I've Led a CHARMED LIFE

The Leave It to Beaver alum shares his favorite memories with Closer

- Lindsay Hoffman

For six seasons, Jerry Mathers played Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver, the most adorable kid getting into trouble on television. “When we first went on the air, we didn’t even know if it would last two weeks,” the Leave It to Beaver star tells Closer. “It was phenomenal because it hasn’t ever left the air since.”

Although the show stopped making new episodes in 1963, it became even more popular in syndication. In fact, Jerry, 75, has been told by several generations of fans how much they related to the adventures of the Beaver. “I have a lot of people, especially young boys that say, ‘I did that same thing as Beaver, but I got in a lot more trouble!’ Or the people that say that Beaver kept them out of trouble because they realized what they shouldn’t be doing.”

How did you become a child actor?

My mom happened to be at a department store, and a lady came up to her and said, “Is this your little boy? We have a fashion show — could he be one of our models?” That’s how I got started. At the time, live TV was just getting started, so I started doing live TV because I was used to walking out in front of an audience [from the fashion shows].

Did you enjoy starring on Leave It to Beaver?

Yes, it was so much fun. I had so many friends on the set, not only the people that were the actors, but all the sound and camera people and the crew. It was a really nice way to grow up. I met a lot of nice people that I would never have known if I’d been in a regular school situation.