Why did June Cleaver always wear high heels & pearls when performing household chores? The heels actually started in the second season – and for a very good reason. Her boys were growing taller and producers wanted June to maintain a height advantage over Wally & the Beaver to reinforce her role as mother.
The pearls were Barbara Billingsley’s idea, and for a very good reason. She had a surgical scar at the base of her neck that she didn’t like. The pearls hid the scar.
Was Beaver ever in Vietnam? Despite the rumour that somehow spread from coast to coast, Jerry Mathers was never in Vietnam. He tried enlisting in the Marines, but they turned him down because they thought they’d get too much negative publicity if they sent him overseas and he died. So, Mathers ultimately enlisted in the Air National Guard and spent his service time in the United States.
Does one of the cast actually have a piece of art in the Louvre? Yes! Tony Dow, who played Wally, is also a sculptor, and one of his pieces has indeed been on display in that most famous of art galleries.
Was Eddie Haskell actually an L.A. traffic cop? Again, yes! Actor Ken Osmond transitioned to the L.A. police force following the end of the original run of Leave It to Beaver. He was shot 3 times in the line of duty and was saved by his body armour.
Did Jerry Mathers also play Little Ricky on I Love Lucy? This is also true, but with a qualifier. Mathers appeared in only one episode as Little Ricky and it was during a fantasy sequence Lucy was dreaming about. It’s a season 3 episode called “Ricky’s Old Girlfriend,” where Lucy dreams her husband has left her and her child for an old flame. Mathers did not receive an on-screen credit for the part.
