The Bryon Nelson Interview

Who is Bryon Nelson? No, he’s not a deceased former golfer.

The first thing you need to know about Bryon Nelson is that he is not Byron Nelson. It’s Bryon, the same as Brian, but spelled incorrectly. I only say that because I do spell my name correctly B-R-I-A-N 🙂

The other thing you need to know about Bryon is that he is the admin for the Leave it to Beaver Fan Club Facebook page. It has nearly 23,000 members and I’ve known him since I joined over 7 years ago when there were less than 1000 members. Boy, that Facebook group has grown. He does a great job of administering the group and I think he’s had his best year of administrating it in 2021. If you ever wondered what it’s like doing his job, what he loves most about Leave it to Beaver, his favorite episodes and about his interaction with cast members and even more info, check out the interview I did with him below.

When did you start the Leave it to Beaver Fan Club Facebook page?

The group was actually created by a gentleman who left the group at some point. He and I became FB friends and discussed Leave it to Beaver all the time. We would go back and forth and quiz each other on the show. One day, I went to reply and was unable to. I had no reason to think he would block me, but checked anyway. I went to the Leave it to Beaver Fan Club page to try to see if I could at least see if I was able to click on his name. When I went to the “Admin” page, it said, “This group needs an Administrator.” All I needed to do was claim the spot. I am a founding member. I looked to see when the group was created, and it was first launched on January 8, 2009 and I became a member on February 18, 2009, just a month and ten days after it was created. At that point, I made a vow that the page would be treated with the respect and care that the show itself deserves. At the time I joined the group, it had little over 100 members. Since then, it has grown to nearly 23,000 members.

July 28, 2009, I created and to this day, administrate The New Leave it to Beaver/Still the Beaver Fan Page Facebook group. This group highlights the 1980’s Leave it to Beaver revival TV Show that was kicked off after the 1983 CBS Movie of the week, “Still the Beaver.” Wally and Beaver are grown adults. Beaver has two boys, Kip and Oliver and Wally and Mary Ellen have a daughter named Kelly in the first season, then a baby named Kevin in the second season, and then a three and four year old Kevin in future seasons. June, the family matriarch, is also active in the family and is there for support and advice. I had the privilege to interview the entire remaining NLITB starring cast on the Fancounters Podcast. It was great honor to speak with Ken Osmond’s sons, Eric and Christian who played his TV sons, “Freddie” and “Bomber” via Zoom. That interview can be found on my YouTube Channel.

You didn’t start the group, but what made you join the group?

I joined the group simply for my love of Leave it to Beaver. Though I didn’t create The Leave it to Beaver Fan Club, I did initially join the group to connect with fellow fans. I’ve met quite of few fellow fans who have become close friends.

Now what made me create The New Leave it to Beaver/Still the Beaver Fan Page? I felt that this show didn’t have a chance to really get the exposure it could’ve had. When it first aired, it was on the Disney Channel back when it was a pay channel. After it’s first year, it went to WTBS, not a pay channel, but still a cable station during a time when a good portion of households didn’t have cable. After the series was over, it was only in reruns until 1992. I, myself, didn’t see many episodes when they originally aired because my awareness of the show didn’t come until after I started watching the original series. Luckily, for me, I was in a market where they did air re-runs. The majority of the U.S. didn’t get to see it in reruns. I created the group to bring awareness to the show in hopes it would bring a demand for the show to be produced on DVD/Blu Ray. Please, contact Universal Home Video and tell them you want it! I also urge everyone to get into the ears of Peacock Streaming, owned by Universal, and ask them to add the show to their line up! Let me be clear, I am talking about the New Leave it to Beaver NOT the original series that is already available on the streaming service.

I remember joining the FB group over 7 years ago when there were about 800-1000 members. In what time period did you see the most tremendous growth?

