Billingsley wasn’t interested in taking a walk down memory lane.
The series Leave It To Beaver is more American than apple pie, but it’s important to remember that not everyone grew up watching the same sort of television shows you did. For some people, a series like Leave It to Beaver may not have been on their regular viewing schedule, whether it’s because they were too young, they didn’t watch enough television, or they simply didn’t like the show.
Still, the good thing about television is that if you miss it the first time around, there’s always an opportunity to catch a series when it’s back on during reruns. Newer technology like DVDs and streaming services have only made this easier, with shows like Leave It To Beaver available for your viewing pleasure at the touch of a button.
Strangely enough, one person who didn’t seem to have any interest in keeping up with Leave It to Beaver was Barbara Billingsley. Billingsley was best known as June Cleaver, mother to the Beav and Wally. June was always waiting at the door with a smile, the house spotless, dinner already prepared. Characters like June provide viewers with such a sense of comfort, that even regular fans of Leave It To Beaver may still have an interest in rewatching the series for the relaxed energy that each episode seems to covet.
Billingsley spoke to Scripps Howard News Service in 1994, where she admitted that she hadn’t rewatched an episode of Leave It To Beaver for a number of years. “I really should look again because I’d get a better perspective,” she said. “Instead of concentrating on me, I could see the whole thing better.”
Despite having not seen the series that made her a star in a number of years, Billingsley still remembered her experience making the show like it was yesterday.
“We knew we were making a good show because it was so well written,” Billingsley said. “But we had no idea what was ahead. People still talk to me about it and write letters, telling me how they watch it today with their children and grandchildren.”
