Aunt Martha | |
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First appearance | "Beaver's Short Pants" |
Last appearance | Leave It to Beaver (1997 film adaptation of the television series) |
Created by | Bob Mosher Joe Connelly |
Portrayed by | Madge Kennedy (television series, 1957-1963) Barbara Billingsley (film adaptation of television series, 1997) |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Female |
Family |
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Relatives |
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Martha Bronson is a fictional recurring character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver . "Aunt Martha," as she is known in the series, appears in five of the show's 234 episodes and is mentioned occasionally but not seen. The character is portrayed by Madge Kennedy.
In the 1997 film adaptation of the series, Leave It to Beaver , Aunt Martha is played by Barbara Billingsley. Billingsley portrayed June Cleaver in the original series.
Aunt Martha (Bronson) is June Cleaver's spinster aunt. June credits Martha with raising her and says Aunt Martha was practically the only mother she ever knew. June spent summers as a girl with her. Beaver was named for Aunt Martha's brother, Theodore, and, in one episode, Beaver receives her brother's heirloom ring. The boys call Martha their "umbrella aunt" because she once gave them umbrellas on their birthdays. Martha lives within a few hours of Mayfield at Riverside. In one episode, the boys take a train trip to her house, and, in another episode, Beaver visits her for the weekend.
Martha makes her first appearance in the first-season episode, "Beaver's Short Pants" when she steps in to take care of Ward and the boys while June visits an out-of-town sister who has given birth. Martha's "old maid" mindset and way of doing things irks the rugged Cleaver males. Martha prepares milk toast for breakfast, for example, and eggplant for dinner. She insists on buying Beaver a short pants suit for school. However, as Beaver is leaving for school, Ward calls him into the garage and gives Beaver a set of "regular" clothes to wear. In relief and gratitude, Beaver gives his father a quick kiss on the cheek. In this episode, Aunt Martha was picked up at the airport so presumably she lived further away than Riverside.
In another episode, Martha and her friend, Mrs. Hathaway, visit the Cleavers on short notice. The boys are forced to cancel plans to attend a carnival with their pals. In her final appearance, Martha presses her wish that Beaver attend a hoity toity prep school (Fallbrook, a school attended by four generations of Bronsons) on the east coast. Although Beaver gives the idea some consideration, he finally tells Martha he would rather attend Mayfield High with the friends he has known for years.
In another inconsistency, Aunt Martha is sometimes referred to as living in Bellport.
In The New Leave It To Beaver Aunt Martha appears in 2 episodes. She is played by Irene Tedrow.
In a previous series, Professional Father , in which Billingsley played the wife of a child psychologist (Stephen Dunne), there was also an "Aunt Martha", the aunt of Billingsley's character.
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It stars Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers.
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.
Gerald Patrick Mathers is an American actor best known for his role in the television sitcom Leave It to Beaver, originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963. He played the protagonist Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the younger son of the suburban couple June and Ward Cleaver and the younger brother of Wally Cleaver.
Barbara Billingsley was an American actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in Three Guys Named Mike (1951), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and Invaders from Mars (1953), and was featured in the 1957 film The Careless Years opposite Natalie Trundy. She then appeared in recurring TV roles, such as The Brothers.
Eugene Hugh Beaumont was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series Leave It to Beaver, originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963; and as private detective Michael Shayne in a series of low-budget crime films in 1946 and 1947.
Ward Cleaver Jr. is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Ward and his wife, June, are often invoked as archetypal suburban parents of the 1950s baby boomers. At the start of the show, the couple are the parents of Wally, a 13-year-old in the eighth grade, and seven-year-old second-grader Theodore, nicknamed "The Beaver". A typical episode from Leave It to Beaver follows a misadventure committed by one or both of the boys, and ends with the culprits receiving a moral lecture from their father and a hot meal from their mother.
Anthony Lee Dow was an American actor, film producer, director and sculptor. He portrayed Wally Cleaver in the iconic television sitcom Leave It to Beaver from 1957 to 1963. From 1983 to 1989, Dow reprised his role as Wally in a television movie and in The New Leave It to Beaver.
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.
The New Leave It to Beaver is an American sitcom sequel to the original 1957–1963 sitcom Leave It to Beaver. The series began with the 1983 reunion television movie Still the Beaver that aired on CBS in March 1983. The success of the television movie prompted the creation of a revival series, also titled Still the Beaver, that aired on The Disney Channel from 1984 to 1985. In 1986, the series was picked up by TBS, where it aired until June 1989. The show also concurrently ran in first-run syndication for the 1988-89 season.
Leave It to Beaver is a 1997 American comedy film based on the television series of the same name. Many in-jokes and sub-plots relating to the series are adapted for the film. It features many of the original regular characters, most played by new actors, with some cameos by the original TV cast. Universal Pictures released it on August 22, 1997.
Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver is the fictional title character in the American television series Leave It to Beaver. Originally played by Jerry Mathers, Beaver is the son of June and Ward Cleaver and the brother of Wally Cleaver.
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Robert "Rusty" Stevens is an American former child actor best remembered for his role as Larry Mondello, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver's young friend, in the original Leave It to Beaver television series. Stevens appeared in 67 of the show's 234 episodes, between 1957 and 1960.
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"Family Scrapbook" is the final episode of the American television series Leave It to Beaver. It last aired on ABC on June 20, 1963. It was the 39th episode in the show's sixth and final season, and the 234th episode in the complete series.
"Beaver Gets 'Spelled" is the premiere episode of the iconic American television series Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963). The episode aired on CBS on October 4, 1957. The episode is the first episode in the first season, and the first episode in the complete series. "Beaver Gets 'Spelled" is available on DVD.
"It's a Small World" is the pilot episode from the iconic American television series Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963). The pilot 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". It never aired as an episode within the series. 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. 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. The series made its CBS debut several months later on October 4, 1957, with the episode, "Beaver Gets 'Spelled".
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.
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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