries to excuse Robbie's bad behavior by saying it produced the result the mother wanted in the first place--the ends justify the means, in other words.

And Mike is no angel in "Too Much in Common" (May 10, 1962) when he dumps in Steve's lap a fictitious excuse about why Mike isn't coming home from college one weekend to be with his steady girlfriend when he is really going to a play with a college girl he suddenly finds more interesting. Steve again comes off rather badly by covering for Mike and then can't even apologize when he is called out by the hometown girlfriend's father who is trying to provide a similar fictitious excuse for his daughter who is going out with another guy. Mike is also intimidated into participating in a dangerous prank initiated by his college fraternity superiors in "The Hippopotamus Foot" (May 31, 1962). His fickleness with girls is exposed again in "Weekend in Tokyo" (September 20, 1962) when he complains about going with his family to Japan because he claims to be so serious with his current girlfriend that they are talking about marriage, only once in Tokyo he soon forgets about his American girlfriend when he meets a pretty Japanese woman his own age. His snobbishness almost wins out in "Moment of Truth" (October 11, 1962) when he nearly stiffs a waitress he invited to his fraternity dance after listening to his fraternity brothers tell him how out of her element she would be amongst the uppercrust. In "Heat Wave" (November 29, 1962) he is embarrassed at his own family's simple ways when he invites yet another current girlfriend to dinner, then complains that things aren't fancy enough like what she is used to at her house, a virtual repeat of Robbie's embarrassment in "The Musician" (May 11, 1961). Finally, Mike alternates in "The Beauty Contest" (December 6, 1962) between the ethical choice of not choosing his own girlfriend as a finalist in the beauty contest and then using his position as judge to get dates with the other contestants. Sure, these are all teachable moments, and usually the boys learn what the correct choice should have been from the start, but why, if theirs is an ideal family, do they keep making bad choices each week, seemingly unable to distinguish between right and wrong? Of course, if they did actually grow and learn over time there wouldn't be much of a TV series--who wants to watch a family consistently behaving well? But cycling through the same pattern of mistakes and poor judgment doesn't make for much of one either.

However, Mike's penchant for being accused of dating underage girls is something you might expect to see on Curb Your Enthusiasm, not My Three Sons. And yet, in "Blind Date" (January 18, 1962) Mike and Robbie both have blind dates that wind up getting mixed up when Sudsy takes down the address of Robbie's date but Chip thinks it is for Mike so that college student Mike takes out a 15-year-old. Things get even edgier in "Casanova Trouble" (March 29, 1962) when Steve's secretary is worried about her 13-year-old daughter going out with an older boy. Steve volunteers to help her identify the boy but winds up believing that Mike is the guilty party when the secretary produces Mike's fraternity pin, saying she found it amongst her daughter's things. Of course it turns out that Robbie had borrowed the pin from Mike and had been riding home with the 13-year-old in a friend's car, not actually dating her, so Mike is cleared of any impropriety. On My Three Sons the whole affair is played as a dead serious drama, missing out on the chance for cringe-worthy comedy gold. But then My Three Sons will never be mistaken for a series that was ahead of its time.

And yet in an ironic twist, the show that glorified the all-male household employed a remarkable number of female scriptwriters. Of the 38 episodes aired in 1962, 11 were written or co-written by women. Two were written by Joanna Lee ("Chip Leaves Home" and "Chip's Last Fight"), who also wrote 22 episodes for The Flintstones and multiple episodes for Gilligan's Island, Nanny and the Professor, Room 222, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and The Waltons after a brief career as an actress in which she appeared in such cult classics as Plan 9 From Outer Space and The Brain Eaters. Kitty Buhler wrote "Second Time Around" (January 25, 1962) which brings back Patricia Barry as Steve's former girlfriend Pamela MacLish from the very first episode; though Buhler's scriptwriting career was not extensive, she would later marry decorated Army general Omar N. Bradley. The story for "Bub Gets a Job" was co-written by series casting director Judith Adkins Specht. Dorothy Cooper contributed four episodes in 1962 ("Le Petit Stowaway," "A Holiday for Tramp," "Coincidence," and "Mother Bub") and 23 overall during the series' 12-year run; Cooper worked on many other series in her career, most notably Father Knows Best under the tutelage of original My Three Sons director Peter Tewksbury. Gail Ingram wrote a pair of 1962 episodes ("The Masterpiece" and "The Big Game") and contributed 17 other scripts for the series through 1967; she also worked on earlier TV series Mama, The Big Story, The Millionaire, and Deadline. Muriel Roy Bolton penned the episode "Casanova Trouble" as the last script in a long career that included 38 episodes of The Millionaire and five Henry Aldrich feature films. Shirley Gordon wrote "Daughter for a Day" (October 18, 1962), one of three scripts and stories she provided for My Three Sons between 1961-63; Gordon contributed to 55 scripts for The Bob Cummings Show and later worked on Bewitched and The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Notably, when a story dealt with warmth and emotion, such as in "Daughter for a Day" and "Mother Bub," it was often written by a woman. While on-screen the series suggested that a woman's touch wasn't needed to knit a family close together, behind the scenes was a different story.

As of this post, the first five seasons have been released on DVD by CBS Home Entertainment. However, beginning with Season 3, the releases are manufacture-on-demand (MOD) DVD-Rs, and the film elements used are often truncated syndicated episodes that run 22 or 23 minutes and have not been remastered, so the video quality is considerably below that of the first two seasons. At some point, probably during editing for syndication, the episode "Tramp's First Bite" mistakenly had the credits for "Daughter for a Day" tacked on the end, which is carried forth in the DVD version. The backs of these later DVD sets also note that "Music has been changed for this home entertainment version," meaning it is not the original broadcast music. Even the graphics on these later DVD sets is low-resolution and pixelated, indicating that CBS cut corners and costs at every turn.

The Actors

For the biographies of Fred MacMurray, William Frawley, Tim Considine, Don Grady, and Stanley Livingston, see the 1960 post of My Three Sons. As mentioned in the post on the 1961 episodes, recurring supporting actors--Ricky Allen as Chip's friend Sudsy Pfeiffer, Olive Dunbar as his mother Mrs. Pfeiffer, Peter Brooks as Robbie's friend Hank Ferguson, and Andrew Colmar as Mike's friend Tim Weede--have too little information published online to provide a true biography.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 2, Episode 14, "Chip Leaves Home": Howard Caine (Schaab on The Californians and Maj. Wolfgang Hochstetter on Hogan's Heroes) plays a police desk sergeant.

Season 2, Episode 15, "The Romance of Silver Pines": Ed Begley, Sr. (shown on the near left, starred in Sorry, Wrong Number, The Great Gatsby (1949), Deadline U.S.A., The Turning Point, 12 Angry Men, Sweet Bird of Youth, and Hang 'Em High and played Mr. Koppel on Leave It to Larry) plays vacationer Ed Wallace. Irene Ryan (shown on the far left, appeared in The Woman on the Beach, Bonzo Goes to College, and Desire in the Dust and played Granny Daisy Moses on The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction) plays his wife Rusty. Jan Clayton (starred in Sunset Trail, The Wolf Hunters, and This Man's Navy and played Ellen Miller on Lassie) plays vacationing widow Fran Borden. Dal McKennon (see the biography section for the 1961 post on 87th Precinct) plays resort clerk Mr. MacIvers.

