21Nov

Buddy Joe Hooker on the Dating Game (with Farrah Fawcett)

Posted by: Brian GleeStreet Categories: classic tv game shows TV - Leave it to Beaver
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Jerry Mathers, the actor who played Theordore “Beaver” Cleaver on the 1950s and 1960s sitcom Leave it to Beaver, was not the only actor from that show who was a contestant on The Dating Game. Jerry’s famous “groovy” episode happened in 1966 when he was 18 years old. If you’ve not seen that episode of The Dating Game, you will not know what I mean by, “groovy.” Watch it here and remember, Jerry was just 18 years old. Don’t give him the business.

Another actor from Leave it to Beaver, Buddy Joe Hooker, who played Wally’s friend Chester Anderson, also was a contestant on The Dating Game. His appearance came in 1969 when he had just about transitioned from part-time working actor to full-time working stuntman. He never did give up acting, but stunt work became his full-time career.

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Joey Hooker, as he was introduced by host Jim Lange, was in competition with two other men for the affections of a “young lady,” named Farrah Fawcett, “an artist who wants to open her own gallery,” according to Lange. In this episode, Joey is asked by Farrah if he was in charge of America, what would he make the national past time. His answer as “Bachelor #2” was, “Love,” and it was said with syrupy sweetness. Farrah smiled and soon they were both off on a ski trip together to Austria.




If anyone has any tips on other actors from Leave it to Beaver that were on The Dating Game, please leave a comment below. Thanks!

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22Jun

Richard Correll (Richard Rickover) was not a friend of Sharon Tate

Posted by: Brian GleeStreet Categories: TV - Leave it to Beaver
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Rumors. Lies. Faulty memories. Take your choice. They are all a cause of false statements and incorrect assumptions about our favorite classic TV characters. There are so many you can choose from too, especially in regard to Leave it to Beaver and its many actors.

Jerry Mathers, the actor who played Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver was killed in Viet Nam. Not true. Who knows how that rumor was started? Hugh Beaumont, the actor who played one of the most amazing father figures on TV, Ward Cleaver, was a Methodist pastor. Well, that one was true. What about Ken Osmond, the amazing actor who portrayed America’s preeminent bad boy Eddie Haskell? Yes, he was the subject of a few different rumors. The most amazing was that Ken Osmond was a porn star. But, then there was that one that Ken Osmond went on after the show ended to become one of America’s most well known rock stars of the 1970s, Alice Cooper. Then there are all those rumors about Larry Mondello (Rusty Stevens). No, he is not an insurance salesman (wait, that one may have been true once) and his family didn’t move back east, causing him to leave the show. Those aren’t true.

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But here’s a new tidbit which could soon become a rumor if someone doesn’t nip it in the bud right now. The actor who played Beaver’s friend Richard Rickover is the modern day director Rich Correll. Among his many directorial jobs was that well known Disney comedy, Hannah Montana. Recently, I saw a comment on a Facebook page about Richard Correll and a question about his being friends with Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski. Another comment mentioned that Richard Correll MAY have been scheduled to be at the Tate house on the night Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson family. What a headline that would’ve been…. “Leave it to Beaver Actor Murdered with Actress Sharon Tate.”

This whole thought could be chalked up to a faulty memory as it is derived from the reading of an article in Town & Country Magazine over a year previous (heck, I can’t remember what I had for breakfast some days). That article mentioned that Richard Correll was one of the people who saw the Manson Family after they left the murder scene. Correll had been at the Harold Lloyd house as he had been visiting Lloyd’s granddaughter who he was dating at the time.

“As usual, it was about 3:30 in the morning when I left. Everything was so quiet at that hour. I was about to turn right onto Benedict Canyon when I heard and then saw a car driven by a man with long hair, what looked like another man in the passenger seat, and a couple of young women in the back. Their windows were down, music was blaring, and they were carry­ing on so loudly I thought they must be drunk college kids. They were no more than 10 feet in front of me.”

He figured out later, after watching the TV news reports about the murders, that he had seen the murderers.

There you have it… straight from Richard Rickover’s mouth. He wasn’t friends with actress Sharon Tate or director/producer Roman Polanski, but he was in their neighborhood and saw her murderers as they made their way back home.

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21Jun

Actor Benny Baker (LITB Season 1 Ep 4)

Posted by: Brian GleeStreet Categories: TV - Leave it to Beaver Uncategorized
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Actor Benny Baker

Actor Benny Baker

Everybody who loves Leave it to Beaver find some seasons more appealing than others. For those of you who love the young Beaver seen in seasons 1 and 2, what are your thoughts about “The Haircut” episode? This is when that mean barber wouldn’t give him a haircut. Well, some of us might think that barber was mean, but really, he couldn’t do anything because the owner Stanley wouldn’t let him give a haircut for free or the barbers’ union wouldn’t allow the barter system. Poor Beaver.

But who is this guy, this barber and have you ever seen him on any other classic TV shows? Maybe he was in some movies you’ve checked out over the years. I did a quick search on the man and his name is Benny Baker. He began acting in 1934 in bit parts, some uncredited, many short films, and his final appearance was in 1991, three years before his death. Prior to working in film, actor Benny Baker worked on the vaudeville circuit.

Before his appearance on Leave it to Beaver, actor Benny Baker appeared in some popular shows but in very small roles such as an audience member on I Love Lucy, and other TV shows in which he has bit parts included The Milton Berle Show, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Life of Riley, Maverick and The Real McCoys. He also played an extra as a baseball player in the William Bendix film, The Babe Ruth Story.

Then came his few minutes on Leave it to Beaver. He played his role perfectly. He plays a great straight man for Beaver, especially with the line, “After all, anyone can lose money.” That set Beaver up perfectly with the reply, “Yeah, but not as good as I can.” In his role, Baker looked like a real barber, but of course, he was no Floyd the Barber from The Andy Griffith Show, even though Floyd does make an appearance on Leave it to Beaver in “The Shave” episode from season 2 episode 8 as a barber named Andy. I do admit, I was not the biggest Benny Baker fan when I first watched and even when I last watched “The Haircut” episode. I wanted him to give in to Beaver’s plea for a haircut. But then again, if he had, the rest of the episode would’ve been a bit boring, right?

After his appearance on Leave it to Beaver, Benny Baker went on to make 63 more appearances as an actor in Hollywood. A laundry list of TV show appearances include bit parts on Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Surfside 6, The Jack Benny Program, The Farmer’s Daughter, F Troop, Green Acres, Laverne & Shirley, Cagney & Lacey, Sledgehammer!, and He’s the Mayor. Benny Baker also appeared in many movies including No Time for Sergeants, Papa’s Delicate Condition, Boy Did I Get a Wrong Number and The Sting II. He also filmed scenes for the movie Car Wash, but unfortunately, those scenes were deleted.

Like many actors who appeared on Leave it to Beaver, Benny Baker had a long career in Hollywood, both before LITB and after LITB. Benny passed away in 1994 at the age of 87.

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