"It's a Small World" is the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

from the

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

'' Leave It to Beaver'' (1957–1963). The pilot (originally proposed as ''Wally and The Beaver'') was first televised April 23, 1957, on the syndicated anthology series, ''

Studio 57 ''Studio 57'' (also known as ''Heinz Studio 57'') is an American anthology series that was broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from September 1954 to July 1955, and in syndication from 1955 to 1958. "It's a Small World", the ...

'', without a laugh track nor the series' well known theme song, "The Toy Parade". It never aired as an episode within the series. Following its April 1957 telecast, the episode was subsequently misplaced and was feared lost until a copy was found in a film vault in Illinois. After rediscovery, it was aired as the third-season premiere for the 1980s TBS revival series '' The New Leave It to Beaver'' on October 4, 1987, exactly 30 years after the original series officially premiered on CBS. It was televised again in October 2007 as part of

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cla ...

's 50th anniversary celebration of ''Leave It to Beaver''. It was released to

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in 2005.Bark, Ed
"Leave it to DVDs to give us the best of the Beav"
''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'', November 28, 2005. Accessed January 3, 2008. The series made its

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 Entertainmen ...

debut several months later on October 4, 1957, with the episode, "

Beaver Gets 'Spelled "Beaver Gets 'Spelled" is the premiere episode of the iconic American television series '' Leave It to Beaver'' (1957–1963). The episode aired on CBS on October 4, 1957. The episode is the first episode in the first season, and the first epi ...

Plot

Wally and Beaver want a new bicycle. Frankie Bennett, a mischievous boy, tells them new bikes can be had at a local dairy in exchange for 1,000 bottle caps from the company's products. The boys collect the bottle caps, but, in attempting to redeem them, learn they've been duped. Ward takes pity on the boys and buys them a bicycle.

Characters and cast

June Cleaver June Evelyn Bronson Cleaver is a principal character in the American television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver''. June and her husband, Ward, are often invoked as the archetypal suburban parents of the 1950s. The couple are the parents of two sons, ...

(

Barbara Billingsley Barbara Billingsley (born Barbara Lillian Combes; December 22, 1915 – October 16, 2010) was an American actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in ''Three Guys Named Mike'' (1951), ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' (1952), and '' Inva ...

) is the wife of Ward Cleaver and the mother of Wally and Beaver. *

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 ...

( Casey Adams) is the husband of June Cleaver and the father of Wally and Beaver. *

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- ...

(Paul Sullivan) is the older son of Ward and June and the brother of Beaver. * Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (

Jerry Mathers Gerald Patrick Mathers (born June 2, 1948) is an American actor best known for his role in the television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963, in which he played the protagonist Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the y ...

) is the younger son of Ward and June and the brother of Wally. * Miss Simms (

Diane Brewster Diane Brewster (March 11, 1931 – November 12, 1991) was an American television actress most noted for playing three distinctively different roles in television series of the 1950s and 1960s: confidence trickster Samantha Crawford in the Weste ...

) is a secretary/receptionist at the Franklin Milk Company. * Mr. Baxter ( Richard Deacon) is an executive at the Franklin Milk Company and Miss Simms' boss. * Mr. Crowley (

Joseph Kearns Joseph Sherrard Kearns
TV Guide. July 15–21, 1961, Savetheorgan.org; retrieved September 28, 2011.

) is the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the Franklin Milk Company. * Frankie Bennett (

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

) is a mischievous boy and an acquaintance of Wally and Beaver.

Production

"It's a Small World" was filmed with a single camera, in full screen black-and-white at

Republic Studios Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

and the

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

backlot. Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher wrote the teleplay with Jerry Hopper directing the episode. Richard Lewis produced the episode. A number of actors who appeared in supporting roles in the pilot were later cast in recurring roles in the series.

appears as Miss Simms, a secretary, with Richard Deacon as Mr. Baxter, Miss Simms' boss. Brewster and Deacon would find roles in the series as Miss Canfield, Beaver's second grade teacher, and Fred Rutherford, Ward's co-worker and father of "Lumpy," Eddie Haskell's easily duped henchman/bully. Other cast members include Russ Thorson as Man with Milk Bottles, Leonard Bremen as Milk Bar Operator, Tim Graham as Doc, and Virginia Carroll as Nurse. After the series was picked up by CBS,

Hugh Beaumont Eugene Hugh Beaumont (February 16, 1909 – May 14, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963; and as private detec ...

replaced Casey Adams as Ward Cleaver while the role of Wally went to

Tony Dow Anthony Lee Dow (April 13, 1945 – July 27, 2022) was an American actor, film producer, director and sculptor. He portrayed Wally Cleaver in the iconic television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver'' from 1957 to 1963. From 1983 to 1989, Dow repri ...

after Sullivan experienced a growth spurt before the series' production.Mathers, Jerry. ''...And Jerry Mathers as "The Beaver"''. Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998. ()

References

Sources

* Applebaum, Irwyn. ''The World According to Beaver.'' TV Books, 1984, 1998. (). * Bank, Frank. ''Call Me Lumpy: my Leave It To Beaver days and other wild Hollywood life ''. Addax, 2002. (), (). * ''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 Mather as "The Beaver".'' Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998. ()

External links

"It's a Small World" at imdb

{{Leave It to Beaver Leave It to Beaver episodes American television series premieres 1957 American television episodes