It's a Small World (Leave It to Beaver episode)

“It's a Small World”
Leave It to Beaver episode
Mathers and Sullivan in the pilot.
Episode no.	Season – Episode –
Written by	Joe Connelly Bob Mosher
Directed by	Jerry Hopper
Guest stars	Diane Brewster Richard Deacon Joseph Kearns Harry Shearer
Production no.	Pilot
Original airdate	April 23, 1957
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → – "Beaver Gets 'Spelled"

"It's a Small World" is the pilot from the iconic American television series Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963). The pilot episode was first televised April 23, 1957 on Heinz Studio '57. It was televised again in October 2007 as part of TV Land's 50th anniversary celebration of Leave It to Beaver. The series proper made its CBS debut on October 4, 1957 with the episode, "Beaver Gets 'Spelled". The pilot never aired as an episode within the series.^[1] It was released to DVD, 2005.^[2]

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Cast and crew 3 Production notes 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 External links

Plot summary

Wally and Beaver want a new bicycle. Frankie Bennett, a mischievous boy, tells them new bikes can be had a local dairy in exchange for 1,000 bottle caps from the company's products. The boys collect the bottle caps, but, in attempting to redeem them, learn they've been duped. Ward takes pity on the boys and buys them a bicycle.

Cast and crew

Casey Adams (aka Max Showalter) and Barbara Billingsley appear in the pilot as archetypal suburban couple, Ward and June Cleaver with Paul Sullivan and Jerry Mathers as their sons Wally Cleaver and Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver respectively. Diane Brewster appears as Miss Simms, a secretary, with Richard Deacon as Mr. Baxter, Miss Simms' boss. Joseph Kearns appears as milk company executive, Fred Crowley. Harry Shearer plays Frankie Bennett, a mischievous boy who leads Wally and Beaver astray while Tommy Randall plays Frankie's pal. Other cast members include Russ Thorson as Man with Milk Bottles, Leonard Bremen as Milk Bar Operator, Tim Graham as Doc, and Virginia Carroll as Nurse. Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher wrote the teleplay with Jerry Hopper directing the episode. Richard Lewis produced the episode.

Production notes

• Hugh Beaumont would appear in the series proper as Ward Cleaver (rather than Casey Adams) while Diane Brewster would appear as Beaver's first season teacher, Miss Canfield. Richard Deacon would portray Fred Rutherford, Ward's co-worker, in the series.
• Joseph Kearns would play Mr. Wilson in the sitcom, Dennis the Menace.
• The episode had no laugh track and didn't have the theme song used throughout the remainder of the series.^[2]
• Paul Sullivan's height 'shot up' too much during the summer to play Wally so the part went to Tony Dow.^[3]

See also

• List of Leave It to Beaver episodes

References

Sources

• Applebaum, Irwyn. The World According to Beaver. TV Books, 1984, 1998. (ISBN 1575000520).
• Bank, Frank. Call Me Lumpy: my Leave It To Beaver days and other wild Hollywood life . Addax, 2002. (ISBN-10: 1886110298), (ISBN-13: 978-1886110298).
• Colella, Jennifer. The Leave It to Beaver Guide to Life: wholesome wisdom from the Cleavers! Running Press, 2006. (ISBN-10: 0762427736), (ISBN-13: 9780762427734).
• Leave It to Beaver: the complete first season. Universal Studios, 2005.
• Leave It to Beaver: the complete second season. Universal Studios, 2006. (ISBN 1417074876)
• Mathers, Jerry. ...And Jerry Mather as "The Beaver". Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998. (ISBN 0425163709)

External links

• "It's a Small World" at imdb
• Leave It to Beaver at geocities

This box:  •  • edit Leave It to Beaver
The Cleavers June | Ward | Wally | "Beaver"
The relatives Aunt Martha | Uncle Billy
The friends "Lumpy" Rutherford | Eddie Haskell | Larry Mondello | Gilbert Bates | Judy Hensler | Richard Rickover | "Whitey" Whitney | Gus
The girlfriends Mary Ellen Rogers | Julie Foster
The parents Mrs. Mondello | Mr. Rutherford
The teachers Miss Canfield | Miss Landers | Mrs. Rayburn
See also List of cast members | List of episodes | The New Leave It to Beaver | Leave It to Beaver movie