Season 2, Episode 16, "Blind Date": Trudi Ames (appeared in Bye Bye Birdie, Gidget Goes to Rome, and The Impossible Years) plays Robbie's blind date Janie Miller. Carole Costello (daughter of Lou Costello) plays Mike's blind date Bonnie Walters.

Season 2, Episode 17, "Second Time Around": Patricia Barry (shown on the right, played Kate Harris on Harris Against the World, Lydia McGuire on Dr. Kildare, Adelaide Horton Williams on Days of Our Lives, Peg English on All My Children, and Sally Gleason on Guiding Light) plays Steve's former girlfriend Pamela MacLish. George Cisar (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dennis the Menace) plays Steve's work colleague Giles. Wally Brown (appeared in Notorious, The Left Handed Gun, and The Absent-Minded Professor and played Jed Fame on Cimarron City and Chauncey Kowalski on The Roaring '20's) plays Bub's pinochle partner Max. Richard Reeves (Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays pinochle partner Smitty.

Season 2, Episode 18, "The Girls Next Door": Jody Fair (appeared in High School Confidential, Hot Rod Gang, The Brain Eaters, and Sex Kittens Go to College) plays stewardess Dodo. Marlyn Mason (Sally Welden on Ben Casey and Nikki Bell on Longstreet) plays stewardess Ellen. Barbara Lyon (daughter of Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels, popular singer, and played herself on Life With the Lyons and Dream Time With Barbara) plays stewardess Georgia.

Season 2, Episode 19, "Bub Gets a Job": Raymond Bailey (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays department store customer Mr. Dennis. Peggy Mondo (Mama Vitale on To Rome With Love) plays customer Mrs. Bleeker. Rusty Stevens (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Leave It to Beaver) plays her son Cletus. Jonathan Hole (Orville Monroe on The Andy Griffith Show) plays floorwalker Mr. Tully. Bryan O'Byrne (Man in the Middle on Occasional Wife) plays an employment service interviewer.

Season 2, Episode 20, "Le Petit Stowaway": Bill Erwin (Glenn Diamond on Struck by Lightning) plays Steve's boss Joe Walters. Bert Remsen (Detective Lawrence on Peyton Place, Mr. Pell on Gibbsville, Mario on It's a Living, and Jack Crager on Dynasty) plays Steve's business contact Capt. Maynard. Beatrice Richter (shown on the right, was the host of Sketch-Up and played Franziska Velten on Salto Postale and Gerti Schofeld on Storm of Love) plays young French girl Marie.

Season 2, Episode 21, "Robbie Valentino": Nancy Kulp (Pamela Livingstone on The Bob Cummings Show, Jane Hathaway on The Beverly Hillbillies, Mrs. Gruber on The Brian Keith Show, and Mrs. Hopkins on Sanford and Son) plays Robbie's physics teacher Miss Fisher. Judee Morton (appeared in Zotz! and The Slime People and played Dr. Smithson on General Hospital) plays Robbie's classmate Marilyn Turnthurston. 

Season 2, Episode 22, "The Masterpiece": Natalie Masters (shown on the left, played Wilma Clemson on Date With the Angels) plays Chip's teacher Miss Bergen. John Gallaudet (appeared in Pennies From Heaven, Girls Can Play, and In Cold Blood and played Chamberlain on Mayor of the Town, Lt. Dan Harmon on Johnny Midnight, Judge Penner on Perry Mason, and later played Bob Anderson on My Three Sons) plays Sudsy's father Mr. Pfeiffer. Gilman Rankin (Deputy Charlie Riggs on Tombstone Territory) plays Chip's principal Mr. Shutley.

Season 2, Episode 23, "A Holiday for Tramp": Eve Arden (shown on the right, starred in Stage Door, No, No, Nanette, Sing for Your Supper, Mildred Pierce, Tea for Two, Our Miss Brooks, and Anatomy of a Murder and played Connie Brooks on Our Miss Brooks, Liza Hammond on The Eve Arden Show, and Eve Hubbard on The Mothers-in-Law) plays former actress Marisa Montaine. Maudie Prickett (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Hazel) plays her assistant Brownie. Johnny Silver (Ludicrous Lion and Dr. Blinkey on H.R. Pufnstuf) plays Montaine's chauffeur. Reta Shaw (Flora McCauley on The Ann Sothern Show, Thelma on The Tab Hunter Show, Mrs. Stanfield on Oh, Those Bells, and Martha Grant on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) plays Bryant Park Mother of the Year Mrs. Bradshaw. Charles Seel (Otis the Bartender on Tombstone Territory, Mr. Krinkie on Dennis the Menace, and Tom Pride on The Road West) plays a train conductor.

Season 2, Episode 24, "The Big Game": Nancy Kulp (shown on the left, see "Robbie Valentino" above)  plays Robbie's math teacher Miss Fisher. 

Season 2, Episode 25, "Chip's Party": Olive Dunbar (Heather Ruth Jensen on My World and Welcome To It and Bertha Bottomly on Big John, Little John) plays Sudsy's mother Mrs. Pfeiffer. Natalie Masters (see "The Masterpiece" above) returns as Chip's teacher Miss Bergen.

Season 2, Episode 26, "Casanova Trouble": Brenda Scott (shown on the right, married and divorced actor Andrew Prine three times, now married to producer Dean Hargrove, played Midge Pride on The Road West and Dr. Gina Dante Lansing on General Hospital) plays Steve's secretary's daughter Linda Evans. 

Season 2, Episode 27, "The Pencil Pusher": William Tannen (Deputy Hal Norton on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays an Air Force colonel. Sydney Mason (Insp. J.J. Burke on Craig Kennedy, Criminologist and Sheriff Walt Downey on My Friend Flicka) plays Air Force base Fire Chief Miller. William Sargent (Jerry Carter on Peyton Place) plays Air Force pilot Lt. Smith.

Season 2, Episode 28, "Innocents Abroad": Roy Engel (shown on the left, played Doc Martin on Bonanza, the police chief on My Favorite Martian, and President Ulysses S. Grant on The Wild, Wild West) plays Steve's college friend Wally Osborne. 

Season 2, Episode 29, "Robbie the Caddy": Robert J. Wilke (appeared in Best of the Badmen, High Noon, The Far Country, Night Passage, and Stripes and played Capt. Mendoza on Zorro) plays professional golfer Danny Donnigan. Louis Nicoletti (assistant director on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy) plays caddy master Louie. Jimmy Cross (Jesse on How to Marry a Millionaire) plays the golf course steward.

Season 2, Episode 30, "Coincidence": Billy Barty (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Peter Gunn) plays stranded bus passenger Billy Longfellow. Mary Jackson (Emily Baldwin on The Waltons, Sarah Wicks on Hardcastle and McCormick, and Great Grandma Greenwell on Parenthood) plays widowed mother Irene Anderson. Barbara Parkins (starred in Valley of the Dolls, The Mephisto Waltz, and Puppet on a Chain and played Betty Anderson Harrington on Peyton Place) plays her daughter Bobbie. Susan Gordon (appeared in Attack of the Puppet People, Tormented, The Five Pennies, and Picture Mommy Dead) plays her daughter Kit. Verna Felton (Mrs. Day on The Ezio Pinza Show and The Jack Benny Program, Hilda Crocker on December Bride and Pete and Gladys, and voiced Pearl Slaghoople on The Flintstones) plays grandmother Mub.

