Customer Reviews

World According to Beaver

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The highest compliment I can give a book is that it made me laugh out loud, and this book did frequently. If you're a "Beav" fan, you've got to read this. The book is neatly divided into quotes, biographies and a synopsis of all episodes (including the "soup cup/billboard" episode-my personal favorite). There's even life according to Eddie Haskell. Buy it but be prepared to sneak peeks at it when you should be doing something more "adult-like".

I remember watching "Leave It To Beaver" when I was growing up in the 1960's-It was a well-written show,which looked at life from the perspective of a young boy-In my opinion,it's one of the best sitcoms of all time-Now that it's on the TV Land cable network,I never miss a single episode-Irwyn Applebaum did a fantastic job in putting this book together-Not only do you get classic lines of dialogue,but you get a thorough summary of all 254 episodes-Whether your favorite character was Wally,the Beav,Lumpy,or that meanie Eddie Haskell,you'll have a great time reading this book-Highly recommended for the true Beaver fans.

"The World According To Beaver" (subtitled: "The Official Leave It To Beaver Book") is a very pleasant 328-page trip down memory lane with Beaver Cleaver, Wally, Ward, June, and the rest of the clan that comprised the fine cast of one of the most endearing television sitcoms of all-time -- "Leave It To Beaver".

This softcover volume (originally published in 1984) is laid out in a carefree and fun-to-read style, with tons of "LITB" tidbits of info scattered throughout its 300-plus pages. Many black-and-white photographs are also included here, some of them posed "publicity stills" produced by Universal Studios, and some of the pics being "video captures" from several of the 234 episodes that were made during the successful lifespan of the "Beaver" series (it ran for six TV seasons, from 1957 to 1963).

"The World According To Beaver" is a nice companion piece to the "Leave It To Beaver" full-season DVD collections produced by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The back cover of the book, in fact, includes a somewhat-odd remark about this book indeed being a "Tie-in" to the "Home Video" releases of LITB. That's odd only because the series had never been released on home video at the time this book was published.

The reader of this book will become well-versed in the "Beaver Language", via the section on "Vocabulary Words". You'll also learn all about the Cleaver gang, and many of Beaver's and Wally's friends as well. Plus, there's invaluable data concerning "Aunt Martha", "Gus The Fireman", "Fred Rutherford", "Miss Landers", and "Uncle Billy", too. :-)

The book also contains some fun 'behind-the-scenes'-type stuff in segments labelled "Secrets Of The Cleaver Home", "Inside The Boys' Bedroom", and "A Visitor's Guide To Mayfield".

And there are lots and lots of "quotes" from the LITB episodes. Reading all this funny dialogue from this great TV series should provide more than a few chuckles for fans who remember just about every episode by heart. :-)

The book also includes descriptions of all the episodes, although no air-date or guest-star info is provided here. The lengthy chapter on "The Shows" is presented in a "newspaper column" style, with four columns of program synopses per two-page spread.

The Beaver-related trivia never seems to stop flowing from this volume; there's a wealth of intriguing factoids regarding the series on tap here. One of my favorite sections in the book is the hilarious one-page summary that delves into Ward Cleaver's mysterious job and office activities (a segment humorously entitled "Ward At The Salt Mines"). As all stalwart Cleaver fans know, Ward's occupation was never really clearly defined throughout the entire six years the show was on the air (which, in itself, is a rather amazing "Let's Sidestep The Subject Of Precisely What Job Ward Has" achievement that was integrated into the scripts of writers Bob Mosher, Joe Connelly, Dick Conway, and several others who were apparently bound and determined to keep Ward's occupation a partial secret for all six seasons).

Reading that brief "Salt Mines" essay about good ol' Ward (who was definitely one of my favorite LITB characters) is bound to produce a few smiles from Beaver fans. There are tongue-in-cheek references to Ward having a corner office, while second-banana Fred Rutherford had to struggle without such luxuries at their "Job X" downtown office structure. There are also mentions made in the book of some of Ward's major work projects that pop up on the show from time to time -- like the infamous "Miller Audits" and "The Thompson Deal". ~grin~

This fun paperback also comes complete with a "Beaver I.Q. Test", which offers up some pretty tough trivia questions for the LITB faithful to sink their teeth into -- like "What is the name of Ward's secretary?" .... and .... "What is Beaver's bike-lock combination?" (I must admit, as I hide my head in shame, that I didn't know the answer to that one myself.)

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Following is a batch of "Leave It To Beaver" trivia (and "quotes") that Beaver fans might find useful and/or entertaining. To tell the truth, I can't recall if all of the following trivialities are located in this book or not; but I'm sure that some of it is. But, if not, here's some additional earth-shattering info that could be added to "The World According To Beaver".......

Who reading this can recall all six of the "Show Openings" for "Leave It To Beaver"? (A new Main Title opening sequence was filmed for each of the six seasons.)

