Leave It to Beaver was a situation comedy which ran on CBS from October 4, 1957 to 1958 and then on ABC from 1958 to June 20, 1963.
The show centered around the life of a child named Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (played by Jerry Mathers). Many of the storylines revolved around Beaver's attempts (or refusals) to get along with his brother Wally (Tony Dow) and his parents Ward and June Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont, Barbara Billingsley). The episodes often portrayed a moral lesson. Today the show is often mocked for its bland, problem-free, Pleasantville-like portrayal of 1950s life in Mayfield, and is often invoked as a symbol of those simpler times. The character of Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) became a cultural reference, recognized as an archetype for the behind-your-back rebel, while the name of June Cleaver is often invoked as an archetypical suburban mother.
