Being honest, I used one of my credits to listen to Eddie on Audible. Having been a fan of the show "Leave it to Beaver" as a child, I really enjoyed this book. But I'm glad he wrote this book which gave me more insight into his life.Īs I said before this book is extremely hard to find at a decent price (I found some on E-Bay for much more than I was willing to pay), but if you're an avid LITB fan or even a fan of Eddie Haskell, it's definitely worth reading. I really hoped to meet him in person because I've heard that he was extremely nice and personable. I liked this book-I really did-and it makes me sad that Ken is no longer with us. It's a great incentive to get through the chapters quickly, although I did enjoy looking at the many pictures that were included. The book contains trivia questions at the beginning of each chapter and the answers (plus another trivia question) are at the end. He mentions Eddie more in the last part of the book when he talks about the shows "Still The Beaver" and "The New Leave it to Beaver"and it made me want to watch that series again. I was disappointed with the lack of information about his stint as Eddie, but what he did mention was really entertaining. That part of the book was probably the most interesting. I really enjoyed reading about Ken's life particularly his childhood and his parents and family. He discusses his job as a police officer later in the book and's it's pretty interesting. It starts out strong, with his description of his near-fatal shooting as a police officer and it really had me intrigued. I put the blame for any errors on the proofreader, however.Īnyway, the book itself was great. Well I did find a couple but they weren't at all distracting and not enough to dampen my enjoyment of the book. I think my expectations were higher than they should have been. The book itself was really enjoyable but unfortunately I can't say that I loved it completely. ![]() After watching Leave it to Beaver on a regular basis (thanks to ME-TV), I developed an affection for Eddie, so I was really anxious to read Ken's book. It took a long time to find this book and I ended up buying it at full price which I rarely do, but in this case it was worth it. After meeting him, I can say, Ken is a real swell guy. ![]() And like Jerry Mathers says in the foreword: Ken is a great actor, because he is nothing like Eddie. In addition, Ken has been mistaken for John Holmes (the porn star), who Ken unsuccessfully tried to sue for using his name, and been mistaken for Alice Cooper (as Alice was once quoted saying "he was an Eddie Haskell growing up, which was mistaken as "I was Eddie Haskell growing up"). The first time, he was shot three times at point blank range, but his vest and belt buckle saved him. Quite the life, besides acting, Ken was an LA police officer and was shot twice (!) in the line of duty. I always like to check and see if a personality I am going to meet has a biography out, and in this case Ken Osmond did, so I picked it up and read it prior to meeting him on Saturday. So when I heard that Ken Osmond would be attending last weekend's comic convention in Hamilton (about 40 minutes from where I live), I knew I wanted to meet him and get his autograph for the collection. I can remember racing home every day at lunch to watch an episode. I was a fan of LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, growing up. A man who, as co-star Jerry Mathers said, “Was the best actor on the program, because he was so diametrically opposed to the character he played.” A devoted husband, father and patriot, he’s a man who’s been forever shadowed by Eddie Haskell, but whose own life, was even more amazing than the character he portrayed. Now it’s time to meet Ken Osmond, the man behind America’s preeminent bad boy. Political foes from both sides of the ideological spectrum love to accuse their opponents of, “acting like Eddie Haskell,” and when Kobi Bryant argues a referee’s call, tweets go out labeling him as an “Eddie Haskell.” Psychology Today Magazine has published articles about recognizing and treating “Eddie Haskell Syndrome” and Matt Groening created Bart Simpson as his own version of “the son of Eddie Haskell.” Even today, the name Eddie Haskell remains firmly entrenched in the American lexicon. The amazing phenomenon of Ken Osmond’s character is still going strong, over half a century after the show’s cancellation. And everyone in America knew an Eddie Haskell at some point in his or her lives. The poster child for sneaky, rotten kids everywhere, he was the reference point for cautious mothers to warn their children about. ![]() When child actor Ken Osmond stepped onto the set of Leave it to Beaver in 1957, he not only entered our living rooms, he homesteaded a permanent place in the American pop culture. Eddie Haskell was the bad kid who never went away.
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