Very sad news to pass along today … actress Barbara Billingsley, the woman who played the iconic TV mother June Cleaver in the 1950′s on the wildly successful TV series Leave It To Beaver, passed away of an undisclosed illness at the age of 94 in her home in Santa Monica, CA early yesterday morning. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in America over the age of 20 who doesn’t know and love the character of June Cleaver … she was the perfect mom … and she will be missed:
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. The actress passed away at 2 a.m. (5 a.m. ET) Saturday at her home in Santa Monica, California, after a long illness, spokeswoman Judy Twersky said. A private memorial is being planned. Actor Jerry Mathers, who played Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver, called Billingsley a lifetime mentor. “Barbara was a patient advisor and teacher. 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. “She will be missed by all of her family, friends, fans and most especially by me.” Tony Dow, who played Beaver’s brother, Wally Cleaver, also reflected on Billingsley’s legacy. “She was as happy as a lark being recognized as America’s mom,” Dow told CNN’s Don Lemon. “She had a terrific life and had a wonderful impact on everybody she knew, and even people she didn’t know.” The actress won a new legion of fans in a brief, but memorable, scene in the 1980 send-up movie “Airplane.” “Oh, stewardess. 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. She, the sick man and his seat companion engaged in street-slang banter. From 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. Its characters represented middle-class white America. 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. “Ward, I’m very worried about the Beaver,” was a common refrain. The parents would dispense moralistic advice to their sons. The boys’ friends included Lumpy and the obsequious Eddie Haskell, who avoided trouble and often buttered up Ward and June. “That’s a lovely dress you’re wearing, Mrs. Cleaver,” Eddie would typically say to Billingsley’s character. 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 … Asked once to compare real-life families to TV families, Billingsley responded, “I just wish that we could have more families like those. Family is so important, and I just don’t think we have enough people staying home with their babies and their children.”
Leave It To Beaver is one of those classic TV shows that leaves an indelible mark on those who are familiar with it … yes, the show painted am image of the perfect American family (which cynics can easily dismiss as pure fantasy) but there is something about the wholesomeness of the show that makes it so endearing. In the stable of classic TV moms, I’d argue that June Cleaver is among the most iconic … all due to the talent of Ms. Barbara Billingsley. In the 1980 film Airplane, Billingsley pretty much shocked everyone with her comedic portrayal of a white woman who could speak jive, proving that she was capable of entertaining more than one kind of audience. I’m sorry to hear that she suffered from a “long illness” but if there is any comfort that can be taken from this sad news, it’s that 94 is not a bad age to pass away. Barbara Billingsley will live in the hearts and minds of TV fans for all time … may she rest well in eternal peace.
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