Edward Clark Haskell (also referred to as Edward W. Haskell) is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
on the American
television sitcom
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
''
Leave It to Beaver'', which ran on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
from October 4, 1957, to 1958 and on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
from 1958 to 1963. He was played by
Ken Osmond
Kenneth Charles Osmond (June 7, 1943May 18, 2020) was an American actor and police officer. Beginning a career as a child actor at the age of four, Osmond played the role of Eddie Haskell on the late 1950s to early 1960s television situation co ...
. The character was also featured in the later series ''
Still the Beaver'', and in the
film remake of the original series.
Character overview
The son of George (however, in Season 1, episode 20, Eddie gives his name as "Edward Clark Haskell, Jr.," and in Season 4 episode 26, Eddie's father introduces himself as "Frank Haskell") and Agnes, Eddie Haskell was the smart-mouthed best friend of
Wally Cleaver
Wallace "Wally" Cleaver is a fictional character in the iconic American television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver''. Wally is the thirteen-year-old son of archetypal 1950s suburban parents, Ward and June Cleaver and the older brother of the seven- ...
. The character, played in the original series by
Ken Osmond
Kenneth Charles Osmond (June 7, 1943May 18, 2020) was an American actor and police officer. Beginning a career as a child actor at the age of four, Osmond played the role of Eddie Haskell on the late 1950s to early 1960s television situation co ...
, has become a cultural reference, recognized as an
archetype
The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...
for insincere
sycophant
In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage). The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens. Most legal cases o ...
s.
Ward Cleaver
Ward Cleaver Jr. is a fictional character in the American television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver''. Ward and his wife, June, are often invoked as archetypal suburban parents of the 1950s babyboomers. At the start of the show, the couple are the ...
once remarked that "
ddieis so polite, it's almost un-American."
Eddie was known for his neat grooming—hiding his shallow and sneaky character. Typically, Eddie would greet his friends' parents with overdone good manners and often a compliment such as "That's a lovely dress you're wearing, Mrs. Cleaver." However, when no parents were around, Eddie was always up to no good—either conniving with his friends or picking on Wally's younger brother,
Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
, whom he regularly derided as "Squirt". "Gertrude" and "Sam" were nicknames he reserved for Wally. Eddie's duplicity was also exemplified in his efforts to curry favor by trying to talk to adults at the level he thought they would respect, such as referring to their children as Theodore (Beaver's much-disliked given name) and Wallace, even though the parents called them Beaver and Wally.
An untrustworthy wise guy, Eddie could be relied upon to concoct and instigate schemes with his friends, schemes for which they would be in the position of blame if (and frequently when) they were caught. One of his most infamous pranks with the Cleaver brothers involved fastening a chain around the rear axle of their friend
Lumpy Rutherford's car, causing unplanned damage as the entire rear axle, wheels and all, became detached when Lumpy tried to move the car. The prank has been repeated on police and gangster cars in scenes in various films including ''
American Graffiti
''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronn ...
'' (1973), ''
Porky's
''Porky's'' is a 1981 sex comedy film written and directed by Bob Clark about the escapades of teenagers in 1954 at the fictional Angel Beach High School in Florida. The film influenced many writers in the teen film genre and spawned two sequels: ...
'' (1981), and ''
Gone in 60 Seconds'' (2000).
S4-E38 "Beaver's Doll Buggy" may explain how Eddie's scheming character came to be. He related a story from kindergarten, when a caregiver sent him to school with a home permanent hairstyle. When he told his father about it, his father made a big joke about it. Eddie claims that was the last time he told his dad anything. Then he adds, "If you can make the other guy feel like a goon first, then you don't feel so much like a goon."
One of Eddy's
catchphrases
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
is "What's up, Doc?", which is a reference to the same catchphrase said by
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...
in response to
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J.''Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes''/'' Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheo ...
pointing his gun at him, preceded by an "Eh..." and lip smacking while eating a carrot.
''The New Leave It to Beaver''
In the 1980s revival series, titled ''
The New Leave It to Beaver'', Eddie is now married to Gertrude ("Gert") and they have two sons, Freddie and Edward Jr. (played by Osmond's real-life sons, Eric and Christian, respectively). Edward Jr. (nicknamed "Bomber") is enrolled at Vicksburg Military School, the result of his having spilled grape juice on the Haskells' white carpeting. Both Freddie and Bomber have adopted their father's scheming and insincere nature.
Eddie operates an eponymously named contracting company. He remains an avid
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972.
Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by Lan ...
cartoon fan.
Reception
In 1999, ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' ranked Eddie Haskell number 20 on its "50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time" list.
Notes
References
* Applebaum, Irwyn. ''The World According to Beaver''. TV Books, 1984, 1998. .
* Osmond, Ken. Eddie: The life and times of America's preeminent bad boy. 2014 ()
* Bank, Frank. ''Call Me Lumpy: My Leave It To Beaver Days and Other Wild Hollywood life''. Addax, 2002. , .
* Brooks, Tim and Earl Marsh. ''
'', 9th Ed.
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
, New York, 2007. .
* Colella, Jennifer. ''The Leave It to Beaver Guide to Life: Wholesome Wisdom from the Cleavers!'' Running Press, 2006. , .
* ''Leave It to Beaver: The Complete First Season''. Universal Studios, 2005.
* ''Leave It to Beaver: The Complete Second Season''. Universal Studios, 2006. .
* Mathers, Jerry. ''... And Jerry Mathers as "The Beaver"''. Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998. .
* Terrace, Vincent, ''Television Character and Story Facts: Over 110,000 Details From 1,008 Shows, 1945–1992''. McFarland & Co. Inc.,
Jefferson, North Carolina
Jefferson is a town in and the county seat of Ashe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,611 at the 2010 census.
History
The North Carolina General Assembly created a special commission in 1799 to found a county seat for A ...
, 1993. .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskell, Eddie
Television characters introduced in 1957
Leave It to Beaver characters
Male characters in television
Teenage characters in television