Season 2, Episode 31, "Air Derby": Wallace Rooney (Andrew Winters on The Doctors and Tim Butterfield on Lou Grant) plays hobby shop owner Pop Johnson. Joey D. Vieira (Hollis Bridwell on The Pride of the Family, Porky Brockway on Lassie, and Norman Zelinko on Hank) plays high-school student Roly-Poly Bates. Ed Prentiss (the narrator on Trackdown and played Carl Jensen on The Virginian) plays his father. Chick Hearn (shown on the left, legendary Los Angeles Lakers play-by-play announcer) plays the air derby announcer. Butch Patrick (Greg Howard on The Real McCoys, Eddie Munster on The Munsters, Gordon Dearing later on My Three Sons, and Mark on Lidsville) plays a hobby shop customer.

Season 2, Episode 32, "Too Much in Common": Carolyn Craig (appeared in Giant, House on Haunted Hill, and Studs Lonigan) plays Mike's girlfriend June Barker. Bill Zuckert (shown on the right, played Arthur Bradwell on Mr. Novak and Chief Segal on Captain Nice) plays her father Harry. Richard Clair (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays June's date Ken Everetts. Don Edmonds (appeared in Gidget Goes Hawaiian, Beach Ball, and Wild Wild Winter and played Nicky D'Angelo on Broadside) plays a school librarian. Josie Lloyd (Nurse Roth on Dr. Kildare) plays Mike's date's friend Linda Prentiss.

Season 2, Episode 33, "Chug and Robbie": Ryan O'Neal (shown on the left, starred in Love Story, What's Up, Doc?, Barry Lyndon, Paper Moon, A Bridge Too Far, and The Main Event and played Tal Garrett on Empire, Rodney Harrington on Peyton Place, Bobby Tannen on Good Sports, Robert Roberts, Jr. on Bull, Jerry Fox on Miss Match, and Max Keenen on Bones) plays high school football hero Chug Williams. Del Moore (Alvin on Life With Elizabeth and Cal Mitchell on Bachelor Father) plays his father. 

Season 2, Episode 34, "Good Influence": George Wallace (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Chip's friend's father Mr. Selby. Mary Anderson (starred in Bahama Passage, The Song of Bernadette, and Lifeboat and played Catherine Harrington on Peyton Place) plays his wife Claire.

Season 2, Episode 35, "The Hippopotamus Foot": Douglas Lambert (Eddie Weeks on General Hospital and Walter Schiff on Inside Story) plays fraternity brother Buzz Talbot. Mike Minor (Steve Elliott on Petticoat Junction and The Beverly Hillbillies and Brandon Kingsley on All My Children) plays fraternity brother Ray. Alexander Lockwood (Judge Owen Baker on Sam Benedict) plays college Dean Talbot. Hank Patterson (shown on the left, played Fred Ziffel on Green Acres and Petticoat Junction and Hank Miller on Gunsmoke) plays college caretaker Quinby Lewis.

Season 2, Episode 36, "The Kibitzers": Lloyd Corrigan (starred in A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob, Hitler's Children, Captive Wild Woman, The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, and Son of Paleface and played Papa Dodger on Willy, Wally Dipple on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Ned Buntline on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Uncle Charlie on Happy, and Professor McKillup on Hank) plays Bub's pinochle partner Mr. Smithfield. Burt Mustin (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Leave It to Beaver) plays pinochle partner Max. Natalie Masters (see "The Masterpiece" above) returns as Chip's teacher Mrs. Bergen. Eddie Quillan (starred in The Grapes of Wrath, Mandarin Mystery, Mutiny on the Bounty, and Hi, Good Lookin'! and played Eddie Edson on Julia and Poco Loco on Hell Town) plays air-conditioning contractor Handley Hewlitt. Bill Erwin (see "Le Petit Stowaway" above) returns as Steve's boss Joe Walters.

Season 3, Episode 1, "Weekend in Tokyo": James Yagi (shown on the left, appeared in The Gallant Hours, Bridge to the Sun, and King Kong vs. Godzilla and played Charlie Wong on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays Steve's Japanese contact Mr. Tanaka. Caroline Kido (appeared in The Nun and the Sergeant and Confessions of an Opium Eater) plays the Douglas' host's granddaughter Kimiko. Buck Young (Deputy Buck Johnson on U.S. Marshal and Sgt. Whipple on Gomer Pyle: USMC) plays Robbie's wrestling coach.

Season 3, Episode 2, "Robbie's Employment Service": Booth Colman (shown on the right, played Zaius on Planet of the Apes, Prof. Hector Jerrold on General Hospital, and Dr. Felix Burke on The Young and the Restless) plays banker Enoch Lieb. Anne Loos (Mrs. Danfield on Mr. Novak) plays Robbie's client Mrs. Edgerton. Barbara Collentine (Charlotte on Nichols) plays client Mrs. Randall. Richard Bull (played the Seaview doctor on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Thatcher on Nichols, and Nels Oleson on Little House on the Prairie) plays city licensor J.C. Dobbins. Patricia Lyon (wife of Robert Fuller) plays Robbie's girlfriend Betty Stone.

Season 2, Episode 3, "Tramp's First Bite": Tim Matheson (shown on the left, played Roddy Miller on Window on Main Street, Jim Horn on The Virginian, Griff King on Bonanza, Quentin Beaudine on The Quest, Rick Tucker on Tucker's Witch, Harry Stadlin on Just in Time, Charlie Hoover on Charlie Hoover, Sheriff Matthew Donner on Wolf Lake, Bill Dunne on Breaking News, John Hoynes on The West Wing, Larry Sizemore on Burn Notice, Dr. Brick Breeland on Hart of Dixie, and Doc Mullins on Virgin River, and voiced Jonny Quest on Jonny Quest, Sinbad, Jr. on Sinbad, Jr. and His Magic Belt, Samson on Young Samson & Goliath, Jace on Space Ghost, Capt. John O'Rourke on The Legend of Calamity Jane, and Brad Chiles on Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated) plays bite victim Alan Edgerton. Anne Loos (see "Robbie's Employment Service" above) plays his mother. Dennis McCarthy (Dr. Sam Hodges on Cimarron City) plays policeman John. Tyler McVey (Maj. Norgrath on Men Into Space) plays a judge.

Season 3, Episode 4, "Moment of Truth": Penney Parker (shown on the right, played Terry Williams on The Danny Thomas Show and Maybelle Jackson on Margie) plays waitress Jackie Acton. Robert Foulk (Ed Davis on Father Knows Best, Sheriff Miller on Lassie, Joe Kingston on Wichita Town, Mr. Wheeler on Green Acres, and Phillip Toomey on The Rifleman) plays her father Pop. Mike Minor (see "The Hippopotamus Foot" above) plays Mike's fraternity brother Duke.

