"We kind of stifled her, because her true talent didn't really come out in 'Leave it Beaver.' She was like the straight man, but she has an awful lot of talent."īorn December 22, 1915, in Los Angeles, Billingsley began her career as a model in New York City in 1936. Mathers spoke of Billingsley's talent during a 2000 appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live." "She always had a positive thing to say," said Dow, 65. In the 1980s, Dow appeared with Billingsley in "The New Leave it to Beaver." She shifted from being a mom figure to a good friend who supported his directing and artistic endeavors, Dow said. Perhaps fittingly, "Leave it to Beaver" was canceled in 1963 on the eve of the JFK assassination, the Vietnam War and the tumult of the 1960s. Cleaver," Eddie would typically say to Billingsley's character. "That's a lovely dress you're wearing, Mrs.
The boys' friends included Lumpy and the obsequious Eddie Haskell, who avoided trouble and often buttered up Ward and June. The parents would dispense moralistic advice to their sons. "Ward, I'm very worried about the Beaver," was a common refrain. June Cleaver dutifully pecked the cheek of her husband, Ward (played by the late Hugh Beaumont), when he came home to learn about the latest foibles - nothing serious - committed by Beaver and Wally. Its characters represented middle-class white America.
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She, the sick man and his seat companion engaged in street-slang banter.įrom the moment its catchy theme song sounded in black-and-white TV sets of the 1950s, "Leave it to Beaver" enthralled Americans during a time of relative prosperity and world peace. I speak jive," Billingsley said in her role - much different from her June Cleaver persona - as an elderly passenger comforting an ill man on the flight.
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The actress won a new legion of fans in a brief, but memorable, scene in the 1980 send-up movie "Airplane." "She had a terrific life and had a wonderful impact on everybody she knew, and even people she didn't know." "She was as happy as a lark being recognized as America's mom," Dow told CNN's Don Lemon. Tony Dow, who played Beaver's brother, Wally Cleaver, also reflected on Billingsley's legacy. "She will be missed by all of her family, friends, fans and most especially by me." She helped me along this challenging journey through life by showing me the importance of manners, and respect for others," Mathers said in a statement.
"Barbara was a patient advisor and teacher. A private memorial is being planned.Īctor Jerry Mathers, who played Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, called Billingsley a lifetime mentor. ET) Saturday at her home in Santa Monica, California, after a long illness, spokeswoman Judy Twersky said. (CNN) - Barbara Billingsley, who wore a classy pearl necklace and dispensed pearls of wisdom as America's quintessential mom on "Leave it to Beaver," has died at age 94, a family spokeswoman said Saturday.