The growth goes in spurts. Every once in a while, it gets outside exposure. Our group has been mentioned on Jerry Mather’s website a number of times, Stu’s Show, a weekly (now I believe biweekly) show that interviews celebrities, mainly from the 50s and 60s. The group has also been mentioned on Dave Sundstrom’s YouTube channel, a channel that talks about movies, music and television, “You know, the good stuff”. As mentioned, I’ve appeared on Fancounters Celebrity Podcast to co-interview cast members. It’s hard to pin-point exactly when the surge happened, it’s been in spurts. Right now, we are on our “Journey to 30,000 and Beyond!” Please, invite friend or two!

How hard of a job is it to be the admin for such a group?

I don’t want to say it’s hard, but it is a challenge sometimes. As the administrator of the group, it is my prime goal to make the group a fun “escape” from life. If it wasn’t for the moderators, Maria and Nicole, (Co-Admin Mark Bradley in TNLITB group), it would be much tougher. I do enjoy it though. It’s more fun than it is work.

When you took the group private, there were some members that wanted it to remain public, can you explain the benefits of a private group (my preference by the way)?

I first had the groups public. I did this, so that posts could be “SHARED” and get more exposure. Many expressed their concerns about why they wanted it to be private, and after a polling, it was clear that the majority of the members wanted it to be private. It was then that we decided to set the groups to private. It’s worked out better than I expected, and has brought long time members to be more active again.

When did you first watch Leave it to Beaver and on what station did you watch it?

I remember this clear as day. I was around 9 years old. I was not feeling well and at the home of a babysitter. She had me lie down on the couch and watch TV. It happened to be on the channel playing LITB. I enjoyed it so much that that I took note of the channel, so I could watch it again. It was SUPER18 Milwaukee’s Super Station. This would be the same station I’d find The New Leave it to Beaver on Thanksgiving Day, seeing the Thanksgiving special. Again, hooked from day one.

In the original series, which seasons are your favorite? Which episode in each season is your favorite? And why?

My favorite seasons are 4, 5 and 6. Not that I don’t like the earlier seasons, but the later seasons seemed to be more developed. The characters were more established.

Favorite episodes of each season?
Season 1: “The Black Eye” I like how Violet got “gressive,’ but after seeing her, she looked nothing like a “gressive” type of little girl.

Season 2: “Her Idol” I like how Mrs. Landers explains how it’s not a shameful thing for little boys and little girls to like each other.

Season 3: “School Sweater” I like this episode simply because of the sweater itself. It is the focal point of the episode. I’ve always liked the Mayfield High letter sweater. I also really like how usually passive Wally is, but gets a bit aggressive in getting his sweater when the young lady he let borrow it was spreading false information about him and the sweater.

Season 4: “Mother’s Helper” I like how this episode captures Wally in a crush situation with a teen housekeeper. His excuses to go and pester her are so obvious, but still are sold. I do get a bit confused on what the young lady thinks of Beaver. At times, she seems annoyed at other times, she looks as if she thinks he’s a cute little brother of Wally’s.

Season 5: “Wally’s Car” Anytime you have a car in an episode, who can’t help but love it, right? This episode reminds me of a time when I was a teen and got a hold of a ‘73 Lincoln Mark IV (in 1996). This thing had a big hole in the gas tank, vice grips for a gearshift, but had a perfectly working 8 track player. It would’ve been great to have been able to fix it up. Wally was in the same situation. I really felt bad for Wally. It’s too bad he couldn’t have worked on it and fixed it up. That would’ve been real cool to cruise around in.

Season 6: “Lumpy’s Scholarship” We have a few things going on in this episode. 1. Wally is disappointed that he doesn’t get a scholarship to State U., but Lumpy does. Lumpy finds out at a celebration that Wally is throwing him to congratulate him, that he will no longer get the scholarship. Fred shows a bit of embarrassment, and has no regard for Lumpy’s feelings, and Ward points that out to Fred.

Which fringe character on the show do you wish had had more appearances?

I would have to say Barbara Parkins (Judy, Beaver’s babysitter) Admittingly, I had a little crush on her when I was younger. I think she would’ve made a great date for Wally

What is your favorite thing about Leave it to Beaver?