Season 3, Episode 5, "Daughter for a Day": Stanja Lowe (Mrs. Thomas on Peyton Place) plays Steve's old friend Elizabeth Hill. Morgan Brittany (shown on the left, played Kate Simpson on Glitter and Katherine Wentworth on Dallas) plays her young daughter Jeannie. Barbara Lyon (see "The Girls Next Door" above) plays an airline stewardess. 

Season 3, Episode 6, "The Ghost Next Door": Loie Bridge (Chloe Skinridge on Life With Elizabeth) plays next door neighbor Abbe Pearson. 

Season 3, Episode 7, "Pretty as a Picture": Hope Sansberry (shown on the right, played Mrs. Nell Hall on The Phil Silvers Show) plays elderly neighbor Clara Gilbert. 

Season 3, Episode 8, "What's Cooking?": Olive Dunbar (see "Chip's Party" above) returns as Mrs. Pfeiffer. Patsy Garrett (Mrs. Fowler on Nanny and the Professor and Miss Hogarth on Room 222) plays Dorine Peters' mother Agnes. Molly Dodd (Miss Scott on Hazel) plays lifestyle reporter Flora McAvoy.

Season 3, Episode 9, "Chip's Last Fight": Tim Matheson (see "Tramp's First Bite" above) plays secret boys club president Gibbs. Barbara Collentine (shown on the left, see "Robbie's Employment Service" above) plays the mother of another club member Mrs. Aldrich. Celeste Yarnell (Miss Rheingold 1964, starred in Eve, Live a Little, Love a Little, and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice) plays Mike's girlfriend Ginny Stewart. Bill Quinn (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Rifleman) plays the Douglas family doctor.

Season 3, Episode 10, "Steve Gets an A": Mimsy Farmer (shown on the right, starred in Hot Rods to Hell, Riot on Sunset Strip, Devil's Angels, The Wild Racers, and More) plays Robbie's girlfriend Janee Holmes. William Sargent (see "The Pencil Pusher" above) plays Robbie's history teacher Mr. Armstrong.

Season 3, Episode 11, "Heat Wave": Anjanette Comer (starred in The Loved One, The Appaloosa, Guns for San Sebastian, and Rabbit, Run) plays Mike's girlfriend Janie Stempel. Bartlett Robinson (Willard Norton on Wendy and Me and Frank Caldwell on Mona McCluskey) plays Steve's business client Milton Gibson. Olive Dunbar (see "Chip's Party" above) returns as Mrs. Pfeiffer. Templeton Fox (mother of musician Bob Welch) plays paper drive collector Mrs. Fletcher. Billy Beck (Lt. Trask on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, the photo editor on Lou Grant, Charles on Falcon Crest, and Nick Pappasmearos on Son of the Beach) plays a grocery store janitor.

Season 3, Episode 12, "The Beauty Contest": Jeannine Riley (shown on the left, appeared in Strike Me Deadly, The Big Mouth, and Electra Glide in Blue and played Billie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction, Lulu McQueen on Dusty's Trail, and was a regular on Hee Haw) plays beauty contestant Kim Franklin. Nancy McCarthy (Bunny [later recast as Mary Ann] in the original unaired pilot of Gilligan's Island) plays Mike's girlfriend Laurie. Les Brown, Jr. (son of bandleader Les Brown, played Jim Bailey on The Baileys of Balboa and Buzz Coleman on The Young Marrieds) plays college newspaper assistant editor Arch.

Season 3, Episode 13, "Doctor in the House": Oliver McGowan (shown on the right, played Harvey Welk on Empire) plays Steve's former physician Dr. Stasser. Russ Conway (Fenton Hardy on The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure, Gen. Devon on Men Into Space, and Lt. Pete Kile on Richard Diamond, Private Detective) plays Steve's boss Joe Walters. Dorothy Konrad (Mrs. Trilling on The Last Resort) plays neighbor Mrs. Gilbert. Sidney Clute (Sgt. Same Gerke on Steve Canyon, Det. Simms on McCloud, the National Editor on Lou Grant, and Det. Paul La Guardia on Cagney & Lacey) plays a sign painter. Shirley O'Hara (Debbie Flett on The Bob Newhart Show) plays Stasser's nurse.

Season 3, Episode 14, "Going Steady": Marta Kristen (Judy Robinson on Lost in Space) plays Robbie's girlfriend Linda Davis. Lola Albright (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Peter Gunn) plays her mother Paulette. Madge Kennedy (Aunt Martha Branson on Leave It to Beaver) plays Paulette's mother Mrs. Lindsay. Buck Young (see "Weekend in Tokyo" above) returns as Robbie's wrestling coach.

Leave It to Beaver (1961)

As mentioned in our post for the 1960 episodes of Leave It to Beaver, the show demonstrated a remarkable true-to-life depiction of children's perspective on growing up because series co-creator Joe Connelly carried around a notebook to capture what his own sons were going through. And while the series has more recently come in for criticism for dealing with seemingly trivial inconveniences rather than more serious problems such as drug use, teenage pregnancy, or juvenile delinquency, Connelly and partner Bob Mosher were spot on in portraying the root causes of many of these symptoms--peer pressure and the fear of embarrassment. The episodes airing in 1961 still touched on the parenting lessons of Ward and June Cleaver but began to focus more attention on Wally and Beaver's attempts to mature. Part of this shift was forced by actor Jerry Mathers' very noticeable drop in his voice at the beginning of Season 5, when he is a 12-year-old 6th grader. But the topic of maturation had already become a staple of stories in the latter half of Season 4.

Beaver begins to sense that things are changing for him in "Beaver's Old Buddy" (February 4, 1961) when he is excited at the prospect of having an old friend of his, Jackie Waters, spend the night at his house so that the two can relive all the fun things they used to do together, like swinging on a tire swing and hunting for pollywogs. But once Jackie arrives and he and Beaver have a chance to do all of their old favorites, they find that they aren't as fun as they used to be. And even Ward and June's attempts to find other activities that they will enjoy together don't work out so that Jackie winds up calling his parents to come pick him up early. Ward tries to explain to Beaver that this is all part of growing up, but Beaver later tells Wally the lesson he has learned is not to build up his hopes only to have them dashed. Instead, he says he plans to expect nothing special so that he won't be let down.

In "Junior Fire Chief" (May 20, 1961) Beaver gets to try out being an authority when he is elected class fire chief and is authorized to hand out citations to anyone he finds violating fire safety standards, but the ascension to power quickly goes to his head, and he is overzealous in handing out citations to his family and neighbors, irritating everyone. June tells Ward he should have a talk with Beaver about going overboard, but Ward counters that Beaver needs to learn for himself, which he does, but not in the way Ward imagines. Instead, he has a discussion with Gus the Fireman, who says he never handed out as many citations in his entire career as Beaver has given out in 1 week, and that he has always found it more effective to be nice to people and explain to them politely what they should do about fire safety rather than coming down hard on them. Beaver takes Gus' words to heart, tears up his citations, and is later commended by Miss Landers for learning such a valuable lesson when he is asked to give a report to his class at the end of the week.

