Jerry’s Memories
Happy St. Patrick’s day with Van Morrison and the Chieftains
Van Morrison and the Chieftains singing “Star Of The County Down”
Steve Talbot – My Leave it to Beaver Pal!
Happy Birthday Steve!
Hey Jerry, thanks for the birthday greetings, my friend. Unbelievably, I have now reached that age immortalized by the Beatles — “Will you still need me? Will you still feed me? When I’m 64,” an age that seemed impossibly distant when I was playing the role of your pal, Gilbert. What’s amazing to me is how vividly I remember our days at Republic Studio and then at Universal, where we’d see people like Alfred Hitchcock in the commissary or rummage through the monster masks in the costume department.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my Hollywood past these days because my youngest sister, Margaret Talbot, who is a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, just wrote a book about our father, Lyle Talbot, who, as you know, had a long career as a stage, film and TV actor. The book is called, “The Entertainer: Movies, Magic and My Father’s Twentieth Century.” She even includes an analysis and appreciation of “Leave it to Beaver,” which she watches in re-runs with her son and daughter.
One thing that seemed totally normal back then, but strikes me as pretty unusual now is that while I was your pal on “Leave it to Beaver,” my Dad (who was also in several “Beaver” episodes) was playing Ozzie’s best friend and neighbor, Joe Randolph, on “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.” So, my Dad and I were sidekicks on two of the most iconic American shows about suburban life in the Eisenhower and Kennedy era.
I’m hardly the first to say it, but one of the real distinctions of “Leave it to Beaver” was its portrayal of life in the ‘burbs from the point of view of the kids, something the show captured very well. It’s a baby boomer time capsule in black & white.
So, what have I been doing for the past 50 years? I became a reporter and a producer of TV documentaries, first for KQED in San Francisco, and then the PBS series, Frontline. I’m now producing a music show for PBS called “Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders” and I’m a senior producer at the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley (right down the street from your alma mater). My wife, Pippa, and I have lived in San Francisco for over 30 years, and our two grown kids, Dash, a lawyer, and Caitlin, a yoga teacher and actress, both live in L.A.
I have very fond memories of working on the show with you, Tony Dow and the whole cast. I was lucky to have been a part of it all.
Steve Talbot
My mother’s memories of Hugh Beaumont…
I marvel at all the Internet can accomplish. It has risen historical research to unbelievable heights and refreshed as well as restored memories to people today that past generations could not even have conceived possible. That’s how the wonder of it all struck me when I saw that a small, commercial film Jerry did about 55 years ago about Rose Hills Memorial Park had been retrieved and I could view it on this website.
It brought back memories of a pleasant summer morning when Jerry and I walked into the Jerry Fairbanks Studio in Hollywood to work in a small commercial film.
During the day, as there were break times in the filming, I became acquainted with the actor, Hugh Beaumont, who was playing the role of Jerry's father. He was a nice looking, very personable man and soon we began an interesting conversation about the state of things in Hollywood at the time.
To digress a bit - this was a time, that today seems to be forgotten, when television was just entering into the average home and families were wildly excited to get their entertainment right in their own living rooms. Prior to this phenomenon of TV they went frequently to a neighborhood theater to watch movies. This lack of audiences for movies was devastating to the film industry and resulted in the big studio lots being empty of production and millionaire movie moguls going bankrupt. Working actors were devastated as there just wasn't any work to be had.
Hugh lamented how bad things were for him as he had a wife and three children to support. He said he was thinking of getting out of acting and into some other line of work. Well, as providence would have it, I had something very interesting to tell him. I told him my son, Jerry, had done a pilot which had sold and was going into production very soon and that they were replacing the original father and holding auditions. I said, "It might be too late. They may have already cast someone but here's the information where the interviews are being held."
That night, when Jerry was saying his bedtime prayers, he ended with, "Please God make the actor I worked with today my father in the new series."
When Jerry walked into that very first day of rehearsals for Leave it to Beaver he was overjoyed to see his prayers were answered and Hugh Beaumont was cast as Ward Cleaver!
Marilyn Mathers
Here is the commercial…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6vHu0VR6vA
Happy Birthday Florence Henderson!
My friend Florence has appeared on numerous television shows, many memorable films and even award winning musicals. Of course she is best known for her role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974. With this role, Florence was ranked by TV Land and Entertainment Weekly as one of the 100 Greatest TV Icons!
Did you know that her best friend, Shirley Jones had previously turned down the role because at the time she wasn’t ready to do a TV series and she needed to spend more time with her children and stepchild.