I like how it is so timeless. As I watch it now as an adult, every issue I see happens today in real life. It has for generations. You can see the same things happened to Ward as a boy which goes into another generation. Despite the b/w, simpleness of the show (I’m not knocking the b/w of the show, but as time goes on, younger generations seem to dislike b/w anything) it’s substance is solid, because anyone can relate to something somewhere in the series.

Can you name one situation that happened to you when you were a child that you could also see happening to Beaver Cleaver?

As in, it happened to me, but didn’t happen to Beaver? I was in 4th grade and wanted to ride my bike to school. My mother gave me permission, and when I rode off, I took a wrong turn. I retraced my route, rode home, called my mom at work, and got more directions. I was three hours late for school. Fearing the worst from my teacher, I came into the classroom. When she saw me in the doorway, she insisted that I rest before getting to work saying that she heard what happened and said I must be exhausted and needed a rest. I didn’t argue.

Have you ever spoken with or met in person any of the cast of Leave it to Beaver? If so, were they anything like their characters on the show?

Yes, in 1992, I met Jerry Mathers and Ken Osmond at The American Serb Hall after they sat in for a regular host for a week on WTMJ Radio. They were running a contest on the show and if you answered correctly, you won the opportunity to eat dinner with them at Serb Hall that Friday night. I chickened out when I called and the producer answered and I hung up. I knew all the answers as a 14 year old kid.

I remember Jerry signing a TV book I had with a picture of him from the “Short Pants” episode. He told me how he remembered vividly that day with a chuckle. I saw Ken first though, I had him sign a picture in the same book of him and Carolyn Cunningham. He signed it, and then in his Eddie character said, “Okay, squirt, go over by him and get his autograph with a Haskell chuckle and shook my hand and patted me on the shoulder. Some years later, I had a back and forth conversation with Frank Bank via email. After hearing an interview he did on Shokus Internet Radio (now known as Stu’s Show) and mentioning on the show that anyone who would like an autographed copy of his book, they could email him. I did this, but it took a long time to get the book, due to uncontrolled circumstances. At one point, in our email exchange, he expressed how things were tough being that Barbara Billingsley had passed away. I finally did get the book, and I still have the emails today. Great man, and he was nothing like his character at all.

Fast forward another few years, and met Jerry again. This time it was a tad different. At this point I had run the Leave it to Beaver Fan Club for almost a decade and he and his wife do look in from time to time. As I waited in line, his wife Teresa greeted me, and we chatted until we got to the front of the line. Jerry greeted me and mentioned the Leave it to Beaver Fan Club. He signed a few items for me, I asked a question or two, and went off on my way. A couple years later, I met Jerry again, and this time, Tony Dow as well. Tony is a lot like his character on the show. He’s an athletic guy like in his younger days, a swimmer too, as he was in the show. He is, however quieter than his character, but very personable. Another time, I was able to sit privately with Jerry and Tony and casually chat. We talked about Tony’s art and the color of the famous Mayfield High School letter sweater. If you were to see the sweater from the original show in real life, it would appear light blue-gray with black letters and stripes. In The New Leave it to Beaver, the sweater is royal blue and yellow.

I was also able to speak to Kip Marcus, John Snee, Kaleena Kiff, Eric and Christian Osmond as well as writers and producers of The New Leave it to Beaver including Brian Levant, the man behind the new series. The cool thing about the Osmonds was that we got to talk about their dad with them and what it was like to work with their father on the show. This was only a couple weeks before Ken’s passing which made it that interview special.

You are a huge fan of the New Leave it to Beaver show. Would you say you’re a bigger fan of that show or the original series?

You know, I like them about the same. I’ll go into phases of liking the original better, and then the new series better. I was introduced to both of them at the same time with the original being first by a month or so. Being that I loved the original as I did when I first started watching them. Once I saw there was a new series, I knew I’d love it too!

What is your favorite New Leave it to Beaver episode?

This is a tough one, because there are a few, but if I would narrow it down to one, I’d say, “Can’t get you out of My Life.” In this episode, June bans all Haskells from the family after all three of the Haskells cause a negative impact to members of the Cleaver family.

