The creators of Leave It to Beaver creators were worried viewers wouldn't like the series once the Beaver grew up

Would The Beaver be as funny if he wasn't a kid?

NBC/Universal

Leave It to Beaver was lucky enough to stay on the air long enough to watch the Cleaver boys grow up, something that actually led to a few worries from series creators, Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher.

Initially envisioning the series focused on a family with two young boys, the men grew nervous that the older Wally and Theodore became, the less an audience might enjoy them. Luckily, as time went on, they realized they had nothing to fear.

"We used to worry about the fact that the show's initial success might be due to the unique whimsy arising from an eight-year-old's point of view. We think the past three seasons have vitiated our worries on that score," said Mosher in an interview with the Leader-Tribune. "Our viewers are sticking with Beaver through thick and thin and advancing age."

In fact, Mosher and Connelly quickly discovered that as actors Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow got older, they developed more as actors, giving them more room as writers.

"This makes the writing easier," said Connelly. "We don't have to limit the choice of words. When, too, as the boys gain experience, they're both becoming better actors."

Not only did the boys serve as stars of the show, but they were also a good source of material for the writers.

"When we're looking for a storyline, we call over Jerry and Tony and ask, 'what's new fellows?' And darned if those boys don't come up with a potpourri of 'what's new' activities for the script," said Mosher in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"No grownup, no matter how talented they are as a writer, could possibly dream up the idea," said Connelly. "and the end result is that we have another episode for the show."

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8 Comments

Lillyrose 18 days ago
The creators of Leave it to Beaver definitely didn't need to worry. The show was great throughout!
ncadams27 20 days ago
Like Donna Reed and My Three Sons, the producers could have sent Wally off to college and had the Cleavers adopt a younger child, played by Jerry’s brother Jimmy, who is 7 years younger than Jerry. Then something happens to Ward and June and the boys have to live with Uncle Billy, like in Family Affair or Bachelor Father. That’s how they handled this situation on other shows.
teire 20 days ago
I like them at any age (altho Beaver was very cute in the first two seasons).
sjbang88 20 days ago
"The creators of Leave It to Beaver were worried viewers wouldn't like the series once the Beaver grew up"...and they were right. It was really bad after season 4. Actually season 4 was a stretch. Once Larry Mondello and Tooey, and Chester were gone it began to suck. Only Miss Landers wasn't a letdown after Miss Canfield.
Runeshaper 20 days ago
It’s cool 😎 that the fans stayed with the show. It’s also neat that the creators asked the boys for their experiences to get ideas 💡 for scripts.
WordsmithWorks 20 days ago
As it turns out, the writers were correct. Once Wally and the Beav became older teenagers, the show was over.
I disagree. The show was not over. Take for example the episode about Beaver carrying the golf bag for the cheater. The lessons Beaver learned as a child came out and he had the courage to face the man and respectfully say "you cheated". Watching the Beaver grow up you felt proud that he knew the difference between right and wrong.
AnnieM WordsmithWorks 15 days ago
I wouldn't call it 'over', it just changed focus, and I thought it was still funny. For example, I recently saw the episode where Wally & Beaver had to Saturday yard work, but due to goofing off, missed being able to call the junkman, and had to have Eddie & Lumpy haul the trash away. that was a very funny episode.
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