A Bathroom Scene Nearly Banned ‘Leave It to Beaver’ From Television

Country Music Family ^ | 11/19/20 | Jennifer Pernicano

[DallasBiff]

Leave It to Beaver highlighted the Cleaver family’s traditional family values. A large portion of the show revolved around two brothers—Beaver and Wally Cleaver—as they constantly weaseled their way in and out of trouble. The sitcom, which was one of the first shows portrayed from a child’s perspective, pushed the limits of ’50s television.

Despite today’s nearly nonexistent level of censorship, TV in the ’50s was extremely conservative! Shows were not allowed to use bathroom or toilet footage, but Leave It to Beaver decided to stretch censorship boundaries. In the original pilot episode “Captain Jack,” Wally put a small alligator inside the toilet tank as if it were an aquarium.

[Lizavetta]

IIRC All In The Family was the first time that they used the sound of a flushing toilet.

Excuse me ... you mean terlet, right? :)

[Larry Lucido]

Archie Bunker and Al Bundy. They made flushing the toilet an art (and had the same initials, too).

[dfwgator]

“BAA-WOOOSH! Now that’s a man’s flush!”

[RckyRaCoCo]

LOL

[DFG]

Burt Mustin started his professional acting career at age 67. He appeared in over 150 film and television productions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Mustin

[SamAdams76]

Alice from the Brady Bunch never did anything. She was the most useless paid housekeeper in TV history.

Wherever the Brady Bunch went, be it a paid junket to Hawaii or a recording session where the Brady Bunch decided to become the Partridge Family, there was Alice.

When she wasn't gallivanting around with the Bradys, she was flirting with the butcher.

Sure, she'd play it up her housekeeping role for the cameras, parading around with a vacuum (never turned on) or be pretending to dust furniture while some dopey Brady child approached her with the crisis of the day, but she never actually did squat.

[dfwgator]

Here he is in an All In The Family episode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tltjm3ZsgAA

[ansel12]

“”Burt Mustin””
Born 1884.

“”Edgar Buchanan. Uncle Joe from “Pettycoat Junction.”””
A dentist turned actor.

[DallasBiff]

That’s funny.

[Verginius Rufus]

Towards the end of Grapes of Wrath, when the Joads are in California, a couple of the kids encounter a flush toilet for the first time and one of them pushes down on the handle. They are horrified by what ensues, afraid they have broken it.

The movie version does not show the scene.

[DFG]

https://www.metv.com/quiz/can-you-tell-what-show-burt-mustin-is-in

https://www.metv.com/stories/burt-mustin-jud-fletcher-andy-griffith-show-started-acting-age-67

https://www.metv.com/stories/at-the-age-of-84-burt-mustin-made-his-singing-debut-with-elvis-and-a-mop

https://www.metv.com/stories/burt-mustin-attended-the-first-world-series-ever-and-once-told-johnny-carson-all-about-it

[UnwashedPeasant]

Leave it to Beaver ended in 1963.

All in the Family began in 1971.

In between, the culture went to hell in a handbasket.

[dfwgator]

Fred Silverman’s “Rural Purge”.

[John Milner]

Also, Doris Packer, who played the principal (Mrs. Rayburn) at Beaver’s school also played the mother of Chatsworth Osborne Jr from Dobie Gillis Show. Also Mrs. Fenwick on the Beverly Hillbillies.

And Madge Blake, who played Larry Mondello’s mother later played the part of Aunt Harriet on the Batman television show.

[gundog]

Yeah, I like to joke that Batman and Larry Mondello are cousins.

[MotorCityBuck]

Took me a minute 😉

[dfwgator]

“Boy Wally, Life Stinks”

“Yeah but so do you, Beaver.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9dKYxkYYXM

[Theodore R.]

Uncle Billy was played by Edgar Buchanan. He was also one of the Judge Roy Beans and starred in Petticoat Junction as well.

[Theodore R.]

Madge Blake was related to Milburn Stone.

[jmacusa]

And in 1960’s and 70’s sitcoms couples never slept in the same bed.

Makes you wonder how they had kids.