Jerry Mathers
| Jerry Mathers | |
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 Mathers in 2007 |
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| Born | Gerald Patrick Mathers June 2, 1948 Sioux City, Iowa, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1950–present |
| Spouse | Rhonda (1977–1998) |
| Children | Noah Mathers Mercedes Mathers Gretchen Mathers |
| Relatives | James Mathers (brother) Susie Mathers (sister) |
Gerald Patrick "Jerry" Mathers (born June 2, 1948) is an American television, film, and stage actor. Mathers is best known for his role in the television sitcom series Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963), in which he played Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the younger son of archetypal suburban couple June and Ward Cleaver (played by Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont), and the brother of Wally Cleaver (played by Tony Dow).
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[edit] Early acting career
Mathers was born in Sioux City, Iowa, the son of a high school principal. His acting career began early. In a commercial for PET Milk, at age 2, he walked into a barroom wearing diapers, six guns, cowboy boots and a big cowboy hat. Vaudeville comedian Ed Wynn was behind the bar and several cowboy actors began portraying a bar fight. At this point, Mathers walks through the fighting cowboys and one of them picks him up and they all say, "Why are you here?" Mathers responds, "I’m the toughest hombre in these parts. You better have my brand," while he pounds on the bar.[1]
His early movies included This is My Love (1954), Men of the Fighting Lady (1954), The Seven Little Foys (1955) and The Trouble with Harry (1955).
As he moved into his teenage years, Mathers retired from acting to concentrate on high school.
In 1978, he reentered the entertainment industry. He has since starred in Playing Patti (1998) and Better Luck Tomorrow (2002). He has also been in It's Howdy Doody Time (1987), Down the Drain (1990) and Sexual Malice (1994).
[edit] Leave It to Beaver
Mathers reportedly got the role of Beaver Cleaver when he told the show's producers he'd rather be at his Cub Scout meeting than auditioning for the part. The producers found his candidness appealing and perfect for the role.[2] During the show's six seasons, Mathers also had a remarkable, professional relationship with both Billingsley and Dow, who were both his second mother and brother and close friends, both on- and off-camera. Mathers played the Beaver for six years, appearing in all 234 episodes of the series. After the series, Mathers remained close to Billingsley for over 45 years, until her death in October, 2010. Just a few years before her death, he sang at her co-star's mother's 80th birthday party, after she returned from a play on Broadway.[3]
Mathers was the first child actor ever to make a deal to get a percentage of the merchandising revenue from a television show. The Leave It to Beaver show still generates merchandise revenue today, 48 years after its original production run ended.
The original sitcom has been shown in over 80 countries in 40 languages. Mathers has noted that the Leave It to Beaver phenomenon is worldwide. "I can go anywhere in the world, and people know me," Mathers has said. "In Japan the show’s called 'The Happy Boy and His Family.' So I’ll be walking through the airport in Japan, and people will come up and say, 'Hi, Happy Boy!'"[4]
His role as the Beaver was reprised in 1983, when Mathers, along with original cast members Barbara Billingsley (as "June Cleaver"), Tony Dow (as "Wally Cleaver"), Ken Osmond (as "Eddie Haskell"), and Frank Bank (as "Clarence 'Lumpy' Rutherford"), appeared in the CBS T.V. movie, Still The Beaver. These same original cast members were then featured in a new television sitcom version of this movie in 1985, which in its first season was a Disney Channel feature, then went on to be picked up by TBS and broadcast syndication, where it was retitled The New Leave It to Beaver and ran until 1989.
On December 2, 1984, Mathers was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for his role as Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver.[5]
[edit] Recordings
In 1962, near the end of the run of the original show, Mathers recorded two songs for a single 45rpm: Don't 'Cha Cry, a retread of Spanish Harlem; and for the flip side, the twist ditty, Wind-Up Toy ("Wind-up Toy! Wind-up Toy! Say, when you gonna treat me like a real live boy.") During his high school years, following the production of the original show, Mathers had a band called "Beaver and the Trappers." They made some records for Atlantic Records, including one called Happiness is Havin', which was the number one single in Hawaii and Alaska for a while[citation needed]. The song was co-written by Mathers and Richard Correll, who played Richard Rickover in the original sitcom. Mathers's band recorded for about three-and-a-half years and played sock-hops and parties in southern California.
[edit] Stage
Mathers has appeared in numerous stage productions. In 2007, he made his Broadway debut with a starring role as Wilbur Turnblad in the Tony winning best musical "Hairspray" at the Neil Simon Theater. In Mathers' first week, he boosted the attendance to 90% and for the rest of his run he played to standing room only houses with attendance at 110%.
[edit] Personal life
- In 2009 and 2010, Mathers was the national spokesperson for PhRMA and their Partnership for Prescription Assistance program. This organization helps uninsured and financially-struggling patients obtain prescription medicines for free or nearly free.
- Jerry Mathers is the older brother of Jimmy Mathers who was also a television actor who had spots on Bewitched, The Munsters, My Three Sons and Adam-12.
- Mathers graduated from Notre Dame High School, in Sherman Oaks, California, in 1967. He went to college at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a BA degree in philosophy in 1973.
- Mathers was a member of the Air National Guard (1966–69).[6]
- With Rhonda (second wife), married 14 years, he had three children; his son Noah Mathers (1978) works in film and video production. Two daughters; Mercedes (1982) and Gretchen (1985)
[edit] Diabetes
Mathers was diagnosed with diabetes in 1996.[7] He took preventive action, lost 55 pounds and is currently one of the leading lecturers on living with and dealing with diabetes.[citation needed] Mathers has partnered with diverse organizations to build awareness among both children and adults of the epidemic of diabetes in the United States. He has been invited to share his experience with diabetes on Larry King Live numerous times and has spoken to the Congressional Caucus on diabetes at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Mathers also speaks with the media to alert individuals about the importance of early diagnosis, diet and exercise, and the proper treatment of diabetes.
[edit] Other careers
- Using well-invested savings from his acting career, which began at $500 a week,[8] he started a successful career in real-estate development and banking.
- Mathers has owned and operated a catering business and also has done commercial work for national and regional spots for advertisers such as PET Condensed Milk, Kellogg’s (he and Tony Dow were the first non-athletes on a box of corn flakes), General Electric, Purina, Kern International, Chevrolet, Toyota, General Mills, AOL, Coca Cola, Jim Beam and Biogen.
[edit] Selected filmography
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[edit] Bibliography
- And Jerry Mathers as The Beaver; Mathers, Jerry and Fagen, Herb; Berkley Trade (1998)
[edit] References
- ^ 'I've Had a Charmed Life'
- ^ Mathers, Jerry. ...And Jerry Mathers as "The Beaver". Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0082511/bio
- ^ And Jerry Mathers as ... Tracy Turnblad’s Father? - New York Times.com
- ^ "6th Annual Youth in Film Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms6.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ^ Jerry Mathers bio
- ^ Jerry Mathers Leaves it to Weight Loss to Control His Diabetes
- ^ Lamparski, Richard (1982). Whatever Became Of ...? Eighth Series. New York: Crown Publishers. pp. 200–1. ISBN 0-517-54855-0.
[edit] External links
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