In case you can't remember them, let's have a gander at all the openings:


Season 1 --- The "Handprints In Wet Cement" opening.

Season 2 --- Ward and June meet the boys at the bottom of the staircase.

Season 3 --- Ward and June enter the boys' bedroom, awakening them for school. (The first season in the "new" house at 211 Pine St.; Mayfield USA.)

Season 4 --- "The Ward" & "The June" hand the boys their coats on the front porch.

Season 5 --- "Yard Work" (featuring June presenting a tray of ice-cold homemade lemonade for her hard-working crew of three men in the front yard). This is the worst opening, IMO, which also features the "Magical Closing Front Door" after June exits the house with her tray of beverage delights. Perhaps Eddie was inside to serve as "Doorman" or something. I only hope somebody gave this opening's creator "The Business" for producing such an opening-credits sequence, which comes complete with Beaver's delightfully-fake "lip licking" in anticipation of receiving a glass of June's ice-cold beverage. :)

Season 6 --- The 1962-1963 "jazzed-up" beginning, with everybody running toward Ward's brand-new '62 Plymouth Fury four-door sedan.

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"Leave It To Beaver" had its fair share of laugh-out-loud lines of dialogue during its 6-year duration on network TV. As mentioned earlier, this book is chock-full of funny quotes from the series. Here are some of my favorite bits of LITB humor:


EDDIE HASKELL -- "Good morning, Mrs. Cleaver! Gee, Mrs. Cleaver, your kitchen always looks so clean. My mother says it looks as though you never do any work in here."

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FRED RUTHERFORD -- "Oh, you don't have to worry about Clarence's driving, Ward. When it comes to brains, he's got a head on him like the Rock of Gibraltar."

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WALLY -- "Gee, dad, we didn't mean to get Mr. Rutherford {with the 'barrel hoops'}."
BEAVER -- "Yeah, we yelled 'meathead' and he came runnin' out."

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JUNE -- "Ward, what happened at the office today?"
WARD -- "Well, one of the office jokers put pencil shavings in Fred Rutherford's instant-coffee jar."
JUNE -- "Did Fred think that was funny?"
WARD -- "No -- he never noticed."

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WARD -- "Oh, my comment {re. hairstyles} wasn't referring to you dear -- your hair looks like it never saw a curler."

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JUNE -- "Who's Cornelia Rayburn, and when did she see YOU off your feet?!"

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JUNE -- "Ward, why don't you ever bring me flowers?"
WARD -- "I'm the kind that says it with seat covers."

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JUNE -- "Honestly, Ward, he {Wally} just looks like a...a...a GANGSTER! The next thing you know he's going to be wearing a leather jacket and motorcycle boots!" (Via "Wally's Haircomb".) :-)

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WARD -- "Remember when Beaver had to have that football helmet? I paid six dollars for it. Two days later he gave it to the milkman in case he had a head-on collision."

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WARD -- "How can you try too hard to be a good parent?!"
JUNE -- "I don't know, but it looks like you've mastered it."

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WARD -- "Well, Duke, is Mayfield going to have another good basketball team next year?"
DUKE HATHAWAY -- "Oh, I don't think so Mr. Cleaver -- I'm graduating."

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WALLY -- "Gee, dad, if a girl called here for me, you wouldn't tell her I was in the bathtub, would ya?"
WARD -- "Well, Wally, with the number of baths you take, I don't think the risk is very great."

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EDDIE -- "That look he {Ward} gives me when he answers the door. Sometimes I think he'd be happier to see Khrushchev standing there."

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MRS. HANSON (Alma's Mother) -- "Mrs. Cleaver, I hope we didn't keep you away from your dishes."
JUNE -- "Not at all -- they're used to being alone!"

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JUNE -- "Well, Ward, just because you were a hoodlum when you were young, is no reason to have my babies travelling around the countryside like a couple of gypsies!!"

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WARD -- "Oooh, that Eddie Haskell!!"
JUNE -- "Just for that, I'm going to put mayonnaise on his sandwich!"
WARD -- "That's my girl."

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WARD -- "Hey June, Beaver just told me that Wally intercepted a pass today and ran for a touchdown!"
JUNE -- "Oh no Ward! Now they'll probably want him to play ALL the time!"

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JUNE -- "Well, Beaver, did you have a good day today?"
BEAVER -- "No -- I went to school."

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JUNE -- "I hope Beaver had something to eat over at the Mondellos."
WALLY -- "I wouldn't worry about that, mom. Every time you go over there, somebody's always eating."

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JUNE -- "Ward, sometimes I think you like to stay late down at that office."
WARD -- "Oh sure. It's a regular 24-hour Mardi Gras down there."

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WALLY -- "Women are funny -- maybe they like to smell like old catcher's mitts."

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EDDIE -- "Athletics are fine, Mr. Cleaver -- but my father prefers me to develop in a normal manner."

