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This Leave It to Beaver child star co-created a hit Disney show
Rich Correll was one of Beaver's playmates — and then he put Miley Cyrus on the map.
In season three of Leave It to Beaver, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver acquired a new friend. Starting in the episode "Mother's Day Composition," Richard Rickover joined Beaver in his misadventures and lessons learned. Just like Beaver and Wally, Richard sometimes got himself into trouble — like in "Mistaken Identity," where he breaks a window and gives Beaver's name to the police officer in a panic — but he also has a good heart — like when in the same episode he confesses and apologizes to Beaver.
Richard Rickover shared a first name with the actor who played him, Rich Correll. Correll turned up in other shows at the time, like Lassie and Bonanza, but his role in LITB up to the final season was what really put him on the map as an actor.
"He was not only a character on the show," Jerry Mathers (Beaver) said in his blog, "but my best friend growing up. We spent many weekends at each other’s houses getting into mischief…typical adolescent pranks!"
As Correll grew up, he moved behind the camera, working as a writer, producer and director. You probably saw his work on some of the hit multi-camera sitcoms of the 80s and 90s, such as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Full House, Married with Children, and much, much more.
However, his biggest credit would come during the Disney Channel original programming boom between 2002-09. Correll became the most prolific sitcom director for the channel. He co-created the Miley Cyrus vehicle that would put her star on the map for a whole generation — Hannah Montana.
Correll directed many episodes for Hannah Montana as well as other Disney Channel staples like That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zach & Cody, Suite Life on Deck, Lab Rats, and more.
He never forgot his child star roots, though, and in 1983 he reunited with his Beaver castmates for the reunion movie Still The Beaver and the follow-up TV show, The New Leave It to Beaver.
Correll's life in Hollywood has given him a unique hobby — collecting classic horror and sci-fi props. His collection, sitting at a staggering eight-figure value, includes the original Xenomorph costume from Alien (1979), the original raptor from Jurassic Park (1993), and props from Back to the Future (1985).
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55 Comments
This was/is one of the top drama shows and should still be allowed to apply for Grammy awards even today
I've got a great biography of him in my book and I can attest that there's not many people in Hollywood as kind, authentic or interesting as Rich Correll.
Book link -> https://amzn.to/40z309O