However, Beaver is still susceptible to peer pressure, particularly from his friend Gilbert Bates, who grows more like Eddie Haskell in continuing to goad Beaver into foolish decisions, particularly in "The School Picture" (April 22, 1961) when he dares Beaver to make a goofy face when their school picture is being taken, leading Beaver to believe that Gilbert would also do it. But after the picture is taken with Beaver looking ridiculous, Gilbert tells him he didn't make a face because doing so would be stupid. In "Kite Day" (June 10, 1961) Gilbert badgers Beaver into taking his just-completed kite that he had worked on with Ward for a test run even though Ward had told him not to fly it until the glue had set. Of course, the kite crashes and splinters into a million pieces, prompting Gilbert to tell Beaver that his father is going to kill him before running off to leave him to face the problem alone. And in "In the Soup" (May 6, 1961), it's Whitey who calls Beaver chicken after daring him to climb a billboard with a steaming bowl of soup at the top to see if the bowl has real soup or not, resulting in Beaver falling into the bowl and having to be rescued by a fireman while the whole neighborhood watches. So while Beaver is trying on new levels of responsibility in "Junior Fire Chief" and "Beaver Goes Into Business" (June 3, 1961), in which he tries cutting lawns with Gilbert, he still hasn't learned how to be his own person and brush off peer pressure from "friends" like Gilbert and Whitey.

Nor is the older Wally totally immune from being set up, as shown in "Wally's Track Meet" (January 28, 1961). He winds up getting kicked off the track team for violating the coach's no horseplay rule after retaliating against Eddie and Lumpy who throw wet towels at him in the locker room just before the coach walks in. But most of his dilemmas revolve around girls, such as in "Teacher's Daughter" (January 7, 1961) in which he is spending considerable time with Julie Foster, whose father is his English teacher. Eddie considers this a smart move in getting a better grade, but Mr. Foster tells him his dating situation will have no effect on his grade. Yet strangely Ward advises him not to go steady with Julie because he may miss out on meeting someone who would be better suited for him and will deprive her of perhaps meeting a better match, too. And yet at no time is there any evidence that Wally and Julie are not suited to each other. In "Mother's Helper" (March 4, 1961) Wally's grades begin to suffer because he spends his afternoons after school helping June's teenage hired helper Margie Manners instead of doing his homework, a problem that June quickly rectifies by replacing the daughter with the mother to help with her chores. And in "Wally's Dream Girl" (April 15, 1961) June helps burst Wally's infatuation with the new girl in school, Ginny Townsend, by inviting Ginny on a family picnic, where Wally sees that Ginny is allergic to chicken and sunshine, as well as being so worried about her weight that she won't eat a hard-boiled egg. Yet he also shows his growing maturity in "Substitute Father" (June 24, 1961) when Ward tells him to fill his shoes while he is away on a business trip, and he has to have a parent-teacher conference with Beaver and Miss Landers after she catches Beaver yelling profanity at a bully who tripped him. Though Miss Landers is at first skeptical about Wally filling in, figuring that Beaver is just trying to get out of telling his real parents what he has done, Wally and Beaver manage to convince her that Wally has a history of steering Beaver's behavior in the right direction and correcting him when he goes astray. They finally let June know how Wally handled the situation without ever telling her exactly what Beaver said, so that she tells Ward on the phone that he should bring back something special for Wally as a sign of taking such a significant step in becoming an adult.

But the most surprising indication of coming maturation, if also the most brief, is from Eddie Haskell in "Eddie Spends the Night" (March 25, 1961) in which he cajoles Wally into asking his parents if Eddie can spend the night at the Cleaver's while not mentioning that his real motive is to avoid to spending the night alone at his own home with his parents out of town. After Eddie angers Wally by cheating at chess and then storms home, Ward gets a call from Eddie's father saying how much he appreciates the Cleavers taking Eddie in since he is uncomfortable being home alone. Ward is then obligated to go with Wally to Eddie's house to bring him back, though Eddie pretends that he isn't frightened and that his parents are actually home. Beaver lets Eddie know in a one-on-one conversation in the Cleaver's kitchen that he knows the real story and admits that he has the same fear, which prompts Eddie to admit that he puts on a show of fake confidence but deep down inside knows that he isn't fooling himself. But his vulnerability is short-lived because in the very next episode, "Beaver's Report Card" (April 1, 1961), he is back to his old tricks in changing a grade on Beaver's report card from a D- to a B+ just to get Beaver in trouble. And he gives Beaver bad advice in "Beaver Goes Into Business" by telling him he should mow people's lawns without checking with them first and then hold out his hand demanding payment, only to have Beaver and Gilbert ruin a man's well-manicured lawn that he had paid a professional gardener to maintain. However, in "Beaver's Doll Buggy" (June 17,1961) Eddie reveals that he is always pulling pranks on others because of a traumatic childhood experience in which his mother sent him to kindergarten one day with a home permanent that resulted in ridicule from his classmates. He explains that this incident prompted him to try to always get the jump on others and make them feel bad before they have the chance to do it to him. It's certainly not a mature approach to life or one that will make one very successful or well-liked, but it's one that rings true to life--victims of abusive or traumatic events tend to develop defense mechanisms to avoid being vulnerable again.

Season 3 kicks off not only with Beaver's suddenly deeper voice but a new introductory credit sequence that replaces Ward and June sending the boys off to school with a new sequence in which she brings out a tray of ice tea for Ward and the boys who are doing yard work. The first episode of the new season, Wally Goes Steady" (September 24, 1961), then dives right into the family's angst over Wally perhaps growing up too fast when Ward hears locker room chatter from Wally's girlfriend's father that they may soon be in-laws, given how much time their children are spending together. When Wally is then invited to dinner with girlfriend Evelyn's married sister and her husband, who are only three years older than Wally and Evelyn, June in particular is worried that Wally will get a glimpse of marital bliss and want to take the plunge himself, though the actual outcome is exactly the opposite--Wally sees the newlyweds arguing, unable to keep up with their finances without help from Evelyn's parents, and Wally's counterpart in the couple reminiscing about his earlier carefree life. Wally later tells June that as long as you're having a good time, there is no reason to get involved with marriage.

Beaver then takes his turn at wanting to be more grown-up in "No Time for Babysitters" (October 7, 1961) when he resists having to have a babysitter when his parents go out for the evening and Wally is also gone on a date. To make matters worse, Gilbert and Richard don't believe it when he tells them that he is going to spend the evening alone, so they come over just to see his babysitter and tease him, only they are foiled because Beaver's babysitter understands how he feels after going through something similar when she was younger and helps Beaver out by hiding so that Gilbert and Richard can't find her. Beaver also wants to appear more grown-up in "Beaver's Ice Skates" (December 2, 1961) when he decides to buy some new ice skates after seeing a sale ad in the newspaper but doesn't want June to go with him when he buys them. However, an unscrupulous salesman ends up selling him a pair that are far too big when he discovers they are out of Beaver's size, and rather than admit to his parents that he has been duped, he hides out in the library for a week while his parents think he is at the ice rink just to avoid the embarrassment of hearing them tell him about his error. However, when they finally do learn the truth and Ward lectures him that he should only take responsibility when he is ready to hold it, Wally counters with the question how can he know whether he is ready to hold it if he never takes it? Ward has to admit that it is a dilemma, one that gives many a parent gray hair. This is yet another example of how Leave It to Beaver was anything but a series of pat, black-and-white lessons. At other times, such as the aforementioned "Junior Fire Chief," Ward recognizes that in order for Beaver to grow he will have to sometimes experience failure, but in "Beaver's Ice Skates," Wally has to remind Ward of this essential lesson.