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WALLY -- "Gee, mom, the way they fix ladies' hair nowadays, you can't tell whether they've been to the beauty parlor or just standing around in the wind."

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WALLY -- "You know, Lumpy, your whole tailpipe is wired up with a coat hanger."
LUMPY -- "Yeah, I did that to pass the safety inspection."

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Another interesting topic that can be used for "LITB List Making" is .... "Wally's Girlfriends". .......

My favorites would be both Mary Ellen and Julie -- a dead heat for "Top Doll" (aka: "Wally's Top Babes"). :-)

Here's a relatively-complete list of girls whom Wallace Cleaver was associated with throughout the LITB series:

>> Mary Ellen Rogers (Played by Pamela Baird).
>> Julie Foster (Cheryl Holdridge).
>> Gloria Cusick (also played by Cheryl Holdridge).
>> Carolyn Stewart (Vickie Albright).
>> Evelyn Boothby (Mary Mitchel).
>> Margie Manners (Candy Moore).
>> Alma Hanson (Carol Sydes).
>> Penny Jamison (also portrayed by Carol Sydes).
>> Kitty Bannerman (Bernadette Withers).
>> Kathy Gregory (Carole Wells).
>> Lori Ann (Brenda Scott).
>> Gail Preston (Laraine Stephens).
>> Ginny Townsend (Linda Bennett).
>> Caroline Cunningham (Karen Green).
>> Shirley Fletcher (Beverly Lunsford).


Honorable Mentions:

>> "Judy", played by Barbara Parkins. Judy can't really (officially) be considered one of "Wally's Girls", but he did make goo-goo eyes at her in one episode in Season 5.

>> "Carol Martin", a tennis player (played by Cindy Robbins) who took Wally "for a ride" in order to lure her real boyfriend back into her scheming arms. That vixen! She doesn't deserve the likes of a Wallace Cleaver!

>> "Marlene Holmes" (Diane Sayer). This girl, from "the wrong side of the tracks" -- who drank beer and smoked cigarettes (that tramp!!) -- gave Wally, to my knowledge, his only on-screen kiss; and a beaut it was, which took Wally by surprise as he uttered, after the sensuous smooch, a shocked "Goll-y!!". :-)

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Let me (finally) conclude with just one more hunk of Beaver-endorsing commentary......

"Leave It To Beaver" is one of the classic American television sitcoms. The simple and easy-going stories that made up the scripts each week for those six "Beaver" years are worth re-visiting over and over again, IMHO. And that laid-back and wholly-uncomplicated flavor of the series has been nicely captured by author Irwyn Applebaum in "The World According To Beaver".

If you aren't already an expert on "The Leave It To Beaver" TV show, you will be soon after buying and reading this book! The dialogue from the old shows is too funny! I took this book to work and every baby-boomer there was laughing out loud as I read the classic Eddie Haskell lines to them! Wonderful read, wonderful stuff. You will appreciate just how talented the writers from this old series were. Maybe it's because the storylines came from real-life situations! "Wally...have we been tooken?" You won't be with this purchase!

This is a great book for Leave It to Beaver fans with background info, show quotes and dialog organized by topic, and an episode guide. The characters are described with show details and dialog samples. Reading the episode summaries, I can't help smiling. The author wrote a useful and fun guide to the show.

I live in Germany now and can't get old reruns. This brought back some memories and laughs from the shows I used to watch as a kid. This stuff is classic and doesn't go out of style!

This is the type of book that went out of style when the internet became popular, but I'm an old school fetishist who just loves me my WORLD ACCORDING TO BEAVER. Author Irwyn Applebaum was obviously an obsessed dreamer who collected scraps of Beaver trivia like fools gold. Most of the last part of the book is an episode guide, the kind you stumble on to at a site like IMDB and you just can't stop reading. Remember the days when TV shows had 39 episodes to a season? How did the actors keep from keeling over? Especially the young ones like Jerry Mathers and (sigh) the immortal Adonis Tony Dow, who must have also had to go to school for at least a few hours a day on top of starring in a Top Ten show!

No wonder the two actors sometimes looked a little peaked as the 60s began and the Beav got older and pudgier.

Tony Dow kept his good looks, however, as well as that trace of acting ability which set him off from his peers. As "Wally," the older brother of the Beav, Tony Dow had a girlfriend every week; women idolized him for being straight up with them. He was possibly the first man on TV to treat women like equals. As Beaver said, "You know something, Wally, I'd rather do nothin' with you than somethin' with anybody else." Applebaum even invents a newspaper, the Maple Drive News, and has a trivia IQ test in which, I'm ashamed to say, I got not one answer right! So you know this separates the men from the boys. The book also has updates about the cast, Barbara Billingsley, Jerry Mathers, and King Dow, but seeing that the updates stopped at 1984, the publication date of this book, they feel eerily incomplete.