Ken Osmond died today, https://www.npr.org/2020/05/18/858394693/ken-osmond-dies-at-76-played-two-faced-eddie-haskell-on-leave-it-to-beaver and Fred WIllard over the weekend, and Jerry Stiller last week. Sad to lose these legends (and my youth :
The article on Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell) failed to note that after joining the Los Angeles police force as an officer, Ken Osmond was shot 5 times during a chase (stolen car if I recall correctly) and retired on disability in 1988.
It has been a sad week for tv legends. I’ve known several Eddie Haskell types through the years. Leave it to Beaver was a favorite when we were kids.
Not sure I should admit this, but Eddie Haskell was my favorite character on that show.
Phyllis George died also. Lots of celebrity deaths lately. (Lots of regular people deaths too.)
We have a friend who looks just like Jerry Mathers. H sent him condolences on the loss of Eddie Haskell. I hadn’t know the actor had become a police officer or that he was a real life hero. I also read that Jerry M said that Ken O was the best actor on the show because his real personality was so unlike Eddie Haskell’s.
I sent the article on his death around to friends yesterday. The article I read did mention that he was shot 5 times and retired on disability. I loved that character on Leave it to Beaver.
Leave It to Beaver was must see TV at my house. Eddie Haskell kept the show from being too saccharin. There goes another part of my childhood.
Sorry to read about his death. He was a great foil to Wally and Beaver! I’d never seen a TV show before in which karma let the bad guy off so lightly. It was obvious that Ward and June knew exactly what kind of kid Eddie was, and Wally had it figured out pretty quickly, but somehow Eddie rarely got in as much trouble as he caused. He probably taught me to be less trusting of smooth talkers.
Fun read on Eddie Haskell in todays’s WaPo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/the-brilliant-subversive-jerkiness-of-eddie-haskell/2020/05/18/e37bf0c0-994b-11ea-89fd-28fb313d1886_story.html
I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I was when he and Alice Cooper turned out not to be one and the same.
We are big Leave it to Beaver fans at my house. So sad that he passed away so young.