Other episode titles in Season 5 seem to suggest more dramatic growth experiences than they deliver--"Wally's Car" (October 14, 1961), "Beaver Takes a Drive" (November 18, 1961), and "Beaver's First Date" (December 30, 1961)--but they show that more adult-oriented opportunities are coming. Despite their growing familiarity with adult issues, Wally and Beaver in particular continue having a hard time imagining their parents ever being as young as they are, or of themselves ever being in a position that their parents are currently. In "Wally's Chauffeur" (December 23, 1961) Beaver says he can't imagine Ward ever being small enough to be have to be told to take a bath. In "Beaver Takes a Drive" Beaver thinks that Ward had it easier as a boy because there were fewer ways to get into trouble, even though Ward explained to him earlier that they, too, had automobiles in his day. And in "No Time for Babysitters" Beaver tells Wally that he is going to let his kids do whatever they want instead of feeling like he has to protect them, that is, until Wally asks if he is going to let his kids hang from a rickety bridge 200 feet in the air. Though he wants to be treated like an adult, until it results in dealing with a thorny problem, Beaver has a hard time seeing himself as ever being anything other than what he is at the present.

For Wally, his greatest fear is public humiliation, a fear he shares with Beaver. In "Wally's Big Date" (November 25, 1961) Eddie Haskell tricks Wally into switching the girls from another school they are assigned to take to a dance when Eddie at first gets stuck with a girl who is very tall. When Wally meets her at the malt shop to discuss details about their date and then notices when she gets up out of her booth and leaves to meet her mother that she is a good head taller than he is, he is thrown into a panic and is most concerned that the other boys at the dance will laugh at him. Ward forces him to go anyway, making him consider how his date would feel if he were to cancel on her, and Wally is surprised when she shows up appearing no taller than he is simply by not teasing her hair up and wearing flats instead of heels. But he faces the same predicament in "Wally's Chauffeur" when Ward forbids him from riding up to a dance at the lake in Lumpy's car with two other couples because of Lumpy's poor driving record. When his date Evelyn, who already has her driver's license while Wally has yet to get his, shows up driving her father's car, Wally at first refuses to come downstairs because he knows that he will be teased mercilessly for being driven to the dance by a girl. And this time he is correct as Lumpy makes a point of ribbing him as soon as he sees Evelyn drive up to the dance hall. Of course, Wally gets the last laugh when a traffic cop gives Lumpy a ticket for parking in a red zone and all the kids who had ridden up with Lumpy ask if they can ride back with Evelyn. Though things turn out fine in both situations, one has the feeling that it will take a few more incidents such as these for Wally to grow thick enough skin not to worry about how he will look in front of the other guys if he is forced to do something unconventional. The allure of fitting in exerts a strong pull well into adulthood, a point in the future beyond the scope of this series.

The Actors

For the biographies of Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow, Jerry Mathers, Ken Osmond, Frank Bank, Stanley Fafara, and Sue Randall, see the 1960 post on Leave It to Beaver.

Stephen Talbot

Stephen Henderson Talbot, born February 28, 1949, was the son of veteran actor Lyle Talbot (profiled in the biography section of the 1960 post on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) who years later said that he begged his parents to let him get into acting. He began appearing in guest spots on a variety of programs in 1959 including Lawman, Sugarfoot, and Wanted Dead or Alive. That year he would also make the first of 57 appearances as Beaver's friend Gilbert Bates (though he was actually Gilbert Gates in his first appearance) over the remainder of the series. His lone feature film appearance came in the 1960 teen drama Because They're Young, and his last acting credit came the same year that Leave It to Beaver ended in 1963. 

After graduating from Harvard High School in North Hollywood in 1966, he attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut and began making films against the Vietnam War. After graduating in 1970, he went to work for the State University of New York College at Old Westbury, first as an assistant to the university president and eventually as a lecturer in the American Studies program. In the 1980s he worked as a staff reporter and producer for PBS television affiliate KQED in San Francisco where he produced local documentaries as well as national documentaries that aired on PBS. His first such documentary Broken Arrow: Can a Nuclear Weapons Accident Happen Here? won him a Peabody Award in 1980, and he won a second Peabody two years later for a biography of crime fiction writer Dashiell Hammett. Beginning in 1992 he began producing documentaries for the PBS series Frontline and won a DuPont Award for his coverage of the 1992 U.S. Presidential election The Best Campaign Money Can Buy. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks he was tapped to be the series editor for a new series called Frontline World in the hopes of raising awareness about other countries. He produced 94 episodes for the series running through 2010. He has continued writing and producing documentaries up to the present day, producing The Kansas Experiment for Independent Lens and writing Moscone: A Legacy of Change about slain San Francisco mayor George Moscone both in 2018. He currently lives in San Francisco with his wife Pippa Gordon.

Karen Sue Trent

Born March 14, 1948, Karen Sue Trent made her film debut in the pro-nudist feature Garden of Eden playing the young daughter of a woman who unknowingly spends the night in a nudist camp after her car breaks down nearby. The film was the subject of a lawsuit whose verdict ruled that nudity on film was not inherently obscene. After appearing on Broadway in a production of Six Characters in Search of an Author in 1955, she made her television debut in an episode of Matinee Theater in 1957. After single appearances on Death Valley Days, Shirley Temple's Storybook, and Wagon Train in 1958-59, she was cast as Beaver antagonist Penny Woods in 1960 and appeared in the role 13 times between 1960-62. The following year she appeared in an episode of The Rifleman and reportedly was injured filming a scene in which her character was trapped in quicksand, which prompted her to quit her acting career. Her whereabouts and occupations since then have not been documented.

Richard Correll

Richard Thomas Correll was born in Los Angeles on May 14, 1948, the son of Charles J. Correll, who played Andy Brown on the long-running radio comedy Amos 'n' Andy. Correll's father was also a gag writer for silent comedy star Harold Lloyd near the end of Lloyd's career, a connection that would serve the younger Correll well: as a teenager he began helping Lloyd organize and preserve his extensive film library and would go on to be a significant contributor to the 1991 documentary about Lloyd The Third Genius. Today he is credited as the chief archivist by The Lloyd Trust. Jerry Mathers has named Correll as his best friend growing up, as indicated on Mathers' web site. Correll broke into TV acting on a 1955 episode of The Bob Cummings Show but didn't really gather steam until 1960, when he not only made the first of 31 appearances as Beaver's friend Richard Rickover but also had guest spots on The Betty Hutton Show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and Make Room for Daddy. Concurrent with his Leave It to Beaver appearances, he also appeared on National Velvet, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Hazel, and Lassie, which was the only TV show he appeared on after Leave It to Beaver was canceled. In 1973 in the film Showdown he played Dean Martin's character as a boy, but other than reprising Richard Rickover for Beaver reunion movies and the 1983-85 series reboot, Correll moved into TV producing, writing, and directing after attending film school at USC.

