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The Untold Truth Of Leave It To Beaver

Before being cast as Beaver, Jerry Mathers had appeared in several television shows and films. He acted in an early episode of "The Adventures of Ozzy and Harriet," as well as in the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock flick "The Trouble with Harry" (via IMDb). 

When he was brought into the casting call for the role of the Beaver, Mathers was around 7 years old. In a 2007 interview with Parade Magazine, Mathers recalls how the audition went, and how his choice of dress might have influenced network brass into giving him the role he will forever be known for.

According to Mathers, he had just joined the Cub Scouts and had his first meeting that evening. Anxious that the audition was taking too long, he was distracted and fidgety, prompting a casting director to ask him, "Why are you so fidgety, Jerry?" to which he replied, "I don't want to be here because I have a Cub Scout meeting." 

Mathers goes on to say that his mom later remarked to him that it "probably wasn't the best thing to tell them." But the producers phoned her later that night and informed her that Mathers was their choice for the role of Beaver. What persuaded them to make that decision? Mathers revealed that she was told that the reason he was picked was that "they'd rather have a child that wanted to go to a Cub Scout meeting than to be an actor."

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