Since 2008, Henderson has been the host of her own television series, The Florence Henderson Show, which airs on RLTV (Retirement Living TV). The show was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2010. I was even on as one of her many guests!
She looked like she had so much fun on Dancing with the Stars! I know it was a lot of work and she made it look so easy!
If you are interested, here is a link to The Brady Bunch DVD, Seasons 1-5! amzn.to/WLSYP4
Gus the Fireman (Burton Mustin) Happy Birthday!
What many people don’t know is that the character Gus (Burton Mustin) began his professional acting career at the age of 67 after director William Wyler cast him in the 1951 film Detective Story. And, did you know that he spent most of his early working years as an insurance salesman and he also had a degree in Engineering? Burt played Gus the Fireman on our show Leave it to Beaver and he was one of my favorite supporting characters.
Known in the entertainment business for his dependability and versatility, Burt was a well-known character actor and worked extensively in film and television from the 1950s to the 1970s.
In 1957, he made his first appearance as “Gus the Fireman” on Leave It to Beaver. He continued in the role until 1962 making a total of 15 appearances on our show. In 1960, he made his first guest appearance on The Andy Griffith Show as Jud Fletcher. Burt appeared in the role until 1966. He also portrayed “Old Uncle Joe” on two episodes of The Lucy Show in 1967. The following year, Mustin guest starred as “Grandpa Jenson” on Petticoat Junction in three episodes.
During the 1970s, Burt continued with guest roles on Love, American Style, Adam-12, and Emergency!. Known for his quick wit and song-and-dance abilities, Mustin was a frequent closing act on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson during the 1970s. From 1971 to 1976, he had a recurring role as “Justin Quigley” in five episodes of All in the Family
Burt was a very kind and gracious man and I enjoyed working with him very much. On January 28, 1977, he died in Glendale, California at the age of 94.
Super Bowl 2013
Both teams have excellent defenses, but the game won’t be decided by that. San Francisco’s quarterback, Colin Kapernick, is explosive with his feet and his arm and Baltimore’s quarterback Joe Flacco, is a great deep-ball passer.
A big play by one of these guys could break the game open.
San Francisco wins 24-20
“Casting Call” radio program
Here is info about the radio show on Monday, January 28th at 9am PST…
STAR Jerry Mathers on “Casting Call” On Fox News 99.1FM/Renegade Radio 101.3
Come out for a very SPECIAL episode of “Casting Call” this Monday January 28th at 9:00am with special guest Jerry Mathers the “Beave” from Leave It To Beaver! This will be a once in a lifetime chance to meet him, take photos and of course see the amazing Toni Suttie as she hosts this very special episode!
If you can’t make it down you can tune in LIVE to 101.3 Renegade Radio Locally on the dial and can be heard live streaming at www.renegaderadio.org It will also be taped and aired on 99.1Fm Fox News Radio!
We will have coffee from purple bean coffee and treats from our amazing sponsors and special gifts for the studio audience!
Make sure you reserve a seat now as this will be a jam packed audience and it will be standing room only!
Public Service Announcement with Frank Sinatra!
Here is a public service announcement (PSA) that I was in with Frank Sinatra to raise awareness for tuberculosis and Christmas Seals. This was filmed in 1955 before Leave it to Beaver. The PSA was shown in movie theaters before the feature film started. Frank was a very nice man and I feel honored to be able to say I worked with him!
Happy New Year 2013!
I want to wish everyone a great 2013. May all your dreams and wishes come true!
Classic Christmas Collection airing on Antenna TV
Antenna TV, Tribune Broadcasting’s multicast broadcast network, will air non-stop holiday episodes on both Christmas Eve and Day (December 24 and 25). In addition, for the second straight year, a Burns and Allen Show and a Jack Benny marathon will air on New Year’s Eve, followed by the 3rd Annual Three Stooges marathon on New Year’s Day.
Antenna TV will feature a weekend of holiday programming with Christmas episodes beginning at 11am ET on Monday, December 24 and running through 11:59pm ET on Tuesday, December 25. Holiday episodes of Leave it to Beaver, Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best, Adam-12, Dragnet, The Partridge Family, Three’s Company, Too Close for Comfort, Good Times, Sanford and Son, Maude, Hazel, Benson, All in the Family, WKRP in Cincinnati, Married with Children, Here Come the Brides, The Nanny, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Jack Benny Presets, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Monkees and S.W.A.T. will all air!
Antenna TV will also air the original Yule Log uninterrupted from 5-9am ET on Christmas morning. Check your local listings and Enjoy!