Outside of the Cleaver family, name your favorite character in the original series and the New Leave it to Beaver show.

For the original series, my favorite character other than the Cleavers would have to be Tooey Brown. I always got a kick out if him not being able to see, despite his super thick, “Coke bottle” glasses. I also always liked Julie Foster. To me, that was Wally’s true first girlfriend. It was amazing how Cheryl Holdridge had two roles, but both Gloria and Julie seemed so different.

On The New Leave it to Beaver, I liked Bomber Haskell. We don’t see him very much, but I was always so fascinated on how much he really looked like Eddie.

If you could create a new series with the following remaining living actors, tell me a plot or two you would have for new episodes. The actors would be Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Buddy Joe Hooker (Chester), Stephen Talbot (Gilbert) and Richard Correll (Richard Rickover).

I see Beaver, Richard and Gilbert all retired. I see a pilot episode where Beaver and Richard run into Gilbert at a high school reunion and talking about what he’s been up to the last 50 years. Beaver’s son Oliver and his wife would be living at 211 Pine street and raising two boys. His wife would be Betsy Martin. I see Kip as a successful executive living in the Maple(ton) Drive home with his wife with three or four kids. Wally would be a judge in Mayfield. He, being the patriarch of the family, would be the one with the “Ward” role giving the family the advice with patience and understanding. His son, Kevin lives on Grant Avenue and is a police officer. Daughter Kelly, a lawyer, lives with her husband Duffy at the 213 Pine Street home. I see Chester Anderson as the owner of the Soda Shop. He and Wally could be sharing memories of Lumpy and Eddie. This would be a touching scene of course. Gilbert lives in Belport, but gets to Mayfield from time to time. Beaver and his pals reminisce about their late friend Whitey, another touching moment. Eddie’s two sons would also live in Belport. Freddie takes over the construction business and is a bit more upright than Eddie was. Bomber would grow up to an upstanding citizen and become a guidance counselor.

Of the following Leave it to Beaver related books, which have you read and what are your thoughts about them? 1) Eddie: The Life and Times of America’s preeminent bad boy 2) Call Me Lumpy by Frank Bank 3) And Jerry Mathers as the Beaver and 4) The World According to Beaver by Irwyn Applebaum

I own all of the books and enjoyed them all. Frank’s book is a series of tall tales as he lightly admits in the book. Great read though. I have an autographed copy of this book, a very cherished item, for sure! Ken’s book was a masterpiece and held my interest cover to cover. He and his two sons autographed a copy for me. I remember getting Jerry’s book the year the show celebrated 40 years. I remember reading it in the waiting room of a hospital ER, while waiting for someone to be treated. A lot of cool trivia and pictures in this book. Now even though I do own The World According to Beaver, I haven’t read it. I’ve thumbed through it a few times and it appears to be an informational book. I could be wrong. It’s been years since I’ve looked at it. I’d like to ask a question… Tony, when is your book coming out? The way Tony got unto the show alone is interesting.

On a personal note, how often do you get confused with golfing great Byron Nelson?

People misread my name all the time. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always have heard, “Byron Nelson? Like the golfer?” My answer always is, “No, it’s Bryon, not Byron, but I wouldn’t mind if I was him.” I want to get a golf bag with my name on it and see what reactions I get from people. I did go to the Byron Nelson Classic a few years back and showed people my driver’s license. Every single person thought it said “Byron Nelson!!” Haha! It’s something I share with my dad. It’s always been a great conversation piece.

(Bryon, I can’t believe you were less than a mile from my house at the Byron Nelson Classic and didn’t come by to say hi! We could’ve watched some Leave it to Beaver together and had some popcorn or pizza)

Finally, if you could say anything to the creators of the show (Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher), what would you say? (you never know if one of their relatives might read this)

I would thank them for the great care they put into the show. I would also love to pick their brain on the story ideas they came up with and how they came up with them, even though I know a vast majority of them came from their own experiences and of their children. This series is a treasure that I will treasure forever.

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