You’ll Never Believe Why ‘Leave It to Beaver’s’ Judy Hensler Left the Series (Exclusive)
We first met Leave It to Beaver‘s Judy Hensler (played by Jeri Weil) in the premiere episode of the beloved series in 1957. Judy is not only credited for being one of Beaver’s nemeses — frequently tattling and teasing the Beav — but also for having the very first speaking part on the series in “Beaver Gets ‘Spelled.’”
Born in 1948, Jeri Weil was just 9 when she first starred on Leave It to Beaver as Judy Hensler. Growing up, Jeri had two older sisters, and all three girls pursued acting as children, which led to some family competition.
How did you Become a child actor in the 1950s?
“Here’s the story. I had two sisters, and my grandmother used to make all of our clothes, and they were wonderful clothes. So, my mom and me and my two sisters were walking, I think on Hollywood Boulevard, when some lady came up and said to my mother, ‘How would you like your daughters to be in the movies?’” Jeri tells us.
“Of course, my mom said, ‘Well, what do I have to do?’ And she said, ‘Well, nothing, just get some pictures and blah, blah, blah.’ It ends up this lady was Lola Moore, and she was the biggest agent for all the children’s actors and actresses — she was kind of infamous. She wore these great big hats and lived in this wonderful old house. She collected antiques and was neat.”
From there the girls started getting sent out on interviews, but it would end up being Jeri who always got the role.
“I guess I had the biggest mouth or the biggest personality or something like that,” Jeri laughs.
She certainly needed a strong personality and a big mouth to step into the role of Judy Hensler, as Judy was never afraid to call out Beaver’s imperfections or join his gang of friends in instigating something mischievous.
In real life it wasn’t always fun being a child actor
Playing a know-it-all, however, wasn’t always fun in the real world. While she adored her fellow castmates Jerry Mathers (Beaver), Rusty Stevens (Larry), Frank Bank (Lumpy), Stanley Fafara (Whitey) and others, her true schoolmates weren’t as nice.
“I wasn’t under contract, so I didn’t go to school on the set all the time. I only went to school on the set when I was working. Other than that, I was going to regular public school,” she tells.
“When I started junior high, nobody would even talk to me. I mean, they wouldn’t. One girl talked to me, and she became my best friend. It wasn’t comfortable. I’ll tell you that. I mean, I was Judy — who wanted to be friends with Judy Hensler?! They didn’t know that wasn’t who I was — to them I was Judy. So that’s the only way they knew me. They never bothered to want to get to know me. They just wanted nothing to do with Judy Hensler.”
Why did Jeri Weil leave ‘Leave It to Beaver’?
Jeri starred in 31 episodes over the series’ run, exiting early on her terms as she disagreed with showrunners hiding her maturing body — or, in Jeri’s terms … “I was starting to get tits, and they brought in ACE bandages and started covering me up.”
One scene was humiliating to the then-maturing teen.
“God, this was one of the worst days. We had a scene where there was a baseball game, and of course, Judy hits a home run. I was wearing a full skirt, and it was the first time I had my period,” she shares. “They wanted me to twirl, so I was freaked out that they were going to see my Kotex [pad]. You know what I mean? I was growing up. The boys didn’t show that they were growing up. But for me you could see I was getting tits.”
Fed up, she just didn’t want it anymore and pretty much quit acting after that. “I guess I had such a bad taste in my mouth from those experiences,” she shares. “I just stopped and wanted nothing to do with it. I read once where it said they fired me, but that wasn’t true. They didn’t fire me. I don’t know where I read that, but they didn’t let me go. I let them go. That’s the true story.”
Where is Jeri Weil today?
That said, Jeri remains a fan of the show and her former castmates. Now 76, Jeri is retired from her successful career in real estate (she followed in her mother’s footsteps, and enjoys gardening and spending time with friends.
Jeri will be part of the Leave It to Beaver Reunion at the Hollywood Show in Burbank, California, June 6-7. ReMIND Magazine will also be in attendance, so come on out and say “hi!”
