Jerry Mathers revealed the episode of Leave It to Beaver he is asked about the most

This fan-favorite comes up again and again!

So, picture this scenario: You’re at a convention, or maybe a meet-and-greet. You’re next in line for an autograph signing with one of the legends of American TV. You’ve waited for weeks to get there and then waited your turn for hours. The person in front of you turns around, satisfied, and leaves wearing a huge smile. You clear your throat, because now’s your chance. What do you say to this person who graced your screen for all those years?

For millions of expo-goers and signature-seekers, those few moments can be a real source of anxiety. After all, you’ll only have a few precious minutes with your beloved actor. How do you best use your time if you’re meeting someone like Jerry Mathers? There are a hundred people behind you, but you want to make the most of your face time with the Beav!

You might want to rethink your game plan if there’s one episode in particular you’re curious about. As it turns out, “In the Soup”, the 32nd episode of Leave It to Beaver’s fourth season comes up a lot. In fact, it’s such a recurring talking point when fans meet Jerry Mathers that the star of the show mentioned it in his autobiography. Here’s the inside scoop so that you can use your time more originally if you’re ever lucky enough to meet the Beav!

“The one episode that people seem to remember most is the teacup show,” Mathers wrote in his 1998 memoir —And Jerry Mathers as the Beaver. The former child star goes on to explain that even though the episode is called “In the Soup”, most people associate the story with a teacup. This is the episode of Leave It to Beaver that Jerry Mathers gets asked about the most, according to the man himself. Naturally, he proceeds to answer some frequently asked questions.

“It was the most expensive Leave It to Beaver we ever did. Normally, the show was budgeted at about $30,000 to $40,000 per episode. Today, a really cheap show is $750,000 to $1,000,000 for a half-hour show. But in those days, $30,000 was a big budget show. Leave It to Beaver wasn’t cheap. But they decided to go way out for this [episode], and audiences loved it.”

“In the Soup” was about Beaver getting stuck in a giant soup bowl on top of a billboard. It was all due to peer pressure from that darn Whitey Whitney.

“They actually built two billboards, one outside and the other on the soundstage,” wrote Mathers. “The show cost about $50,000. It was a very interesting show, and to answer the most asked question, yes I did all the climbing myself.

“The fun part about that was they had to get special permission for me to miss school. It took a week to shoot the whole thing, so my school time was cut short. I had to go an hour the week before for three days, and an hour the week after for three days.”