Ward Cleaver was the crowning achievement of a great career.
Usually, when an actor of some magnitude disappears, there’s a real reason behind it. Sure, lots of public figures fall out of favor. Stars, even the brightest and most celestial, tend to fade. But more often, if a notable face suddenly vanishes from the spotlight, there’s something afoot. Very few people put in the work to become famous, only to then voluntarily step away.
In Hugh Beaumont’s case, he surely would’ve loved to continue acting well into his golden years. He appeared in dozens of movies in the ’40s and ’50s, mostly going uncredited for his work. But with Leave It to Beaver, Beaumont’s decade-plus run of hard work was beginning to pay off. Even if he wasn’t yet a household name, he was certainly one of the most recognizable TV figures of his day. Those who didn’t know the name “Hugh Beaumont” surely knew “Ward Cleaver.” So, what happened?
Beaumont would go on to guest star in shows like Mannix, Petticoat Junction, The Virginian, and Wagon Train, but mostly in one-off appearances. For an actor who’d just finished anchoring 234 episodes of a well-received sitcom, the back portion of Beaumont’s résumé is surprisingly sparse.
It turns out Hugh Beaumont suffered a debilitating stroke in 1970 that left him unable to work. According to a 1981 interview with the St. Cloud Times of Minnesota, Beaumont retired to an island in the Southern bay of Wabana Lake. There, he greeted an unexpected journalist with a geniality familiar to any fan of his from Leave It to Beaver.
The ensuing interview classifies Hugh Beaumont as a friendly—if reclusive— former star comfortably reckoning his career with his then-current mobility issues.
“I may do a picture,” Beaumont told the interviewer, “a reunion of the Beaver family with the original cast.” Unfortunately, Beaumont had already passed away when that movie and its subsequent spinoff series were finally made. In the meantime, though, he was happy to give his thoughts on the condition of TV, even though he didn’t have one on his island.
“American television is nowhere,” he said. However, he was hopeful things could change.
“I predict we will go back to family-type shows. It goes in cycles. Bit by bit by bit it went down. And bit by bit by bit it will go up.”
The time he spent away from the Hollywood sparkle didn’t change the man he was, as his faith was still a central theme in his life, even in the isolation he found on his island.
“I spend a lot of time thinking about God,” said Beaumont, “and I’m asking the same questions I asked 30 years ago, and I don’t get any answers.”
