Hollywood Collectibles
September 1994
31 years after it left television, the Leave It To Beaver show has a cult following that rivals that of Trekkies. Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow are still recognized by fans worldwide and the collectibles associated with the successful series continue to attract most of them.
From 1957 to 1963, one of TV’s most famous families graced the living rooms of America. Through 234 half-hour episodes, the Cleavers - Ward, June, Wally, and Theodore (AKA "Beaver") - became an institution on the small screen.
Leave It To Beaver, a rather innocent sitcom with humble beginnings, has grown into one of the most popular shows in television history. As a result, the series is of prime time interest to a number of collectors as well, who pursue all matters of Leave It To Beaver collectibles today.
Created by Joe Connelly and bob Mosher, Leave It To Beaver made its first appearance in the spring of 1957 via a pilot episode titled It’s a Small World. Aired over the syndicated TV series Studio ’57, this pilot segment starred Barbara Billingsley as June Cleave, Casey Adams (who would later change his name to Max Showalter) as Ward Cleaver, Paul Sullivan was Wally, and Jerry Mather4s as Beaver. Also appearing were Diane Brewster as Miss Simms, Richard Deacon as Mr. Baxter, and Joseph Kearns as Fred Crowley. Brewster would later appear in the regular series as Miss Canfield while Richard Deacon would win fame in the Beaver series as Fred Rutherford.
The storyline in It’s a Small World was simple enough: Wally and kid brother Beaver attempt to save up 1,000 bottle caps from the Franklin Milk co. in order to acquire a new bicycle. The pilot episode was written by Joe Connelly and bob Mosher and directed by Jerry Hopper. It’s a Small World had been lost for many years until it was rediscovered in a film vault in Illinois. It was then rebroadcast on The New Leave It To Beaver series in the late 1980s.
The first regular episodes of Leave It To Beaver was telecast over CBS-TV on October 4, 1957. Replacing Casey Adams from the pilot as Ward Cleaver was Hugh Beaumont with Tony Dow coming aboard as Wally Cleaver.
Although Leave It To Beaver was never a mega-hi in the A.C. Nielson Ratings, the series nonetheless became an American pop culture icon. Exiting the prime time airwaves on September 12, 1963, Beaver’s original 234 episodes continue to be rebroadcast around the world today. In 1983, a made-for-TV movie titled Still the Beaver reunited a number of the original cast members, most notably Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow, Jerry Mathers, Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell), and Frank Bank (Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford). Still the Beaver led to a revival of Beaver, which proved to be a decent sequel to the original show.
It was once thought that Leave It To Beaver produce precious few artifacts for today’s collectors during its original 1957-63 run on CBS and later ABC. However, with the coming of the Baby Boomer explosion in collectibles marketplace, a number of Beaver items have surface in recent years, making many collectors as happy as Lumpy Rutherford winning a data with the homecoming queen of Mayfield High.
Official licensed items from the Leave It To Beaver series are especially coveted by collectors. These artifacts usually bear a Gomalco Productions Inc. copyright in reference to the production company which made Leave It To Beaver. Incidentally, Gomalco derived its moniker from the names of its two co-owners, comedian George Gobel and businessman David P. O’Malley.
Leading the way in the Leave It To Beaver licensed merchandise sweepstakes are three official board games made by Hasbro in 1959. The rarest of the three is the Leave It To Beaver Money Maker Game, which pictures Jerry Mathers on the box. The game in complete, near mint condition is currently valued at $75 - $125.
The other two games in the Hasbro series include the Leave It To Beaver Rocket to the Moon game and the Leave It To Beaver Ambush game. The former capitalized on the interest in the space race while the latter was an Old West adventure game. Jerry Mathers, wearing his trademark cap as "The Beav," is featured on the boxes of both games. They carry an approximate value of $50 - $100 each in near mint condition.
Several official Leave It To Beaver coloring books were produced in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. One of the first to emerge was the Leave It To Beaver coloring book by Whitman, which features Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow on the cover with snow skiing attire. An example in near mint/unused condition is valued at $35 - $60. Saalfield also produced a handful of Beaver coloring books which are of great interest to collectors.
