Jerry Mathers

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Jerry Mathers

Born June 2, 1948 (1948-06-02) (age 60)
Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.
Years active 1954-present
Spouse(s) Rhonda (1977-1997) (divorced) 3 children

Jerry Mathers (born June 2, 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa) is an American television, film and stage actor.

The brown-headed Mathers is best known for his role in the television sitcom series Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963), in which he played Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the younger son of archetypal suburban couple June and Ward Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont), and the brother of Wally Cleaver (Tony Dow).

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[edit] Early acting career

Mathers's acting career began early. At the age of two, in a commercial, he walked into a barroom wearing diapers, six guns, cowboy boots and a big cowboy hat. Ed Wynn, the vaudeville comedian, was behind the bar and several cowboy actors began portraying a bar fight. At this point, Mathers walks through the fighting cowboys and one of them picks him up and they all say, “Why are you here?” Mathers responds, “I’m the toughest hombre in these parts. You better have my brand,” while he pounds on the bar. It was a commercial for PET Milk.[1]

His early movies included This Is My Love (1954), Men of the Fighting Lady (1954), The Seven Little Foys (1955) and The Trouble with Harry (1955).

As he moved into his teenage years, Mathers retired from acting to concentrate on school.

In 1978, he reentered the entertainment industry. He has since starred in Playing Patti (1998) and Better Luck Tomorrow (2002). He has also been in It's Howdy Doody Time (1987), Down the Drain (1990) and Sexual Malice (1994).

[edit] Leave It to Beaver

Mathers reportedly got the role of Beaver Cleaver when he told the show's producers he'd rather be at his cub scout meeting than auditioning for the part. The producers found his candidness appealing and perfect for the role. Mathers got the job.[2]

Mathers played the role of Beaver for six years. When the show ended in spring 1963, Beaver was looking forward to entering Mayfield High School. Mathers appeared in all 234 episodes of the series.

Mathers was the first child actor ever to make a deal to get a percentage of the merchandising revenue from a television show. The Leave It to Beaver show still generates merchandise revenue today, almost 45 years after its original production run ended.

The original sitcom has been shown in over 80 countries in 40 languages. Mathers has noted that the Leave It to Beaver phenomenon is worldwide. "I can go anywhere in the world, and people know me," Mathers has said. "In Japan the show’s called 'The Happy Boy and His Family.' So I’ll be walking through the airport in Japan, and people will come up and say, 'Hi, Happy Boy!'"[3]

[edit] Recordings

In 1962, near the end of the run of the original show, Mathers recorded two songs for a single 45rpm: Don't 'Cha Cry, a retread of Spanish Harlem; and for the flip side, the twist ditty, Wind-Up Toy ("Wind-up Toy! Wind-up Toy! Say, when you gonna treat me like a real live boy.") During his high school years, following the production of the original show, Mathers had a band called "Beaver and the Trappers." They made some records for Atlantic Records, including one called Happiness is Havin', which was the number one single in Hawaii and Alaska for a while. The song was co-written by Mathers and Richard Correll, who played Richard Rickover in the original sitcom. Mathers's band recorded for about three-and-a-half years and played sock-hops and parties in southern California.

[edit] Broadway

In his first venture on Broadway, Mathers joined the musical cast of a production of Hairspray for a three-month run, between June and September of 2007.[4] He played the part of Wilbur Turnblad.[3] Mathers is the second cast member of the original Leave It to Beaver show to appear on Broadway. In 1936, Barbara Billingsley appeared in the Broadway play Straw Hat, which closed after only five shows.

[edit] Urban legend death

Mathers became the subject of an urban legend when it was falsely reported that he died in Vietnam. While he did serve in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, he remained in the United States. In 1969 (or 1968; sources differ) incorrect reports of his death were put out by Associated Press and United Press International when a similarly-named soldier was killed.[5] [6] The rumor was so widespread and believable that Tony Dow, a co-star from the Beaver sitcom, sent flowers to the Mathers family upon hearing the news.

[edit] Personal life

  • He is also the father of three children; his son, Noah Mathers (1978), works in film and video production, and two daughters: Mercedes Mathers (1982), and Gretchen Mathers (1985), who attends college in Southern California. All of his children were with his wife Rhonda to whom he was married for fourteen years. He married a second time, and is now divorced again.

[edit] Diabetes

Mathers was diagnosed with diabetes in 1996[7]. He took preventative action, lost 45 pounds and became one of the leading lecturers on living with and dealing with diabetes. Mathers has partnered with diverse organizations to bring awareness of this epidemic to the public and is currently the national spokesperson for Johnson and Johnson’s OneTouch Ultra2 System blood glucose monitoring system.

[edit] Other careers

  • He began a successful career in real-estate development and banking. In order to pay for this, he used his savings from his acting career.

[edit] Current

  • Mathers, who is an FCC licensed broadcaster, often guest hosts on national talk-radio programs and is trained in radio satellite broadcasting.
  • Mathers's partner since 2005 is Teresa Modnick, the community relations director for the Center for Healthy Aging, based in Santa Monica, California.
  • He is currently a speaker at business conventions, where he addresses the emotional state of the American family and the effects of television on society today, using the fabled Cleavers from his early television career.

[edit] Select filmography

[edit] Bibliography

  • And Jerry Mathers as The Beaver; Mathers, Jerry and Fagen, Herb; Berkley Trade (1998)

[edit] References

  1. ^ 'I've Had a Charmed Life'
  2. ^ Mathers, Jerry. ...And Jerry Mathers as "The Beaver". Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998.
  3. ^ a b And Jerry Mathers as ... Tracy Turnblad’s Father? - New York Times.com
  4. ^ Mathers' Hairspray Stint Will End Sept. 16 - Playbill.com
  5. ^ Leave It to Beaver star Jerry Mathers dies in action in Vietnam
  6. ^ a b Jerry Mathers bio
  7. ^ Jerry Mathers Leaves it to Weight Loss to Control His Diabetes

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Persondata
NAME Mathers, Jerry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION actor
DATE OF BIRTH June 2, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages