When you think of the classic 1950s sitcom, Leave It To Beaver, 'controversial' is not
usually the word that comes to mind.
After all, the show is pretty much the paragon of cookie-cutter American idealism that filled
the airwaves back in those days.
Shows generally weren't trying to push boundaries then; rather, they preferred to show an idealized
American lifestyle, free of any of the rigors and controversies of actual life.
As such, Leave It To Beaver was a form of escapism for audiences, who could leave whatever
was going on in their lives and enjoy the ‘perfect’ family setup.
But while Leave It To Beaver existed largely in a world without too much conflict, there
was one incident in the very first episode they filmed that was too controversial to
air.
In this video, we’re taking a look at it, as well as some fun facts about this classic
show that you might not be familiar with!
So join Facts Verse, as we present: The Leave it to Beaver Bathroom Scene Caused a Big Stir.
One of the novel aspects of Leave It To Beaver was that it told its story from the point
of view of the young protagonist, Beaver Cleaver.
While hearing from the perspective of a child might not seem all that groundbreaking these
days, it was something 1950s audiences hadn’t seen before.
That’s perhaps what drew audiences in – a chance to hear from a younger character whose
opinions they didn’t often get.
But beyond that interesting quirk, there wasn’t much about Leave It To Beaver that pushed
the envelope.
It sat pretty firmly in the range of acceptable and non-controversial shows that were expected
at the time.
And yet, a specific plot point from the pilot episode accidentally caused a huge problem.
Due to the conservative norms of the era, a lot of real life wasn’t allowed to be
shown on television.
And, for some bizarre reason, that included toilets.
Now, we aren’t talking about toilet humor, or people going to the bathroom, or anything
like that.
TV shows literally couldn’t show a physical toilet.
They had to somehow pretend that they didn’t exist, despite being in almost every home
in the country.
In fact, at that point, shows couldn’t even have a shot that was inside a bathroom at
all.
But as the production staff set about filming their potential first episode, they found
themselves in a pickle.
There was an element in the script that meant they NEEDED to show a toilet.
And yet they weren’t allowed to.
How They Got There In the era when the show was set, magazines
and comic books would run ads on their back cover for animals that you could buy that
would be mailed directly to you.
That might seem barbaric these days, but it was a thing actually offered in those days.
The writers of the pilot episode of Leave It To Beaver thought it would make for a fun
storyline.
They had the protagonist, Beaver, and his brother Wally order an animal from a magazine.
And of course, since they were too young to know better, they ordered an alligator.
They presumed that the alligator would be full grown (though one can’t imagine the
postage that would have cost!) but instead, the magazine sent them a baby alligator in
the mail.
The two brothers have to figure out what to do with the creature, and how to care for
it.
The boys knew enough to realize that the creature needed to be in the water.
So they decided that the easiest place for it to live (and be hidden from their parents)
was in the toilet’s water.
And obviously for the audience to see this happen, they’d need to see a toilet.
Or at the very least, acknowledge that such a thing existed.
The network’s reaction CBS execs caught wind of the plan to show
a few frames of the boys’ toilet in the pilot episode.
Apparently, it caused quite a stir.
Their standards and practices department had an issue with showing the toilet bowl on television.
And yet the network was excited about the show, so they wanted to do everything they
could to make sure it got on the air.
The issue took so long to sort out that the first thing they did was push back that episode,
called “Captain Jack” so it was no longer the first episode that aired.
It gave them a little more time to figure out what to do.
Eventually, they figured out somewhat of a workaround.
They agreed to let Leave It To Beaver show the toilet, but not the actual bowl.
They could show the back of the toilet tank.
That would imply that the boys put the alligator inside the bowl, without actually showing
it.
The episode then ran as the second of the series, and history was made.
Leave It To Beaver became the first show to air footage inside a bathroom, and the first
to actually show a toilet.
Jerry Mathers, who played Beaver Cleaver, later remarked that the scene was not only
groundbreaking but it was necessary.
He joked that for two kids trying to hide a tiny alligator in the water, there was really
no other place in the house that would have worked.
So if that storyline was going to stay in the show, they’d need to show a toilet.
Other famous toilets on TV While Leave It To Beaver was the first to
show a toilet on TV, some other shows have helped to push the envelope when it came to
this odd topic.
For example, the show “All In The Family” also played a role in TV and toilet history
when it let audiences hear the sound of a toilet flushing.
Of course, by the 1970’s shows were beginning to break free from the conservatism that pervaded
the airwaves in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
And All In The Family was one of the biggest proponents of this practice.
They had episodes that revolved around the hot-button topics of the day – things like
sexism, homosexuality, abortion, racism, and more.
So it’s not surprising to learn that they were the first to have the audio of a toilet
flushing.
Even so, it was apparently a shocking event for viewers.
The scene was turned into a joke – it was a sitcom after all – but it was still a
big deal.
And it wasn’t until years later that bathroom humor, or even using the bathroom, would be
a normal component of TV shows.
Married With Children picked up the torch 16 years later, and was the first show to
regularly incorporate literal bathroom humor into its scripts.
It was a show that relied on fairly predictable and low-brow humor, so it wasn’t super shocking
that it would extend that to the bathroom.
They had regular shots of the family toilet, as well as scenes in the bathroom.
And a toilet flush could be heard in many episodes.
The era of the toilet taboo was officially over.
Finally, in the hit show, Ally McBeal, which began airing in 1997, the bathroom actually
became a focal point.
The show was set in a law firm with a co-ed bathroom.
That alone was enough to cause a stir from audiences.
But there were several characters who let us know about their particular bathroom habits
(one had an automatic flusher on a keychain that he would press before he entered the
bathroom, for example.)
And the bathroom became a place where important scenes would take place.
The fact that it was a co-ed bathroom made for some awkward, funny, and always interesting
interactions between the characters.
There was even an episode where the main character, Ally McBeal, got stuck in one of the office
toilets!
A couple more fun facts about Leave It To Beaver
-The show was supposed to be called 'It's a Small World' originally.
And it actually aired as part of another anthology series, called Heinz Studio 57.
The network decided not to run with that title, and they then shifted to “Wally And The
Beaver.”
But they then decided that could make audiences assume that it was a nature show.
So they shifted to Leave It To Beaver.
-The original Wally character was played by actor Pat Sullivan.
But, as tends to happen, the filming of the pilot episode comes long before the filming
of the rest of a season.
Networks will film the pilot, test it with different audiences, make changes, and then
decide whether to even air it or not.
Then, if the reactions and ratings are good enough from when the pilot airs, they green
light the rest of the series.
This is a process that can take the better part of a year in some instances.
And that means any child actors on a show are potentially going to hit a growth spurt
or puberty.
Pat Sullivan, unfortunately, hit a growth spurt in between the pilot and the series.
So he had to be replaced by Tony Dow.
What a tough way to lose a legendary gig!
The kicker was that Dow wasn’t even at the studio lot to audition for the show.
A friend of his was auditioning for the part of Wally, and Dow tagged along.
While Leave It To Beaver might have been known for a squeaky clean image, and for showing
an idealized lifestyle of 1950s America, it did at least have one moment of rebellion.
And while nowadays it seems downright tame, it was a bold move during those days.
So, our hats off to the Beaver crew as well as CBS for at least pushing the envelope just
slightly.
Now its’ time to hear from you.
Did you know that Leave It To Beaver was the first show to ever air a toilet on Television?
Let us know in the comments section below!