Posted on 05/18/2020 1:03:57 PM PDT by sodpoodle
He played the notorious troublemaker on two versions of the show; in between, he was a motorcycle cop for the LAPD.
"He was an incredibly kind and wonderful father," his son said Monday in a statement. "He had his family gathered around him when he passed. He was loved and will be very missed."
Osmond was 14 in 1957 when he hired for what was supposed to be a one-episode gig and went on to appear on 96 of the original series' 234 installments over six seasons. When Leave It to Beaver returned with an updated version in 1983, he returned to acting, as well.
In between the two programs, Osmond spent 18 years with the Los Angeles Police Department. In 1980, a suspected car thief shot him three times, leaving him severely wounded and effectively ending his days on the job.
As the best friend of Wally Cleaver (Tony Dow), Eddie was well-mannered and the epitome of polite when interacting with the adults of the show, especially Barbara Billingsley's character "My, you look lovely today, Mrs. Cleaver" but was mean to Wally's younger brother, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (Jerry Mathers).
He stirred up trouble for the first of many times when he, Wally and Beaver spy the couple moving in next door to the Cleavers on the series' fifth episode.
"Boy, are you going to have creepy neighbors," he tells Wally in his first scene. "Just look at the stuff that came in: No dogs, no cats, no fishing poles, no kids, just a crummy canary." Then, after Mrs. Donaldson (Phyllis Coates of Lois Lane fame) gives the Beaver a peck on the cheek as thanks for bringing her flowers as a welcoming gift, Eddie gets the poor kid worried: "Suppose her husband finds out?"
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
A great and unforgettable character. RIP
I meant reruns of course.
My favorite episode was when Beaver fell into the soup bowl with it’s steam coming out
“You look lovely today, Mrs. Cleaver.”
“Thank you, Eddie.”
RIP, Ken!
My kids loved the Bewitched series, which I bought for them when they were little.
He had some good hits singing with his brothers back in the 70s.
I don’t recall that one at the moment.....they’re all pretty cute. Can you imagine the feminazis watching June and Ward?
Ha....and here I thought I was missing something!! I love the old shows!!
You look lovely today, Mrs. Cleaver.
Thank you, Eddie.
June Cleaver always sounded very complimented when she said that. I always got a laugh put of that.
I saw Ken last August at my dad’s memorial service...Ken was a very good friend of my mom and dad and had been ill for some time. He was always a very caring and gracious person and will be missed.
I never saw the later series, and even now don’t see it on the channels that run the old television shows. But Leave It To Beaver, the original is on every day now.
I often wondered what Ken was like when he was himself and not doing the Eddie Haskell role.
Yes, no normal mom dressed like June Cleaver at home all the time (don’t think we once saw June in what we used to then call a “house dress”), and some other stuff was not realistic.
But the show did handle child, and parent-child experiences in ways that usually showed some good lessons. Those things to me were the heart of show, not the externalities the critics always harped about.
GOD BLESS HIM.
“Pull yourself up Beaver. Put your foot on the lady’s thumb.”
Joined the cast in 1957, when he was only 14. Supposed to be a one-time shot, but the producers (Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher) liked his work, and Osmond wound up appearing in nearly half the series’ episode. His performance was so memorable it became the moniker for a psychological condition (Eddie Haskell Syndrome), used to describe two-faced, workplace bullies.
And as many know, after Osmond became type-cast and couldn’t find work as an actor, he became a member of the LAPD; served almost twenty years as a motorcycle patrol and vice officer. Retired from the force (on disability) in the late 80s, after being injured in a shootout with a suspect.
Tempus fugit...
RIP, Eddie Haskell
The Boomer generation is getting smaller
Leave it to Beaver has a timeless quality. Kids still do a lot of those things today.
Whereas current shows are packed with so much PC virtue signaling they quickly go out of date.
And the Beav, was California Air National Guard.
Amazing how those shows were so popular and entertaining without any homosexuals or trannies. /sarcasm
My favorite was the haircut. Eddie wasn’t in that one, but funny as hell.
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