Almost 60 years since its first broadcast, Leave it to Beaver remains one of America’s most popular sitcoms. We take a look at the most surprising facts about this influential show.

Many sitcoms have featured coming-of-age themes through the years, but few are as influential as Leave it to Beaver. The popular CBS – and later ABC – show launched in 1957 and followed the inquisitive Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver and his family. And as one of the first shows filmed from a child’s point of view, we have it to thank for later classics like The Wonder Years and Malcolm in the Middle. Nearly 60 years after it first aired, then, Beaver remains as popular as ever, and these little-known facts will make you fall in love with it all over again.

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20. Jerry Mathers didn’t even want to be on the show

While the character Beaver Cleaver made him a star, the young Jerry Mathers didn’t even want to be cast on the show. Ironically, the then nine-year-old actor only won the part because he revealed he would rather be at his Cub Scout meeting during his audition. Producers liked his honesty and he landed the now iconic role.

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19. Mathers was too famous to join the Marines

As a result of Beaver’s success, Mathers would come to be considered a national icon. Indeed, his fame was so great that the U.S. Marines Corp declined his offer of service during the Vietnam War. They later reasoned that they could not afford to risk losing a famous actor in combat.

18. Mathers was mistakenly reported K.I.A.

Although the Marines didn’t want him, Mathers was eventually able to enlist in the Air Force National Guard in 1967. However, his safety was still a national concern and – following the death of a Private J. Mathers in Vietnam in 1968 – media mistakenly reported him as Killed in Action. Bizarrely, though, Mathers the actor didn’t even witness overseas combat.

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17. No, Eddie Haskell didn’t grow up to be Alice Cooper

Speaking of rumors, have you heard the urban legend that actor Ken Osmond grew up to be Alice Cooper? The story circulated after an early 1970s interview with Cooper in which he compared his childhood self to that of Osmond’s Eddie Haskell. And as a result, fans mistakenly believed that he was the real face behind the character.

16. Nor was he porn star John Holmes

Besides the comparison to Cooper, thousands more fans are utterly convinced that Osmond went on to become adult film star John Holmes. In reality, Osmond quit acting in the late ’60s before joining the L.A.P.D. in 1970. In fact, during his service the former actor was shot three times and was later placed on disability.

15. June Cleaver’s pearls were a necessity to shooting

Throughout the show’s run, Beaver’s mother June became famous for the pearls she wore in almost every scene. But although undeniably classy, the pearls were actually worn by actress Barbara Billingsley to cover up a hollow in her neck. And aside from Billingsley’s self-consciousness, the jewelry also made the actress easier to light for the show’s black and white film stock.

14. Hugh Beaumont was a licensed minister

Almost all actors have worked interesting jobs before reaching stardom, but Hugh Beaumont’s pre-fame career is an oddity unto itself. Before he was cast as Beaver’s father Ward, Beaumont was an ordained minister with a Masters in theology. He only switched to acting because the church wasn’t paying enough.

13. Beaumont’s life was full of tragedy

And although Beaver granted Beaumont wealth and fame, it did so at a terrible cost. After the show began production, Beaumont and his family moved from his native Minnesota to Hollywood. However, his wife and son – who traveled apart from Beaumont via car – perished in a crash during the journey. And as a result, Beaumont resented the show throughout his life.

12. Lumpy Rutherford made good in real life

His character Lumpy Rutherford may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but actor Frank Bank was incredibly successful in later life. Following the show’s end, Bank became a stockbroker and earned as much as $300,000 a year. Moreover, he even went on to represent co-stars Billingsley, Mathers and Tony Dow.

11. He was also reportedly successful with the ladies

And aside from his success in the stock market, Bank was also reportedly successful in bed. In his 1997 memoir Call Me Lumpy, the actor claimed to have bedded more than 1,000 women and elegantly referred to his life as a “perpetual sexfest.” We’ll never look at Lumpy the same way again.

10. Larry Mondello’s mother cost him the role

They say never work with children or animals, but sometimes a pushy parent can be infinitely worse than a bratty toddler. Indeed, Rusty Stevens – who played Beaver’s best friend Larry Mondello – was fired from the show because of his overly-attached mother. Yes, according to Billingsley, mother Mondello’s constant quarrelling with producers led to his character being axed from the show.

9. Creator Joe Connelly drew from his experience as a father

Leave it to Beaver was noted for its rich portrayal of childhood and co-creator Joe Connelly had a plentiful source from which to draw inspiration. To illustrate, Beaver and his brother Wally were based on his sons Ricky and Jay, and much of the series’ storylines were inspired by conversations that the pair had.

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8. The show’s original title made it sound like a nature program

We can’t think of any title as catchy as Leave it to Beaver, yet this wasn’t actually the producer’s initial choice. Originally, Connelly wanted to call the series “Wally and the Beaver” after both the Cleaver boys. However, this title was rejected by the show’s sponsors who argued it sounded too much like a nature program.

7. The writers kept the show from being too funny

While the show always amused its audience, rarely did Beaver feature side-splitting laughs. This isn’t a dig at the series, though, as – according to Tony Dow – writers purposefully pursued a low-key comedy style. “If any line got too much of a laugh, they’d take it out,” Dow told AARP magazine. “They didn’t want a big laugh; they wanted chuckles.”

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6. It featured an early appearance from everyone’s favorite neighbor

Though Leave it to Beaver had an outstanding main cast, many future stars played small roles throughout the show. Most notably, the series pilot featured an appearance from a then 14-year-old Harry Shearer as Frankie. Never heard of the name? Well, perhaps you’ve heard of Ned Flanders, C. Montgomery Burns and Seymour Skinner –three characters he would later voice on The Simpsons.

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5. The Cleaver’s household would reappear in Wisteria Lane

After the show’s second season, Leave it to Beaver’s production moved to the Universal City backlot, with the Cleaver family settling into a house on Colonial Street. Built in 1955, the studio set reappeared in several high-profile shows – most notably as the Morrison home in Desperate Housewives. Undoubtedly, though, this is the only connection between Beaver and the racy ABC series.

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4. Jerry Mathers tried to launch a singing career

Many actors harbor an urge to enter the music business and Jerry Mathers was no exception. And so prior to the series’ ending in 1963, Mathers released a single called “Don’tcha Cry” through Atlantic Records in 1962, although the song failed to chart. Later, he formed a band called Beaver and the Trappers which again found little success.

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3. Stanley Fafara was so poor he couldn’t afford a gravestone

Child actors are known for falling on hard times post-fame, and Stanley Fafara sadly followed that trend. In the wake of Beaver’s 1963 end, Fafara – who played Whitey on the show – became addicted to drugs and died penniless in 2003. Indeed, the actor was so poor that he couldn’t afford a headstone, and his grave was left unmarked for 13 years.

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2. The show was the first to have a TV finale

While finale episodes are now considered a staple of primetime programming, in the early ’60s the trope was almost unheard of. In fact, Leave it to Beaver was one of the first programs to devote a special episode to its ending, making 1963’s “Family Scrapbook” one of TV’s first ever series finales.

1. The show was the first to show a toilet tank on-screen

Besides pioneering the series finale, Leave it to Beaver can lay claim to accomplishing another TV milestone. Surprisingly, the season one episode “Captain Jack” was the first piece of television to show a toilet tank on-screen – an item considered taboo by network censors. In fact, the fixture was so offensive that its mere presence almost got the episode banned.