Leave it to Beaver

As a child, Jerry Mathers said he didn't want to be an actor when he grew up

Mathers had bigger plans.

June 20, 2024, 4:31PM By MeTV Staff

NBC/Universal

Some of the most famous television stars are child actors, and if they're lucky, those childhood actors will enjoy a successful transition and become adult actors. However, it seemed that young Jerry Mathers had other plans for his adult life.

According to a 1958 interview, Mathers revealed that although he was a star of the series Leave It to Beaver, he had much bigger career plans for when he grew up.

"I don't want to be an actor when I grow up," he said to the Associated Press. "I want to be a lawyer. I've wanted to be a lawyer for years."

There was just one small catch: "I'm going to be one, but I'm never going to college," he said. "There are ways of getting around it."

But while Mathers never did grow up to be a lawyer, he did go back on his word in this interview and attended a very good college, Berkeley.

"I'd been told that actors all were stupid, so I drew up a list of the best schools in the country and decided I'd go to Harvard or Berkeley," said Mathers to the Los Angeles Times. "That was the biggest break of my life."

In an interview with the Star Democrat, the now-adult Mathers contradicts himself.

"I had always wanted to go to college," he said.

We're willing to let it slide, considering that at the time of the first interview, he was, you know, a child.

"I had been a very good student so after I left the service, I went to the University of California, at Berkeley, and I majored in philosophy."

After that, Mathers took on the very serious job of banking, but eventually, he did return to acting.