From 1960, there’s Beaver’s big Book to color, which pictures Jerry Matters with baseball cap and glove on the cover. A near mint edition would carry an approximate value of $35 - $50. Other Saalfield Beaver coloring books date from 1963 and feature both Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow on the cover. Examples in top condition have been known to sell for over $50.
Another hot license item in the field is the Leave It To Beaver TV Eras-O-Picture Book, made by Hasbro in 1959. Essentially an erasable coloring book, Hasbro produced these items for several different TV series, most notably Maverick. A Beaver edition in very fine+ condition recently sold at auction for $66 in a mail/phone bid auction conducted by Toy Scout, Inc. of Akron, OH. According to Toy Scouts president Bill Bruegman, the Beaver Eras-O-Picture Book is one of the more uncommon items in the field.
The Leave It To Beaver gang also made an appearance in paperback and hardcover book format. In 1960, Berkley Medallion issued a paperback titled Leave It To Beaver by Beverly Clearly. This edition features Wally and Beaver from the famous trash can painting episode on the cover. The hardcover book, also titled Leave It To Beaver, was published by Whitman in 1958 and pictures Beaver riding in a fire engine. Both books are valued at approximately $10 - $25, depending on condition.
The Leave It To Beaver saga was feature in various magazine of the era. Jerry Mathers as Beaver is pictured on the cover of the June 28, 1958, issue of TV Guide. An edition in excellent to mint condition could sell for over $35. Inside article on Beaver show from TV guide include the following editions: February 1, 1958; July 18, 1959; August 22, 1959; February 25, 1961; March 24, 1962; and January 5, 1963.
More recent Beaver collectibles can also be of interest to collectors. In 1983, Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow were featured on boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. These boxes today are valued at $15 - $25 in near mint condition. In 1986, Pacific issued a 60-card Leave It To Beaver set, which is currently worth between $25 - $35 in near [mint] condition. Beaver fans will especially enjoy these cards as they depict classic scenes from the TV show.
Leave It To Beaver is one of those television shows which will continue to gain new fans via the magic of syndication reruns. Memorabilia associated with this classic video series will continue to garner new converts as well.
Leave It To Beaver Tidbits:
 | Producers originally wanted to call the series Wally and
the Beaver, but thought it sounded too much like an animal show.
| The show’s theme song was titled, "March of the
Wooden Soldier."
| Beaver obtained his nickname because four-year-old Wally
couldn’t pronounce Theodore. It came out "Beaver"
| Beaver’s pals through the years: Larry Mondello (Rusty
Stevens), Gilbert Bates (Stephen Talbot), Whitey Whitney (Stanley Fafara),
Richard Rickover (Richard Correll).
| Notable guest stars: Ryan O’Neal as Tom Henderson in
"going Steady,"; Tim Matheson as Mike Harmon in "the Clothing
Drive" and "Tell It to Ella"; Barbara Parkins as Judy Walker
in "No Time for Babysitters" Don Drysdale as himself in "Long
Distance Call"; Lee Meriwether as Mrs. Harris in "Community
Chest"; Candy Moore as Margie Manners in "Mother’s Helper";
Marta Kristen as Christine Staples in :ThTally and Dudley"; Edgar
Buchanan as Captain Jack in "Captain Jack" and as Billy Cleaver in
"Beaver’s Hero" and "Uncle Billy visits"; Marjorie
Reynolds as Mrs. Burdock in "Chuckie’s New Shoes" and
"Beaver, the Babysitter."
| Hugh Beaumont (Ward Cleaver) directed some 25 episodes of
the series and also wrote the story for "A Horse Named Nick."
| Although many think of Leave It To Beaver as totally
innocent series, several episodes did touch on serious topics, such as
alcoholism ("Beaver’s House Guest"), high school dropouts
("Eddie Quits School"), smoking ("Wealth Pipe"), and
racial prejudice ("Beaver and Chuey").
| Diane Brewster, who appeared as Beaver’s teach Miss
Canfield in early episodes, played the murdered wife of Dr. Richard Kimble
(David Jansen) on TV’s The Fugitive (1963 - 1967).
| Other notable semi-regulars on Leave It To Beaver:
Sue Randall as Miss Landers, Burt Mustin as Gus the auxiliary fireman; Doris
Packer as Mrs. Reborn; Jeri Weil as Judy Hensler; tiger Fafara as Tooey
Brown; Madge Blake as Mrs. Mondale. | |