# "Leave it to Beaver" Pilot on TV Land **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926 "2007-10-08T12:57:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/1 "2007-10-08T12:57:44Z")
I was relaxing on the couch on Saturday evening when I noticed Leave it to Beaver was on TV Land - only something was a different. Beaver was REALLY small and Wally wasn’t Wally (Tony Dow) and Dad wasn’t Dad (Hugh Beaumont). It was the pilot for the show (1957, IIRC). The actor that played Wally wasn’t very good - I can see why he got changed. Dad smoked (can’t imagine Hugh Beaumont doing that) and was someone I had seen in a Twilight Zone episode. The big surprise came early in the show when one of the other boys in town came on the screen and tricked Wally and Beaver into stealing bottle caps. He looked really familiar and it took me a while to figure it out. The credits at the end cofirmed it thought - Harry Shearer was in the pilot for Leave it to Beaver. The poor guy who played Wally, though. I can imagine his later life while working at the gas station. “So, I hear you were a child actor.” “Yep. I played Wally on Leave it to Beaver.” “No way, man. Tony Dow played Wally on Leave it to Beaver.” “Well, I played him first.” “Yeah - whatever. Give me $10 of regular and don’t forget to wash the windshield with a clean rag this time.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/2 "2007-10-08T13:35:41Z")
[IMDb page](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0630258/). The cast list says Beaumont played Ward, but a User says he was played by Casey Adams. I didn’t see a LITB credit for any of the Casey Adamses, nor any TZ credits. Casey Adams (V) is credited as having played a doctor on one episode of _Dobie Gillis_, which would make him the right age. [Paul Sullivan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2165355/) played Wally. LITB is his first credit. _The Five Pennies_ (1959) is his second and last. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/3 "2007-10-08T13:44:08Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] [IMDb page](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0630258/). The cast list says Beaumont played Ward, but a User says he was played by Casey Adams. I didn’t see a LITB credit for any of the Casey Adamses, nor any TZ credits. Casey Adams (V) is credited as having played a doctor on one episode of _Dobie Gillis_, which would make him the right age. [Paul Sullivan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2165355/) played Wally. LITB is his first credit. _The Five Pennies_ (1959) is his second and last. [/QUOTE] Hugh Beaumont was most definitely NOT in the pilot. I’ll have to think some more on where I saw the actor who played Ward. Harry Shearer was very recognizable once you realized who it was. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/4 "2007-10-08T13:47:59Z")
[QUOTE=plnnr] Hugh Beaumont was most definitely NOT in the pilot. [/QUOTE] I was pointing out the error. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/5 "2007-10-08T13:49:36Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] I was pointing out the error. [/QUOTE] Yep, I caught that. How it ever made it to IMDB I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/6 "2007-10-08T13:53:12Z")
[QUOTE=plnnr] Dad smoked (can’t imagine Hugh Beaumont doing that) [/QUOTE] Tobacco? ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/7 "2007-10-08T14:02:35Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Tobacco? [/QUOTE] Yep. It wasn’t the fatherly pipe-smoking either - it was _evil_ cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/8 "2007-10-08T14:47:13Z")
FWIW, [this page](http://www.geocities.com/alcus2/smallworld.html) has photos from the _Leave it to Beaver_ pilot of **Paul Sullivan** as Wally Cleaver, **Casey Adams** as Ward Cleaver and **Harry Shearer** as Frankie, an Eddie Haskell type character. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/9 "2007-10-08T14:56:25Z")
Did the pilot use the same theme song? I’ve been whistling it ever since I first read this thread. Make it stop!!😉 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/10 "2007-10-08T15:16:09Z")
Casey Adams is [Max Showalter](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0795289/), just in case that slipped by anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/11 "2007-10-08T15:44:41Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Did the pilot use the same theme song? I’ve been whistling it ever since I first read this thread. Make it stop!!😉 [/QUOTE] Well, stop whistling! [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leave_it_to_Beaver#Musical_theme) has the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/12 "2007-10-08T15:46:34Z")
[QUOTE=plnnr] Yep. It wasn’t the fatherly pipe-smoking either - it was _evil_ cigarettes. [/QUOTE] I do remember one episode of LITB where Ward was filling the table top cigarette lighters while talking to Beaver. So one of them smoked. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/13 "2007-10-08T15:47:03Z")
Thanks, **Scarlett**! Never knew! ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/14 "2007-10-08T15:48:04Z")
[QUOTE=Maus Magill] I do remember one episode of LITB where Ward was filling the table top cigarette lighters while talking to Beaver. So one of them smoked. [/QUOTE] Or, was a gracious host. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/15 "2007-10-08T15:49:05Z")
[QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] Casey Adams is [Max Showalter](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0795289/), just in case that slipped by anyone. [/QUOTE] Hey yeah! In the screenshot in the upthread post I thought he looked an awful lot like Showalter. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/16 "2007-10-08T15:50:11Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Or, was a gracious host. [/QUOTE] Yes…even in the 70s, my parents had ash trays in the house, even though neither one of them has ever smoked. Weird to think of that now. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-it-to-beaver-pilot-on-tv-land/421926/17 "2007-10-08T18:08:50Z")
Harry Shearer…Harry Shearer. Nope, doesn’t ring a bell. Did he ever do anything else except the Beaver pilot? 😉 \* Just whooshin’ y’all before any of you decide to release the hounds.