It wasn't a very good week for pop culture as two iconic TV characters died this week.
First Barbara Billingsley (aka June Cleaver) passed away on Saturday the 16th at the age of 94(!). While the show she's most known for (Leave It To Beaver) is very popular it wasn't one of my favorite shows. I watched episodes of this '50s show when I was younger and admit I was entertained by Beaver and Wally's hi-jinks. And I can see the show's appeal when it was on, but I don't think this show has stood the test of time. That's probably why you can no longer catch reruns of this show.
Then Tom Bosley (aka Howard Cunningham) died on Tuesday the 19th at age 83. His show Happy Days still remains a TV staple particularly because of the wildly popular character The Fonz. While Mr. Cunningham had great presence in the show and had many funny lines and banter with "Mrs C.", it was The Fonz who defined this show.
In fact a term "jump the shark" came from an episode of Happy Days and is used by many people today. This refers to an episode where The Fonz jumps over a shark on his water skis. The meaning of the term comes from a belief that a popular show gets to a point where it has peaked and it then goes on a downhill slide before it is cancelled or ends its run. There was a website jumptheshark.com which chronicled all of the elements involved when a show "jumped the shark". These elements include things like births, a new kid, singing, live audience and my favorite--Ted McGinley(!). I had not visited the site in awhile and now it looks like it has been sold to tvguide.com. But it still has some of the interesting tidbits and facts about many popular shows.
Anyway, back to Happy Days. My fondest memory of this show ironically is something that never happened during its run. Weezer's video for "Buddy Holly" featured some of the characters from the show particularly The Fonz and the dance he does. What a great homage to the show.
And my fondest memory of Barbara Billingsley wasn't from Leave It To Beaver, it was her classic scene from the movie Airplane. Enjoy the clip below. If you haven't seen it, it is one of the best parts although there are so many crazy scenes throughout the movie.
For the record my top three favorite TV moms are (in no particular order): Clair Huxtable (The Cosby Show), Louise "Weezie" Jefferson (The Jeffersons) and Edna Garrett (The Facts of Life) who technically wasn't a mother but was a housemother to the Eastland girls.
My favorite TV dads would be: Cliff Huxtable, Steven Keaton (Family Ties) and Red Forman (That 70s Show).
Goodbye Mrs. Cleaver and Mr. C.
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