Fate is a funny thing. If something is meant to be, you can bet it will be, no matter what hoops the universe has to jump through to get it.

Take, for example, Jerry Mathers' audition process to become Beaver in Leave It to Beaver, a role he was destined to play. According to Mathers' memoir, And Jerry Mathers As 'The Beaver,' Mathers' agent heard about the casting but had to bend the truth a bit to convince Mathers' mother to let him audition. Mathers wrote, "She [the agent] called my mother but neglected to tell her the interview was for a series. Rather, she acted like it was only a week's work."

Mathers explained that he was called back for various interviews during the audition process, but on the day of an interview that Mathers called, "The Big One," there was a scheduling conflict of epic proportions; Mathers had a Cub Scout meeting the same day.

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Mathers explained, "I was far more excited about my Cub Scout meeting than I was about the interview." In fact, if fate had left it up to a young Jerry Mathers, he might never have been The Beav. Luckily, Mathers had a strong-willed mother who insisted he must go to the meeting. Mathers explained, "I wasn't too happy about it, but my mother said that we had put in a lot of time and that it would be a shame to be down to the very last day and not get the job because of a Cub Scout meeting."

So Mathers was on time for his final audition. However, like any good Cub Scout, he arrived dressed for the occasion. Mathers wrote, "My interview was set for about 3:30, so I wore my Cub Scout Uniform, badges and all, so I could go to the Cub Scout meeting directly after the interview. You can bet I was the only kid who showed up wearing his Cub Scout uniform."

Mathers' interview was with one of the series creators, Bob Mosher, who had seen enough of Mathers to know that the kid was a bit more antsy than normal. When questioned by Mosher, Mathers confessed that he really wanted to go to his Cub Scout meeting, and Mosher encouraged him to go. 

Later that night, Mathers' agent called to tell him that he had won the role. Mathers wrote, "I got it because they were looking for someone who was a real little boy; one who would be more interested in going to a Cub Scout meeting than doing a TV show."

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