Ken Osmond, who played Eddie Haskell on TV's “Leave It to Beaver,” has died, his family says. He was 76.

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He played one of the greatest TV characters of all time.

I sometimes tell people that my dog is the Eddie Haskell of dogs. People who are familiar with the character that Osmond played get it immediately. Others don't, of course.

Several years ago I saw Barbara Billingsley (June) in a restaurant in LA and I really wanted to tell her that she was my TV mother. My wife urged me to do it, but I chickened out. She died not long afterward. I probably should have done it.

I'm not much of a believer in an afterlife. If there is one, Eddie just said, "Good evening Mrs. Cleaver, are Wallace and Theodore home?"
 

jamiche said:
He played one of the greatest TV characters of all time.

I sometimes tell people that my dog is the Eddie Haskell of dogs. People who are familiar with the character that Osmond played get it immediately. Others don't, of course.

Several years ago I saw Barbara Billingsley (June) in a restaurant in LA and I really wanted to tell her that she was my TV mother. My wife urged me to do it, but I chickened out. She died not long afterward. I probably should have done it.

I'm not much of a believer in an afterlife. If there is one, Eddie just said, "Good evening Mrs. Cleaver, are Wallace and Theodore home?"
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I didn’t know you were that old jam jam. You might be older than me. I only saw LITB on reruns.
 

jamiche said:
He played one of the greatest TV characters of all time.
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You're right on the money. Just 10 minutes ago I read that several years ago TV Guide voted Eddie Haskell one of the Top 20 TV characters of all time. I also read the producers of the show originally intended Eddie to be just a one-show guest role. Ken Osmond impressed them so much with his portrayal of Eddie they kept him around for the entire run of the show.
 
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jamiche said:
He played one of the greatest TV characters of all time.

I sometimes tell people that my dog is the Eddie Haskell of dogs. People who are familiar with the character that Osmond played get it immediately. Others don't, of course.

Several years ago I saw Barbara Billingsley (June) in a restaurant in LA and I really wanted to tell her that she was my TV mother. My wife urged me to do it, but I chickened out. She died not long afterward. I probably should have done it.

I'm not much of a believer in an afterlife. If there is one, Eddie just said, "Good evening Mrs. Cleaver, are Wallace and Theodore home?"
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I always had this idea of having the whole Cleaver family living about five years later in California. Instead of the show ending in 1963, It would be 1968. Eddie could have been the kid that shows up with "the stuff" and it could get very psychedelic for Wally and the Beaver.
 

People tend to focus on the character because it's such a marvelous character, but there was never enough attention to the actor. Osmond played it so wonderfully and naturally that it brought the character alive. He WAS Eddie Haskell.
 

No one really acted like that back in the 50s, it's all fake. There was no difference in society then vs now.
But RIP to a great character on a great show from a great era, whoops, I wasn't supposed to say that.
 

Interesting side note: Osmond became a LA cop after his acting days.
 





I'm wondering if anyone else has this memory from the early-mid '80s (must have been 1983). The VHF channel out of St. Cloud, I believe Channel 41`, was new on the scene, along with Channel 29 from the Twin Cities (that eventually became the first Fox channel in Twin Cities). Anyway, Channel 41 ran a Leave it to Beaver marathon on a Friday into Saturday and it was marked by the Beav, Jerry Mathers, joining the in-studio host for commentary between shows. Certainly wasn't glamorous, but my memory is that Mathers was kind and friendly through the whole experience (at least the episodes I was able to watch before turning in).

And now I'm nostalgic for the old independent, unaffiliated TV stations-Channel 9, 29, 41-not only sports, but the reruns, random movies (including 3D movies!), goofy syndicated shows all were funneled through these channels. In the pre-cable days, those channels ruled (at least in my elementary school kid's mind).

Time to go watch some AWA Wrestling clips and transport myself back in time to Sunday mornings after church let out.
 

tikited said:
Can you imagine him knocking on the door to a crack house..."Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Crack User..."
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I saw a thing on YouTube that said he was wounded on the job once--shot several times. Yikes! We almost lost him long ago.
 



coolhandgopher said:
I'm wondering if anyone else has this memory from the early-mid '80s (must have been 1983). The VHF channel out of St. Cloud, I believe Channel 41`, was new on the scene, along with Channel 29 from the Twin Cities (that eventually became the first Fox channel in Twin Cities). Anyway, Channel 41 ran a Leave it to Beaver marathon on a Friday into Saturday and it was marked by the Beav, Jerry Mathers, joining the in-studio host for commentary between shows. Certainly wasn't glamorous, but my memory is that Mathers was kind and friendly through the whole experience (at least the episodes I was able to watch before turning in).

And now I'm nostalgic for the old independent, unaffiliated TV stations-Channel 9, 29, 41-not only sports, but the reruns, random movies (including 3D movies!), goofy syndicated shows all were funneled through these channels. In the pre-cable days, those channels ruled (at least in my elementary school kid's mind).

Time to go watch some AWA Wrestling clips and transport myself back in time to Sunday mornings after church let out.
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Where I lived, you could get two channels with rabbit ears. KXLI 41, St. Cloud, and KCMT 7, Alexandria.

Watched a fair amount of 41. The Saint, The Millionaire, Leave it to Beaver, Top Kat. Good stuff.
 

coolhandgopher said:
I'm wondering if anyone else has this memory from the early-mid '80s (must have been 1983). The VHF channel out of St. Cloud, I believe Channel 41`, was new on the scene, along with Channel 29 from the Twin Cities (that eventually became the first Fox channel in Twin Cities). Anyway, Channel 41 ran a Leave it to Beaver marathon on a Friday into Saturday and it was marked by the Beav, Jerry Mathers, joining the in-studio host for commentary between shows. Certainly wasn't glamorous, but my memory is that Mathers was kind and friendly through the whole experience (at least the episodes I was able to watch before turning in).

And now I'm nostalgic for the old independent, unaffiliated TV stations-Channel 9, 29, 41-not only sports, but the reruns, random movies (including 3D movies!), goofy syndicated shows all were funneled through these channels. In the pre-cable days, those channels ruled (at least in my elementary school kid's mind).

Time to go watch some AWA Wrestling clips and transport myself back in time to Sunday mornings after church let out.
Click to expand...

What I remember from the early 60's was that on Saturday nights on WTCN channel 11, it started off with All Star Wrestling (broadcast from the shores of Lake Calhoun), followed by a Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movie or maybe Jungle Jim or Bomba the Jungle Boy.
Good times!
 

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