Ken Osmond addressed the rumor that he was secretly Alice Cooper

More like Eddie Cooper!

NBC/Universal/Everett Collection

Living a double life can seem exciting, but one can't help but wonder if keeping up all those appearances can get stressful. Do you think Clark Kent ever gets tired of being Superman? Does Bruce Wayne ever feel like hanging up the cowl?

In a way, Ken Osmond was sort of living a double life during his time on Leave It To Beaver. On the show, Eddie Haskell was a two-face, conniving little jerk. But off-screen, the general consensus from Osmond's costars was that the actor was a perfectly lovely young man.

Osmond acknowledged his character's bad behavior in an interview with The Record, calling Eddie a "fink," but also gave his character a backstory that puts his behavior into the proper context.

"Eddie's father is always kicking him in the seat of the pants and he figures the whole world is just this way," said Osmond. "You've got to pull angles to get ahead. You're looking for a catch in everything."

But as he got older, people remembered the kindness of Ken Osmond instead of the rottenness of Eddie Haskell, and Osmond was able to distance himself from the character.

But in a 1988 interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Osmond revealed that after Leave It to Beaver ended and he grew into an adult, a strange rumor began swirling amongst the public regarding his whereabouts.

"Our show was plagued with rumors," Osmond said. "Myself, I've had several. One was that I was Alice Cooper."

Yes, there were people who actually believed that Ken Osmond had grown up to become rockstar Alice Cooper. Strangely enough, this one does have an explanation, even if it is decidedly untrue.

"The way that came about, I understand, is that Alice Cooper was being interviewed, and someone asked, 'What were you like as a child?' He said, "I was AN Eddie Haskell,' just referring to the type of person. He was misquoted and it took off from there."

Luckily, as far as rumors go, this one wasn't particularly damaging to Osmond's reputation, so the actor was able to take it in stride.

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8 Comments

coffinman 10 days ago
He was also rumored to be adult film star, John Holmes.
cperrynaples coffinman 10 days ago
Yes, and the kid who played Fred Savage's buddy on The Wonder Years was rumored to be Marilyn Manson! Fun Fact: Osmond was actually a cop and appeared on To Tell The Truth!
BradBeall 10 days ago
Ya' gotta wonder if these two ever met each other in "real life", and if so, did they discuss this story?
justjeff 10 days ago
Gee, Mrs. Cleaver... you sure look pretty wearing all of those snakes and fake bat blood...🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Bapa1 10 days ago
Gee, I would have gone with Iggy Pop.
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