Jerry Mathers

About Jerry Mathers

Jerry Mathers (born June 2, 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa) is an American television, film and stage actor.

Mathers is best known for his role in the television sitcom series Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963), in which he played Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the younger son of archetypal suburban couple June and Ward Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont), and the brother of Wally Cleaver (Tony Dow).

Mathers's acting career began early. At the age of two, in a commercial, he walked into a barroom wearing diapers, six guns, cowboy boots and a big cowboy hat. Ed Wynn, the vaudeville comedian, was behind the bar and several cowboy actors began portraying a bar fight. At this point, Mathers walks through the fighting cowboys and one of them picks him up and they all say, “Why are you here?” Mathers responds, “I’m the toughest hombre in these parts. You better have my brand,” while he pounds on the bar. It was a commercial for PET Milk.