![]() In "Voodoo Magic," Eddie convinces Wally (Tony Dow) and the Beaver to see a movie about voodoo, even though their mom (Barbara Billingsly) has expressly forbidden it. ![]() In these early episodes, we see Ken slowly refining and perfecting the soon-to-be iconic Eddie Haskell character. By his third appearance on the show ("Voodoo Magic") Ken said he "was beginning to wonder something might really come of this." But soon, Ken was called back to film a second episode- "The Clubhouse," where Eddie tries to keep Beaver (Jerry Mathers) out of his club by deliberately jacking up the club dues. Ken filmed his part in his debut episode, no one made mention of his ever returning and he said goodbye to the rest of the Leave It To Beaver cast, thinking it was just another credit to pad his resume.įor "The New Neighbors" episode, Ken had three scenes as Eddie, about 25% of the episode's 24 minutes. Ken's Eddie Haskell character in "The New Neighbors" episode was originally planned as a one-off appearance. Finally, the aspirants were winnowed down to thirty or so, then, on his third audition, Ken got the role. Ken recalls his audition for the role of Eddie Haskell as "a huge cattle call" with several hundred young actors. (Fortunately for Harry Shearer and all his fans, he was to find TV immortality himself, albeit many years later, as one of the main voices on The Simpsons). It is almost certain that had Harry Shearer continued playing the Eddie Haskell-type character on the later series, neither Eddie Haskell, nor the Leave It To Beaver series itself, would never have gained its present day iconic status. But Harry's character, unlike Ken's relatively harmless cowardly braggart, was dark and menacing. In the original pilot for the show, then-called It's a Small World, Harry Shearer played the pre-Eddie Eddie, a character named Frankie Bennett. This strange but fascinating teenager was to be probably the greatest "scene stealer" in the history of American television.Ī friend of Beaver's older brother, Wally, in the show, Eddie Haskell was a snide, smarmy, loud-mouthed braggart in front of his fellow kids and teenagers, who put up a "sweet and courteous" front whenever an adult or parent was present. The first few episodes of Leave It To Beaver were pretty standard 1950s "family show" stuff, although as an interesting twist, Leave It To Beaver, unlike other family shows of the '50's, focused on life from the kids' point of view, as opposed to the parents.Īfter a few good, but bland and tame, episodes of Leave It To Beaver, in the episode "The New Neighbors," a new and very different teenage character made his debut on the show. In October of 1957, a new TV show made it's debut- the show was called Leave It To Beaver. ![]() TV roles came for Ken too, including guest shots on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Circus Boy (featuring a young pre-Monkees Micky Dolenz), Annie Oakley, and Lassie. Other film roles shortly followed, including So Big (1953), Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955) and Everything But the Truth (1956). Besides drama, the two boys were also took classes in dance, diction, dialects, martial arts, and equestrian riding.Īt the age of nine, young Ken landed his first movie role, an uncredited bit in the Mayflower/Pilgrim film Plymouth Adventure starring Spencer Tracy in 1952. His father, Thurman, was a carpenter, and Ken described his mother, Pearl, as "a typical movie mother." Every day, after school, Pearl would drive her two sons, Ken and his older brother Dayton, to acting classes. Ken Osmond was born in Glendale, California on June 7, 1943. "A kid like Eddie Haskell only comes along about once every hundred years" Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook. Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen.
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