Directed by Hugh Beaumont Original air date June 20, 1963 | Production code 16190 ← Previous
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Episode no. Season 6
Episode 39 (in season 6)
Episode 234 (in complete series) Written by Joe Connelly
Bob Mosher | ||
"Family Scrapbook" is the final episode of the iconic American television series Leave It to Beaver. It first aired on ABC on June 20, 1963. It was the 39th episode in the show's sixth and final season, and the 234th episode in the complete series.
Contents
Plot summary
The episode begins with June finding an old family scrapbook while housecleaning. She gathers the family together in the living room to glance through the book. Brief highlights from the series are replayed as the Cleavers reminisce over old photographs. Ken Osmond as Eddie Haskell, Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Madge Blake as Mrs. Mondello, Pamela Baird as Mary Ellen Rogers, and Sue Randall as Miss Landers are seen in flashbacks from several episodes including "Beaver Gets 'Spelled", "New Neighbors", "My Brother's Girl", "The Shave", "Beaver Runs Away", "Larry Hides Out", "Teacher Comes to Dinner", and "Wally's Election". The episode ends with the teenage Cleaver boys playing with a wind-up toy and laughing like children. It is in the final episode that the viewer learns how Beaver got his nickname.
Cast and crew
"Family Scrapbook" stars Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley as archetypal suburban couple, Ward and June Cleaver. Along for the ride are Tony Dow as the couple's older son, Wally Cleaver and Jerry Mathers as their younger son, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver. All guest stars in the episode appear in clips from previous episodes in the series. The episode was written by the show's creators, Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, with series star, Hugh Beaumont directing.
Significance
"Family Scrapbook" has claimed its place in television history as the first traditional primetime series finale. No other series prior to Leave It to Beaver had a special final episode except "Howdy Doody" in 1960 (which didn't use flashbacks and was not a primetime sitcom). Most series ended with a general story line episode not unlike any other episode in the series.