Beaver Cleaver
Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver | |
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It's a Small World" (pilot) (April 23, 1957) | |
Last appearance | Leave It to Beaver (1997 film adaptation) |
Created by | Joe Connelly Bob Mosher |
Portrayed by | Jerry Mathers (1957–1963 teleseries, 1983 reunion telemovie Still the Beaver, 1985–1989 teleseries The New Leave It to Beaver) Cameron Finley (1997 film adaptation of original teleseries Leave It to Beaver) |
In-universe information | |
Alias | "Beaver" |
Gender | Male |
Family |
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Spouse | Kimberly (divorced) |
Children | Kip Cleaver Oliver Cleaver |
Relatives |
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Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver is the fictional
The Beaver prefers "messin' around" with his pals and reading comic books to attending church or taking dance lessons. Most episodes in the series feature the Beaver getting into trouble at home, in school, or around the neighborhood and then receiving timely and appropriate moral instruction from his father regarding his misbehavior.
Leave It to Beaver was created by the writers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, who found inspiration for dialogue and plot lines among their own children. The Beaver was based on Connelly's son Ricky.
Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver was portrayed by
Beaver's family
The Cleavers live in the fictional town of Mayfield. Ward is a white-collar, briefcase-toting businessman, whose actual occupation is never mentioned; he states he was an engineer while serving as a
Beaver's relatives
The Beaver has a paternal great uncle, Billy (Edgar Buchanan), who makes a few appearances in the series. Billy, a world traveller, is not entirely trusted by June because he fills her sons' heads with fancies of irresponsible living. The Beaver also has a maternal great aunt, Martha Bronson (Madge Kennedy), who buys the Beaver a short pants suit and wants him to attend a hoity toity prep school on the east coast. The Beaver was named for Martha's brother, Theodore, and in one episode, Martha gives the Beaver Theodore's heirloom ring. The Beaver also has a maternal aunt named Peggy, and an infant cousin (neither of whom appear on the show). No grandparents or other relatives appear on the show, though Ward and June occasionally mention their parents while recalling incidents from their childhoods.
Beaver's friends and enemies
The Beaver's best friends are
The Beaver is sometimes led astray by his school friends. In one episode, for example, Larry Mondello tells the Beaver the principal has a spanking machine in her office and the Beaver steals in to take a peek. He is accidentally locked in the office and calls the fire department to be freed. His parents are furious.
The Beaver's enemies are loud-mouthed, snitching classmate
The Beaver is often exploited by others or becomes the victim of malicious persons. In one episode, Wally's classmate Mary Ellen Rogers makes friends with the Beaver in order to finagle a date with Wally. As soon as Mary Ellen has the date settled, she drops the Beaver. In another episode, the Beaver kindly lets a strange boy ride his bike — only to have the boy steal it.
Beaver's pets
The Beaver has several pets on the show — none, however, lasting longer than an episode. In "Captain Jack", he has both an alligator and a terrier. In another episode, he becomes attached to a lost Chihuahua until his owner comes to claim him. He has a horse named Nick for a night, a rabbit (first named Henry and then Henrietta when she gives birth), a toad called Herbie, a monkey named Stanley, and two pigeons, named for his favorite teachers, Miss Canfield and Miss Landers, that die and are buried in the backyard. The Beaver also has a sapling which he digs up and moves from the Mapleton Drive house to the new house on Pine Street. In one episode, he retrieves his old teddy bear from a trash can after Ward has cleaned the garage.
Beaver's education
The Beaver is a good, average student at Grant Avenue Grammar School, who struggles with his homework, but gets it done. His teacher in the first season is Miss Canfield. Miss Alice Landers takes over for the next several seasons. In the late seasons, the Beaver has male teachers and occasionally, Mrs. Cornelia Rayburn, the principal. The Beaver takes clarinet lessons in one episode and ballroom dancing lessons at a studio on Saturdays. He appears in school plays as a mushroom and a Dutch boy. He reads several classic novels during the show's run, including The Last of the Mohicans and Tom Sawyer. In one episode, he tries to pull the wool over his teacher's eyes by watching The Three Musketeers on TV rather than reading the book. In one episode, he takes part in a TV quiz show. He plays football and receives the team's "Most Inspirational" award.
Beaver's crushes and girlfriends
The Beaver suffers crushes on his Grant Avenue Grammar School teachers,
In later seasons, Beaver has many crushes on other girls. In a season five episode Beaver walks a girl home from school, and she likes him but she eventually develops a crush on Wally. In a season six episode a girl named Peggy Macintosh asks him to the eighth grade graduation dance, but another girl asks him too and he eventually ends up staying home.
Later seasons
As the Beaver grew into an awkward young teen, he sometimes took a back seat to his older brother Wally, a student in his final years of high school. Tony Dow had grown into an attractive, athletic young man and was often featured in magazines aimed principally at teen girls. Producers took advantage of Dow's popularity and scripted episodes delving into Wally's dating life, his after-school jobs, his pals, and his car. The Beaver was relegated to the background.
Finale
In June 1963, the series came to a close at milestones in the lives of Wally and the Beaver: high school grad Wally preparing for State college and the Beaver looking forward to entering Mayfield High. The last episode was a retrospective one called "Family Scrapbook" and has claimed its place in TV history as the first prime time sitcom episode specifically written as a series finale. In the episode, the Cleavers reminisce over old photos in a scrapbook while flashback clips are played from previous episodes. The show ends with the Beaver and Wally playing with a wind-up toy and laughing like children.
Origin of the name Beaver
It is during the course of the last episode the viewer learns how the Beaver got his nickname. In a 2006 interview,[1] Jerry Mathers stated that series creator Joe Connelly had a shipmate in the U.S. Merchant Marine named Beaver and simply liked the name. It was not until the finale that the writers invented an explanation for the nickname; i.e., as a young child, Wally mispronounced Beaver's given name (Theodore) as "Tweeter" and this became "Beaver." Mathers opined that after 6 years and 234 episodes, the writers could have come up with a better origin story.
Subsequent history
In 1983, CBS aired the reunion
In Still the Beaver and The New Leave It to Beaver, the Beaver is divorced from Kimberly (played by Joanna Gleason); the couple had two sons; Kip and Oliver (whose nickname is Ollie). Kimberly and the Beaver had clashed over her dream of becoming a veterinarian, and that plus other problems had strained their marriage to its breaking point. Kimberly tells Beaver to take the boys because the only vet school she can go to is in Italy, although Beaver's sons have a stormy relationship because they resent having to move to Mayfield. His sons and he move in with their widowed mother and grandmother June (Ward had died several years earlier) until he can get back on his feet. Eventually, the Beaver finds work at Fred Rutherford's company, but even when he begins collecting regular paychecks, he decides that he appreciates the living arrangement and continues to live with his mother.
By the time The New Leave It to Beaver began, the Beaver was partners with
References
Notes
- ^ How I Got The Name Beaver. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
Sources
- Applebaum, Irwyn. The World According to Beaver. TV Books, 1984, 1998. (ISBN 1575000520).
- Bank, Frank. Call Me Lumpy: my Leave It to Beaver days and other wild Hollywood life . Addax, 2002. (ISBN 978-1886110298).
- Colella, Jennifer. The Leave It to Beaver Guide to Life: wholesome wisdom from the Cleavers! Running Press, 2006. (ISBN 9780762427734).
- Leave It to Beaver: the complete first season. Universal Studios, 2005.
- Leave It to Beaver: the complete second season. Universal Studios, 2006. (ISBN 1417074876)
- Mathers, Jerry. ...And Jerry Mather as "The Beaver". Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998. (ISBN 0425163709)