It's a Small World (Leave It to Beaver)

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"It's a Small World"
Leave It to Beaver episode
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Mathers and Sullivan
Directed by Jerry Hopper
Written by
Original air dateApril 23, 1957 (1957-04-23)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Beaver Gets 'Spelled"
List of episodes
Billingsley and Adams B cleav01.JPG
Billingsley and Adams

"It's a Small World" is the pilot episode from the American television series Leave It to Beaver (19571963). The pilot (originally proposed as Wally and The Beaver) was first televised April 23, 1957, on the syndicated anthology series, Studio 57 , without a laugh track nor the series' well known theme song, "The Toy Parade". [1] It never aired as an episode within the series. [2] Following its April 1957 telecast, the episode was subsequently misplaced and was feared lost until a copy was found in a film vault in Illinois. After rediscovery, it was aired as the third-season premiere for the 1980s TBS revival series The New Leave It to Beaver on October 4, 1987, exactly 30 years after the original series officially premiered on CBS. [3] It was televised again in October 2007 as part of TV Land's 50th anniversary celebration of Leave It to Beaver. It was released to DVD in 2005. [1] The series made its CBS debut several months later on October 4, 1957, with the episode, "Beaver Gets 'Spelled".

Contents

Plot

Wally and Beaver want a new bicycle. Frankie Bennett, a mischievous boy, tells them new bikes can be had at a local dairy in exchange for 1,000 bottle caps from the company's products. The boys collect the bottle caps, but, in attempting to redeem them, learn they've been duped. Ward takes pity on the boys and buys them a bicycle.

Characters and cast

Production

"It's a Small World" was filmed with a single camera, in full screen black-and-white at Republic Studios and the Universal Studios backlot. Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher wrote the teleplay with Jerry Hopper directing the episode. Richard Lewis produced the episode.

A number of actors who appeared in supporting roles in the pilot were later cast in recurring roles in the series. Diane Brewster appears as Miss Simms, a secretary, with Richard Deacon as Mr. Baxter, Miss Simms' boss. Brewster and Deacon would find roles in the series as Miss Canfield, Beaver's second grade teacher, and Fred Rutherford, Ward's co-worker and father of "Lumpy," Eddie Haskell's easily duped henchman/bully. Other cast members include Russ Thorson as Man with Milk Bottles, Leonard Bremen as Milk Bar Operator, Tim Graham as Doc, and Virginia Carroll as Nurse.

After the series was picked up by CBS, Hugh Beaumont replaced Casey Adams as Ward Cleaver while the role of Wally went to Tony Dow after Sullivan experienced a growth spurt before the series' production. [4] [ page needed ] The character of Frankie Bennett became Eddie Haskell, portrayed by Ken Osmond, after Harry Shearer’s parents decided for Shearer not to continue. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Leave It to Beaver</i> American television sitcom (1957–1963)

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June Evelyn Bronson Cleaver is a principal character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. June and her husband, Ward, are often invoked as the archetypal suburban parents of the 1950s. The couple are the parents of two sons, Wally and "Beaver". Wally is twelve years old and in the seventh grade when the series opens; Beaver is seven years old and in the second grade. Episodes followed the escapades of Wally and Beaver and usually ended with a moral lesson delivered to the boys, but also often included reminders of childhood and minor lessons for the parents through the adventures of their boys. She was included in Yahoo!'s Top 10 TV Moms from Six Decades of Television for the time period 1957–1963.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ward Cleaver</span> Fictional character in an American television series

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Kenneth Charles Osmond was an American actor and police officer. Beginning a career as a child actor at the age of four, Osmond played the role of Eddie Haskell on the late 1950s to early 1960s television situation comedy Leave It to Beaver and reprised it on the 1980s revival series The New Leave It to Beaver. Typecast by the role, he found it hard to get other acting work and became a Los Angeles police officer. After retiring from police work, he resumed his acting career.

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Wallace "Wally" Cleaver is a fictional character in the iconic American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Wally is the thirteen-year-old son of archetypal 1950s suburban parents, Ward and June Cleaver and the older brother of the seven-year-old title character, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver. The characters grew older along with the actors.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Mondello</span> Fictional character

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"Family Scrapbook" is the series finale of the American television series Leave It to Beaver. It is the 39th episode of the sixth season, and the 234th episode overall. Written by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher and directed by series star Hugh Beaumont, the episode originally aired on ABC on June 20, 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaver Gets 'Spelled</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of Leave It to Beaver

"Beaver Gets 'Spelled" is the series premiere of the American television series Leave It to Beaver. The episode is the first episode of the first season of the show. It was written by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, and directed by Norman Tokar. The episode originally aired on CBS on October 4, 1957. It is also available on DVD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Hensler</span> Fictional character

Judy Hensler is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. The show aired from October 4, 1957 to June 20, 1963. Judy is a recurring character portrayed by Jeri Weil. She appeared in 31 of the show's 234 episodes, between October 1957 and October 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Bronson</span> Fictional character

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Canfield</span> Fictional character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver

Miss Canfield is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. She is portrayed by Diane Brewster.

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References

  1. 1 2 Bark, Ed. "Leave it to DVDs to give us the best of the Beav", The Dallas Morning News , November 28, 2005. Accessed January 3, 2008.
  2. King, Susan. "Museums; Weekend Chat; A TV Tribute With No Middle", Los Angeles Times , June 14, 2001. Accessed January 3, 2008.
  3. The New Leave it to Beaver" Episode #68 – "It's a Small World" Cast Introduction October 4, 1987. YouTube (Video). theoriginalbroadcast. November 16, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  4. Mathers, Jerry. ...And Jerry Mathers as "The Beaver". Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998. ( ISBN   0425163709)
  5. The A.V. Club [ bare URL ]

Sources