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29 March 2007

Mike Brady was an architect. Archie Bunker was a stevedore. Herman Munster was a gravedigger. Ricky Ricardo was a bandleader. I was just watching a rerun of Leave It To Beaver and it occured to me: just what the hell did Ward Cleaver do for a living anyway? (Also I've concluded that Eddie Haskell was the model for the 'Dell Dude.')

post by: jonmc at: 15:58 | 18 comments

He was a professional Gerrymanderer. Ward Cleaver was actually just a nickname.

posted by Lentrohamsanin 29 March | 16:00

Evidently this has been a matter of speculation for some time.

posted by scody 29 March | 16:07

Who calls their kid "Beaver?"

Also...his best friend? Whitey. Subtle.

posted by ColdChef 29 March | 16:07

Lots of nifty keen information over at the LITB.org website.

Old joke:
What's the dirtiest line ever said on TV?

Ward, weren't you a little hard on the beaver last night?

posted by getoffmylawn 29 March | 16:08

Wasn't he the leader of the Church of Subgenius?

posted by drezdn 29 March | 16:10

I bet he was a spy. He'd plot the toppling of a banana republic then go home and dispense homespun wisdom to the kids. I do remember that in one episode it was a plot point that Ward had served in the Seabees during the war, so maybe that's where he made all his underworld contacts.

(Also, The Munsters is on now. Lily Munster's bat necklace was kinda cool.)

on preview: Whitey had some problems, post-TV.

posted by jonmc 29 March | 16:16

Dope dealer.

posted by Divine_Wino 29 March | 16:20

I'm not 100% sure, but I think Bob Dobbs is based on Norm Appleton, a character from a comic strip in National Lampoon. I do believe that Norm Appleton was probably to some degree inspired by Ward Cleaver.

posted by doctor_negative 29 March | 16:25

Ah. He must've been behind Whitey's downfall.

posted by jonmc 29 March | 16:25

I think Mr. Cleaver worked for Ozzie Nelson (who not only had an unknown occupation, but also never seemed to actually go to work).

It's called Sitcom Reality. Which is also how WKRP ran a 24-hour schedule with two disc jockeys.

posted by wendell 29 March | 16:30

White Guy.

posted by Hellbient 29 March | 16:32

Nah, the dude on Father Knows Best had the market on that cornered, hellbient.

posted by jonmc 29 March | 16:35

He was a brow-furrower (and part-time newspaper-turner).

posted by rob511 29 March | 17:26

Porn. Why he was so relaxed. Fact.

posted by Zack_Replica 29 March | 20:58

Ho.

posted by hojoki 30 March | 05:40

Dunno what the Ward Cleaver's career was during the show's run; I guess it was apparently a white-collar job of some sort, as I sort of remember him in a suit and tie. I knew a onetime Seabee that averred that Ward Cleaver had been one during the war.

posted by PaxDigita 30 March | 07:44

Who calls their kid "Beaver?"

His name was really Theodore, but apparently Wally couldn't say Theodore; it came out sounding like Beaver. Yeah, I don't believe it either.

posted by JanetLand 30 March | 09:20

Ozzie Nelson was a musician. Which was only obliquely mentioned on the show because even white musicians wanted to rape your children and forcefeed them dope.

posted by klangklangston 30 March | 12:49

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