In the early 1980s he began writing for series such as Happy Days and moved into producing shows such as Valerie and Full House by 1987. In the 1990s he produced many more TV programs including 86 episodes of Family Matters, 50 episodes of Step by Step, and 14 episodes of Two of a Kind. After producing 8 episodes of The Jamie Foxx Show in 1999-2000, he moved into children's programming on channels such as the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon and produced multiple episodes of The Amanda Show starring Amanda Bynes, So Little Time starring the Olsen Twins, All That, That's So Raven, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody before going on to create the Miley Cyrus series Hannah Montana. But in 2010 he sued Disney for unfair termination and failure to pay him creative royalties for the show. Since then he has continued producing a number of TV series, including some for Disney, as well as Are We There Yet?, See Dad Run, Jessie, Bunk'd, and the Full House reboot Fuller House.

Cheryl Holdridge

Born Cheryl Lynn Phelps in New Orleans on June 20, 1944, she was adopted by her step-father in 1953 after her mother had relocated to Burbank, California three years prior. Her birth father has never been identified. She took dance lessons from an early age and made her show business debut at age 9 while performing in a New York City Ballet performance of The Nutcracker in Los Angeles. After an uncredited appearance in the feature film Carousel  in 1956, she auditioned for and was selected for the original troupe of Mouseketeers on The Mickey Mouse Club beginning in 1956 and appeared in two of the program's serials Boys of the Western Sea and Annette in 1958. In 1959 she made the first of four appearances on Bachelor Father, the last 3 as Lila Meredith, and made her first of two appearances on Leave It to Beaver as Gloria Cusick. Beginning in 1961, she appeared 6 more times on the program as Wally's friend Julie Foster. 

During her years on Leave It to Beaver she also appeared on a number of other TV programs, such as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, My Three Sons, Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. In 1964, the year after Beaver was canceled, she continued getting guest spots on shows such as Bewitched, Wagon Train, and The Dick Van Dyke Show, but she retired from acting when she married race car driver Lance Reventlow, the lone child of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. After Reventlow died in a plane crash in 1972, she married car rental owner Jim Skarda but returned to acting briefly to reprise her role as Julie Foster on two episodes of The New Leave It to Beaver in 1985 and 1987. She divorced Skarda in 1988 and married California political operative Manning J. Post in 1994, at which time she became active in philanthropic concerns such as serving on the council of the Children's Burn Foundation and supporting environmental causes. She made one last acting appearance in the feature film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas  in 2000 and died from lung cancer on January 6, 2009 at the age of 64.

Pamela Baird

Born Pamela Beaird in Bexar County, Texas on April 6, 1945, she broke into acting playing Hildy Broberg on the TV series My Friend Flicka, on which she would appear 12 times from 1955-56. She appeared twice in 1956 on The Mickey Mouse Club as a singer, the first of these when she won the Talent Round-Up segment on the November 2 episode and then returned to sing again on the December 24 episode. She also appeared in a number of other drama anthology series and one-off guest spots on shows such as Our Miss Brooks, Fury, and The Adventures of Jim Bowie over the next two years before appearing 4 times as Nancy on Bachelor Father in 1958. That was the same year she made the first of her 6 appearances as Wally's love interest Mary Ellen Rogers on Leave It to Beaver. During this time she performed in the vocal trio The Holly-Tones with her two cousins Deanna and Joyce Beaird and also released a single as a solo artist "My Second Date" on Dynasty Records in 1960. 

Her last appearance on Beaver came in 1961 after which she appeared on only a half dozen shows between 1962-64 including Make Room for Daddy, Perry Mason, and two appearances on Mr. Novak. After graduating from Covina High School in 1963, Pamela left the acting profession a year later and attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, from which she graduated in 1968. In 1973 she married Robert H. Hensley, who had performed as a singer under the name Jericho Brown and as an actor under the name Bob Henry. Hensley had left the entertainment business for Christian ministry in 1970, and the couple settled in the Arlington, Texas area and had five children. She pursued a Masters Degree in Education at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas and graduated with a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Liberty University in 2015. Her husband passed away in 2016 at the age of 80.

Burt Mustin

Born in Pittsburgh on February 8, 1884, Burton Hill Mustin didn't take up acting until age 67. His father was a stockbroker, and Mustin graduated from Pennsylvania Military College in 1903 with a degree in civil engineering and experience as the school's goalie on its hockey team. After giving engineering a try, he gave it up and became an automobile salesman, first for Oakland, then Franklin, and finally for Lincoln and Mercury up until World War II, at which point he worked for the Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce. Besides appearing in local productions of a Gilbert & Sullivan troupe and The Pittsburgh Opera, in 1921 Mustin became the announcer for a variety program on Pittsburgh's KDKA radio station. That same year he was one of the original founders of Pittsburgh's Lions Club. He also was a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society and traveled to San Francisco in 1925 to take part in a quartet competition. But his acting career didn't get started until he retired and moved with his wife to Tucson, Arizona where director William Wyler saw him in a theater production of Detective Story and told him to look him up if he wanted to pursue a film career. As a result, Mustin was cast in the film version of Detective Story in 1951 and from there had a long and prolific career. He made his television debut the same year in an episode of The Adventures of Kit Carson , and while his feature film credits outnumbered his TV guest appearances over the next several years, he made 5 appearances on Our Miss Brooks between 1952-55 before landing his first recurring role as Foley on The Great Gildersleeve in 1955-56. This was followed by a stint as Mr. Finley on Date With the Angels in 1957-58 and the first of 14 appearances as Gus the Fireman on Leave It to Beaver in 1957, continuing in the role until 1962.

Concurrent with his appearances on Beaver, he was cast as Jud Fletcher on The Andy Griffith Show, making 9 appearances as this character through 1966 as well as playing a few other characters during that span. He also continued getting guest spots on a number of other TV series including The Texan, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Dr. Kildare, and The Twilight Zone. At this point his TV work far outpaced his feature film roles, but he did appear in the Don Knotts comedies The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Reluctant Astronaut, and The Shakiest Gun in the West. In 1971 he was cast opposite Queenie Smith as part of an elderly couple in the sketch comedy series The Funny Side, which lasted less than 6 months, but he continued to find work on shows such as Love, American Style and Adam-12 before playing Justin Quigley on 4 episodes of All in the Family between 1973-76. In 1976 he also appeared 3 times on Phyllis as the suitor of Phyllis' cranky grandmother-in-law Mother Dexter. He passed away the next year on January 28, 1977 at the age of 92.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 4, Episode 15, "Teacher's Daughter": Ross Elliott (shown on the left, played Freddie the director on The Jack Benny Program and Sheriff Abbott on The Virginian) plays Wally's English teacher Mr. Foster.

Season 4, Episode 18, "Wally's Track Meet": John Close (Lt. John Jameson on Big Town) plays Wally's track coach Mr. Henderson. Richard Deacon (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Dick Van Dyke Show) plays Lumpy's father Fred Rutherford.

Season 4, Episode 19, "Beaver's Old Buddy": Gary Hunley (Mickey on Sky King) plays Beaver's old friend Jackie Waters.

Season 4, Episode 20, "Beaver's Tonsils": John Gallaudet (Chamberlain on Mayor of the Town, Judge Penner on Perry Mason, and Bob Anderson on My Three Sons) plays physician Dr. Kirby.

