Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
05-18-20, 02:06 PM
#1
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
https://deadline.com/2020/05/ken-osm...er-1202937383/
Ken Osmond, who played obsequious troublemaker Eddie Haskell on TV’s Leave It to Beaver has died, his manager confirms.
“He was an incredibly kind and wonderful father,” his son, Eric, said in a statement. “He had his family gathered around him when he passed. He was loved and will be very missed.” Osmond was 76.
The impact of his most famous performance can be measured by the fact that, for those of us of a certain age, if someone is described as an “Eddie Haskell”-type, we know exactly what is meant.
The Haskell character was a troublemaking friend of Wally Cleaver, Beaver’s older brother.
The actor revisited his most famous role frequently over the years in the many subsequent iterations of the show, most notably Still the Beaver, which ran from 1983-1989.
Osmond also guested on Happy Days, Lassie, Petticoat Junction and The Munsters.
Osmond went on to become an LAPD Cop and reportedly took five bullets in the line of duty. He reportedly grew a mustache to be less-recognizable on the job.
Leave It to Beaver was not a bit hit during its initial 1957-63 run. The series never made the year-end top 30 among primetime programs in the three-network era. It aired in six time slots on four different nights during its six seasons, moving from CBS to ABC after its first season.
In the show’s original 1957 pilot, which resurfaced three decades later, the Haskell-type character was named Frankie and was played by future SNL, The Simpsons and This Is Spinal Tap actor Harry Shearer.
“He was an incredibly kind and wonderful father,” his son, Eric, said in a statement. “He had his family gathered around him when he passed. He was loved and will be very missed.” Osmond was 76.
The impact of his most famous performance can be measured by the fact that, for those of us of a certain age, if someone is described as an “Eddie Haskell”-type, we know exactly what is meant.
The Haskell character was a troublemaking friend of Wally Cleaver, Beaver’s older brother.
The actor revisited his most famous role frequently over the years in the many subsequent iterations of the show, most notably Still the Beaver, which ran from 1983-1989.
Osmond also guested on Happy Days, Lassie, Petticoat Junction and The Munsters.
Osmond went on to become an LAPD Cop and reportedly took five bullets in the line of duty. He reportedly grew a mustache to be less-recognizable on the job.
Leave It to Beaver was not a bit hit during its initial 1957-63 run. The series never made the year-end top 30 among primetime programs in the three-network era. It aired in six time slots on four different nights during its six seasons, moving from CBS to ABC after its first season.
In the show’s original 1957 pilot, which resurfaced three decades later, the Haskell-type character was named Frankie and was played by future SNL, The Simpsons and This Is Spinal Tap actor Harry Shearer.
05-18-20, 03:40 PM
#3
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
For the past three weeks or so I had been watching random episodes of The New Leave it to Beaver on Youtube as well as a few interviews with Ken Osmond and others from the show. Sad to see this now as it was one i watched many times in reruns in the morning as a child when I sick and home from school. RIP.
05-18-20, 03:42 PM
#4
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
05-18-20, 03:45 PM
#5
DVD Talk God
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Directionally Challenged (for DirecTV)
Posts: 130,262
Received 614 Likes
on
493 Posts
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Granted, I watched it in re-runs, 20 years after it originally aired. He looked older than 14 when he started. I guess back then they actually cast teenagers to play teenage characters.
05-18-20, 06:38 PM
#7
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Rip
05-18-20, 08:10 PM
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Man, I love Ken Osmond. His performances as Eddie Haskell were so spot on for what that character needed - I can't imagine anyone else in that role.
Then he became a cop. And from all accounts he really was a nice guy.
The funny thing is I am constantly compared to Eddie Haskell when I say something nice to my boss at work. I'm totally, completely genuine when I'm saying it, but because I have that character ingrained in my head it's presented a little like the way Eddie would have done it. Only when I do it I'm doing it knowing about Eddie and it's tongue in cheek so that I don't come across like I'm hitting on my boss (she is kind of cute, though
).
But, yeah, Ken was great. I even enjoyed him on the later Still The Beaver episodes.
Then he became a cop. And from all accounts he really was a nice guy.
The funny thing is I am constantly compared to Eddie Haskell when I say something nice to my boss at work. I'm totally, completely genuine when I'm saying it, but because I have that character ingrained in my head it's presented a little like the way Eddie would have done it. Only when I do it I'm doing it knowing about Eddie and it's tongue in cheek so that I don't come across like I'm hitting on my boss (she is kind of cute, though
).But, yeah, Ken was great. I even enjoyed him on the later Still The Beaver episodes.
05-18-20, 08:36 PM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Leave It to Beaver is still on METv weekdays from 8-9am eastern time.
05-18-20, 11:19 PM
#10
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Eddie was a pretty edgy character for the time, and was played perfectly by Ken Osmond. He was one of the great memorable characters of early television.
05-19-20, 08:18 AM
#11
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Funniest episode, was the one where Beaver puts a Voodoo hex on Eddie.
05-19-20, 08:29 AM
#12
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
I remember reading in the newspaper when he was in LAPD he was shot five times by a car thief, lucky he was wearing the bullet-resistance vest.
05-19-20, 06:48 PM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
It is funny he was thought of a edgy character back then to what is out today.
