Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell on Leave It To Beaver) RIP

R.I.P. Ken, you were the perfect Eddie Haskell

 

My favorite TV show of all time and a great character.
Strangely, a couple of nights before the news, my wife and I were watching a few episodes from
our complete series box set. In between episodes, I asked her if Beaver and Wally were still alive.
A couple days later Ken passes.

 

It always seemed like his death in 'nam was the original urban legend. Or was it that he was working as a porn star? I forget now.

 

that he was alice cooper

 

Oh man, belatedly reading this news now. Eddie was one of the great TV characters of all time. Rest in peace, Ken.

 

Just last week, Buzzr ran an episode of Match Game with Ken, Jerry Mathers, Richard Deacon and Jeri Weil on the panel. It got me wondering what he had been up to recently.
R.I.P. Ken, thanks for many laughs growing up.

 

I was curious about the origin of the porn star rumor, so I did some research. The story is that at some point in the late seventies, a company manufactured and sold Super 8 copies of a 1972 porn film called "Super-C***" which starred John Holmes. On the box of the Super 8 film, it said that the film starred "John Holmes, who played Little Eddie Haskell on the Leave it to Beaver show." Holmes was not billed as "Eddie Haskell" in the film itself, it simply said this on the Super 8 box. Holmes himself probably knew nothing about it.

Anyway, several years later in the early 80s, Ken Osmond became aware (through a co-worker on the police force) that this product existed and was being sold at an adult store called "Le Sex Shoppe." Osmond sued the store, arguing that they were selling a libelous product. Why he sued the store rather than the manufacturer of the Super 8 film I do not know. At any rate, he lost his case with the court ruling that Osmond had failed to prove that the store proprietors were aware of the claim on the box and also aware it was untrue, and hence they were not liable for selling libelous material produced by someone else. The case was Osmond Vs. EWAP INC (1984).

 

Didn't know about this until I signed in here today...

Too bad about his passing, he was great on "LITB".

 

The rumor of dying in Viet Nam was about Jerry Mathers.

 

Yep. I remember Mathers and Dow appearing on Weekend Update back in 1980 and doing a hilarious bit with Bill Murray about the Viet Nam rumors. Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be an video of it posted online, but the transcript is here.

 

R.I.P. Ken ... Was a squirt myself in the early ‘60 when the show first ran.

And one of my dearly, departed Black Labs was nicknamed Lumpy.

 

Thanks, I did not know about this appearance, would love to see it but great to read the transcript!

 

Just leaned of his passing. I have been watching Leave it to Beaver on DVD lately. He was always funny and was a cool contrast to the other characters. RIP.