He was renowned for playing the two-faced character, who was an angel in front of his parents, and a devil when they weren’t around.
Ken Osmond, who played the two-faced teen Eddie Haskell on the popular sitcom Leave it to Beaver, who kept jumping from being the perfect gentleman to his parents, to being a devilish troublemaker when no adult was in sight, has died at his Shadow Hills residence in Los Angeles on Monday at the age of 76.
His son Eric stated the cause of death was due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and peripheral arterial disease.
His TV Career
Mr. Osmond acted in all six seasons of Leave It to Beaver which ran from 1957 to 1963 and became one of the widely watched sitcoms of that era and later reprised his role as Eddie’s adult when Disney Channel revived the series and changed its name to The New Leave It to Beaver which ran from 1983 to 1989.
He also made guest appearances in other popular TV shows of the ’50s and ’60s such as Lassie, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Wagon Train, and The Loretta Young Show.
However, for the boomer generation, who took a look into the postwar television families, he will always be remembered as Eddie Haskell, the mischievous guy who was a stark contrast from his friend Wally Cleaver, known for his boy-scout behavior, played by Tony Dow.
In fact, Mr. Osmond got tired of being typecast in roles similar to Eddie’s, and he left television and joined the Los Angeles Police Department. He worked as a cop till 1988.
He is survived by his sons Eric and Christian, wife Sandy, and two grandsons.