Did anyone watch the 80's revival?
I think they had a couple of TV movies back then too.
05-19-20, 10:47 PM
#14
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
It is funny he was thought of a edgy character back then to what is out today.
Did anyone watch the 80's revival?
I think they had a couple of TV movies back then too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzHP0ZaaH0A
Did anyone watch the 80's revival?
I think they had a couple of TV movies back then too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzHP0ZaaH0A
on the new show.
05-20-20, 02:33 AM
#15
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
There was one movie "Still the Beaver" than a five season tv series called The New Leave it to Beaver. The movie was not in the same continuity as the tv series. The series was decent and a lot of minor characters/ one off characters from the original series made guest appearances
on the new show.
on the new show.
And, yeah, they really did bring in as many original cast members as possible. There was a ton of respect shown to the original series, even though it was a silly, goofy, family friendly sitcom from the late 50's and early 60's.
And, let's face it, for a silly, goofy, family friendly late 50's sitcom Leave It To Beaver was really good.
05-20-20, 05:32 AM
#16
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
I wonder if millennials watch it?
It was probably a lot easier to find on TV a couple of decades ago.
It was probably a lot easier to find on TV a couple of decades ago.
05-20-20, 08:21 AM
#17
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Yeah, I haven't seen it for 25 years, but I remember The New Leave It To Beaver being really well done for a cheesy family sitcom. It maintained the spirit of the original show, but was VERY 80's in style. It was exactly what a Leave It To Beaver revival should have been.
And, yeah, they really did bring in as many original cast members as possible. There was a ton of respect shown to the original series, even though it was a silly, goofy, family friendly sitcom from the late 50's and early 60's.
And, let's face it, for a silly, goofy, family friendly late 50's sitcom Leave It To Beaver was really good.
And, yeah, they really did bring in as many original cast members as possible. There was a ton of respect shown to the original series, even though it was a silly, goofy, family friendly sitcom from the late 50's and early 60's.
And, let's face it, for a silly, goofy, family friendly late 50's sitcom Leave It To Beaver was really good.
05-20-20, 08:28 AM
#18
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
I’ve got kind of a strange love/hate relationship with Leave it to Beaver. I watched it a lot as a kid But mostly when I was home sick from school and we didn’t have cable yet. I remember it was on a block of programming in the middle of the day with The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, and Bewitched.
When I think about Leave it to Beaver, I associate it with being sick I’m the 80s/early 90s.
05-20-20, 08:29 AM
#19
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
05-20-20, 08:29 AM
#20
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Even in the early 1980's, Leave it to Beaver seemed like a very ancient show. What's funny to think about is in the early 1980's, Leave it to Beaver would have been a 23 year old show. The sitcom Friends is now 26 years old and doesn't seem anywhere near as ancient as Leave it to Beaver did back in the early 1980's.
The following users liked this post:
Franchot (05-20-20)
05-20-20, 04:29 PM
#21
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Leave it to Beaver was still in heavy syndication through the early 1990s. That's when many of the classic shows from the 50s and 60s began dropping off the air in bigger urban markets. Few born after 9/11 have seen an episode of the show.
05-20-20, 10:45 PM
#22
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
That's the thing that gets me, a great show like The Dick Van Dyke Show, one of the greatest sitcoms EVER, and most people under 30 have never even seen a single episode. It's a changed TV landscape. With so much more programming available younger viewers don't give older shows much of a chance anymore. When I was 10, 15, or even 20 shows from the 50's and 60's weren't that old, and they were a huge part of TV programming.
Add in all the shows from the 70's to today and there are hundreds of shows since then that programmers have to choose from. Even the most classic of classic shows is just viewed as, "Old," by a lot of people under 40. That's a shame.
Leave It To Beaver was no great show, but it was fun, it was cute, and they did a great job of achieving what they set out to achieve.
I doubt it was any more cheesy than the other sitcoms from the 1980's era. It was a product of its time. Most of the sitcoms on Nickelodeon or disney Chanel are still done in this cheesy style. The one thing I don't like is how they do the theme. It starts off with a really slow version of the theme and then just jumps into an 80's styled version of the theme.
It fit in well with the times, and it was both current AND retro. I enjoyed it at the time, even if I didn't watch it every week.
I grew up in the 70's (and early 80's) watching Leave It To Beaver. The show will always have fond memories and a good feeling for me.
05-25-20, 08:21 PM
#23
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
Surprised his death was never mentioned on NBC Nightly News or the local newscasts and only the internet covered it.
05-25-20, 10:17 PM
#24
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Osmond (Leave it to Beaver) dead at 76
I don’t even know if it still airs around here.
I’ve got kind of a strange love/hate relationship with Leave it to Beaver. I watched it a lot as a kid But mostly when I was home sick from school and we didn’t have cable yet. I remember it was on a block of programming in the middle of the day with The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, and Bewitched.
When I think about Leave it to Beaver, I associate it with being sick I’m the 80s/early 90s.
I’ve got kind of a strange love/hate relationship with Leave it to Beaver. I watched it a lot as a kid But mostly when I was home sick from school and we didn’t have cable yet. I remember it was on a block of programming in the middle of the day with The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, and Bewitched.
When I think about Leave it to Beaver, I associate it with being sick I’m the 80s/early 90s.
