IT'S A SMALL WORLD was the pilot show for "Leave It To Beaver", which aired 4/23/57 on Heinz Studio '57. The pilot was not seen as a part of the original "Leave It To Beaver" series. It was hoped this pilot would lead into a series, which of course, it did.
Paul Sullivan (on the right) as Wally Cleaver
Casey Adams as Ward Cleaver. Casey played a great supporting role, as Ray Cutler, in the Marilyn Monroe 1953 movie classic, "Niagara".
Harry Shearer (on the right) as Frankie, an Eddie Haskell type character.
Harry later became a regular on Saturday Night Live.
According to the book, "And Jerry Mathers As The Beaver", Paul Sullivan's heighth had increased too much during the summer to play Wally and the part went to Tony Dow. It was felt Casey Adams was not right for the Ward Cleaver character and Hugh Beaumont got that part. It was felt Harry Shearer was not right for the Eddie Haskell character and the role went to Ken Osmond. Station WTBS celebrated the 30th anniversary of "Leave It To Beaver" by showing the pilot for the show "It's A Small World" on 10/4/87. LEAVE IT TO BEAVER TABLE OF CONTENTS It's A Small World (Leave It To Beaver Pilot) last updated 1/28/08. |