Season 4, Episode 21, "The Big Fish Count": Jennie Lynn (Jennie Baker on Love and Marriage) plays little girl Sally Ann Maddox.

Season 4, Episode 23, "Mother's Helper": Candy Moore (shown on the right, played Angie on The Donna Reed Show, Chris Carmichael on The Lucy Show, and hosted The Dream Girl of 1967) plays June's helper Margie Manners.

Season 4, Episode 24, "The Dramatic Club": Katherine Warren (appeared in The Lady Pays Off, The Glenn Miller Story, and The Caine Mutiny) plays math teacher Mrs. Prescott.

Season 4, Episode 25, "Wally and Dudley": Jimmy Hawkins (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Donna Reed Show) plays Wally's new classmate Dudley McMillan. Marta Kristen (Judy Robinson on Lost in Space)  plays Eddie Haskell's girlfriend Christine Staples.

Season 4, Episode 28, "Mistaken Identity": Alan Hewitt (starred in That Touch of Mink, Days of Wine and Roses, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and played Det. Bill Brennan on My Favorite Martian) plays police Lt. Barnes. Marvin Bryan (Lt. Bacon on Yancy Derringer) plays police Officer Medford.

Season 4, Episode 29, "Wally's Dream Girl": Linda Bennett (appeared in The Big Heat, Creature With the Atom Brain, and Queen Bee and was a recording artist whose credits include one of the worst Christmas singles of all time, "An Old Fashioned Christmas (Daddy's Home)") plays Wally's crush Ginny Townsend.

Season 4, Episode 30, "The School Picture": Gage Clarke (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Gunsmoke) plays school photographer Mr. Baxter. Doris Packer (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays school principal Mrs. Rayburn.

Season 4, Episode 31, "Beaver's Rat": Richard Deacon (shown on the far right, see "Wally's Track Meet" above) returns as Fred Rutherford. Veronica Cartwright (shown on the near right, starred in The Birds, The Children's Hour, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Alien, The Right Stuff, and The Witches of Eastwick and played Jemima Boone on Daniel Boone, Molly Hark on Tanner '88, A.D.A. Margaret Flanagan on L.A. Law, Cassandra Spender on The X-Files, Valerie Shenkman on Invasion, and Bun Waverly on Eastwick) plays his daughter Violet.

Season 4, Episode 32, "In the Soup": Harry Holcombe (appeared in The Fortune Cookie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Foxy Brown, Escape to Witch Mountain, and Empire of the Ants and played Frank Gardner on Search for Tomorrow, Doc Benson on My Mother the Car, Mr. Kendricks on Barefoot in the Park, and Dr. J.P. Martin on Bonanza) plays Whitey's father Frank Whitney.

Season 4, Episode 33, "Community Chest": Lee Meriwether (shown on the left, starred in Batman: The Movie, Angel in My Pocket, and The Undefeated and played Anne Reynolds on The Young Marrieds, Nurse Bonnie Tynes on Dr. Kildare, Dr. Ann MacGregor on The Time Tunnel, Tracey on Mission: Impossible, Lee Sawyer on The New Andy Griffith Show, Betty Jones on Barnaby Jones, Lily Munster on The Munsters Today, Ruth Martin on All My Children, and Birdie Spencer on Project: Phoenix) plays a young woman donating to the community chest.

Season 4, Episode 36, "Beaver Goes Into Business": Amzie Strickland (Mrs. Phillips on The Bill Dana Show and Julia Mobey on Carter Country) plays a woman whose lawn Beaver mows. William Stevens (Officer Jerry Walters on Adam-12) plays a man upset after Beaver cuts his lawn.

Season 4, Episode 37, "Kite Day": Jason Robards, Sr. (father of Jason Robards, Jr.) plays judge Mr. Henderson.

Season 4, Episode 38, "Beaver's Doll Buggy": Jean Vanderpyl (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Flintstones) plays Penny Woods' mother Mrs. Woods. Jennie Lynn (see "The Big Fish Count" above) plays little girl Patty Ann Maddox.

Season 5, Episode 1, "Wally Goes Steady": Pat McCaffrie (Chuck Forrest on Bachelor Father and Dr. Edgar Harris on Outlaws) plays Ward's athletic club acquaintance Bill Boothby. Mary Mitchel (appeared in Twist Around the Clock, Panic in Year Zero, A Swingin' Summer, and Dementia 13) plays his daughter Evelyn. Ryan O'Neal (shown on the far left, starred in Love Story, What's Up, Doc?, Barry Lyndon, Paper Moon, A Bridge Too Far, and The Main Event and played Tal Garrett on Empire, Rodney Harrington on Peyton Place, Bobby Tannen on Good Sports, Robert Roberts, Jr. on Bull, Jerry Fox on Miss Match, and Max Keenen on Bones) plays his son-in-law Tom Henderson.

Season 5, Episode 2, "No Time for Babysitters": Barbara Parkins (shown on the right, starred in Valley of the Dolls, The Mephisto Waltz, and Puppet on a Chain and played Betty Anderson Harrington on Peyton Place) plays Beaver's babysitter Judy Walker.

Season 5, Episode 3, "Wally's Car": Ralph Sanford (Mayor Jim Kelley on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays junkman Mr. Garvey.

Season 5, Episode 5, "Beaver's Cat Problem": Grace Wallis Huddle (mother of Sue Ane Langdon) plays cat owner Mrs. Prentiss.

Season 5, Episode 6, "Wally's Weekend Job": Tim Graham (Homer Ede on National Velvet) plays drugstore owner Mr. Gibson. Bill Baldwin (the narrator on Harbor Command and Bat Masterson and the announcer on The Bob Cummings Show) plays Mary Ellen Rogers' father Mr. Rogers.

Season 5, Episode 7, "Beaver Takes a Drive": Maurice Manson (shown on the left, played Frederick Timberlake on Dennis the Menace, Josh Egan on Hazel, and Hank Pinkham on General Hospital) plays traffic court Judge Morton. Gail Bonney (Goodwife Martin on Space Patrol and Madeline Schweitzer on December Bride) plays his clerk. Stuffy Singer (Donnie Henderson on Beulah and Alexander Bumstead on Blondie) plays Wally's friend Steve.

Season 5, Episode 8, "Wally's Big Date": Judee Morton (appeared in Zotz! and The Slime People and played Dr. Smithson on General Hospital) plays Wally's original dance date Marjorie Muller. Laraine Stephens (Susan Wentworth on O.K. Crackerby!, Diane Waring on Brackens World, and Claire Kronski on Matt Helm) plays Wally's new date Gail Preston.

Season 5, Episode 9, "Beaver's Ice Skates.": Stanley Clements (Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie in 6 Bowery Boys feature films) plays a shoe salesman.

Season 5, Episode 10, "Weekend Invitation": David Kent (later played Bill Scott on Leave It to Beaver) plays Wally's new classmate Scott. Richard Deacon (see "Wally's Track Meet" above) returns as Fred Rutherford.

Season 5, Episode 12, "Wally's Chauffeur": Mary Mitchel (see " Wally Goes Steady " above) returns as Wally's girlfriend Evelyn Boothby. James Seay (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays her father. Mark Allen (Matt Kissel on The Travels of Jamie McPheeters and Sam Evans on Dark Shadows) plays a policeman.