Leave It To Beaver - he's discovered girls!
TV News, October 21st, 1961
One of the final Leave It To Beaver episodes of last season concluded with a deceptively innocent-appearing conversation between 11-year-old Beaver, played by Jerry Mathers, and his pal and fellow woman-hater, Gilbert. The talk was about their schoolmate and "common enemy", Penny Woods.
"She's dopey," said Gilbert, voicing his usual opinion of girls in general, and Penny in particular. to his surprise, however, Beaver, for the very first time, failed to go along with the verdict.
"Gee, Gilbert, she's no so bad," he said. "I was over to her house last Saturday, and she was real friendly. You know something, I might try it again sometime."
The exchange was, actually, highly significant, for it was an omen of things to come in Beaver's life in the fifth season of the comedy series. Beaver, now 12, is discovering girls, and beginning to understand why his brother Wally, played by Tony Dow, spends so much time combing his hair potions. this is a change that is fast becoming apparent to his parent, Ward and June clever, played by Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley.
If The Beaver is growing up, so is the young actor who plays him - Jerry Mathers. Now 13 (he was born June 2, 1948), Jerry, who has been acting ever since he was a toddler, has decide he wants to pursue the profession when he grows up. The acting "veteran" can even point with pride to his little brother, Jimmy, 6, who's "just starting out" in the game in the new Ichabod And Me series, Tuesday nights on Channels 3, 8, and 18.
Like Beaver, Jerry admits to his first "crush." Won't reveal he name, 'though. He knows he'd get a merciless ribbing from his buddies.
Tony Dow, who plays Beaver's brother Wally, at the age of 16 is much more the sophisticated "ladies man." He averages 1,000 fan letters a week, 95 per cent of them from teenage girls.
