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Osmond portrayed Wally's friend Eddie Haskell – a curly-haired wise guy who was overly polite and deferential to adults, but the moment they turned away, he was insulting, inconsiderate and egocentric.
#EDDIE HASKELL ACTOR TV#
It ran from 1957 until 1963 and it stood out from most early TV comedies for its realism and avoiding outlandish situations – the kids talked like real kids and their parents sometimes lost their patience over poor schoolwork and bad behavior. Archived from the original on 6 January 2002."Leave It to Beaver" was a sitcom about a young boy nicknamed Beaver, and his older brother, Wally.
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Eddie claims that was the last time he told his dad anything. When he told his father about it, his father made a big joke about it. He related a story from kindergarten, when a caregiver sent him to school with a home permanent hairstyle. S4-E38 "Beaver's Doll Buggy" may explain how Eddie's scheming character came to be. The prank has been repeated on police and gangster cars in scenes in various films including American Graffiti (1973), Porky's (1981), and Gone in 60 Seconds (2000). One of his most infamous pranks with the Cleaver brothers involved fastening a chain around the rear axle of their friend Lumpy Rutherford's car, causing unplanned damage as the entire rear axle, wheels and all, became detached when Lumpy tried to move the car. Eddie's duplicity was also exemplified in his efforts to curry favor by trying to talk to adults at the level he thought they would respect, such as referring to their children as Theodore (Beaver's much-disliked given name) and Wallace, even though the parents called them Beaver and Wally.Īn untrustworthy wise guy, Eddie could be relied upon to concoct and instigate schemes with his friends, schemes for which they would be in the position of blame if (and frequently when) they were caught.
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"Gertrude" and "Sam" were nicknames he reserved for Wally. Cleaver." However, when no parents were around, Eddie was always up to no good-either conniving with his friends or picking on Wally's younger brother, Beaver, whom he regularly derided as "Squirt". Typically, Eddie would greet his friends' parents with overdone good manners and often a compliment such as "That's a lovely dress you're wearing, Mrs. Ward Cleaver once remarked that " is so polite, it's almost un-American." Įddie was known for his neat grooming -hiding his shallow and sneaky character.
#EDDIE HASKELL ACTOR SERIES#
The character, played in the original series by Ken Osmond, has become a cultural reference, recognized as an archetype for insincere sycophants. The son of George (however, in Season 1, episode 20, Eddie gives his name as "Edward Clark Haskell, Jr.," and in Season 4 episode 26, Eddie's father introduces himself as "Frank Haskell") and Agnes, Eddie Haskell was the smart-mouthed best friend of Wally Cleaver.
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