Hugh Beaumont was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series Leave It to Beaver, originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963; and as private detective Michael Shayne in a series of low-budget crime films in 1946 and 1947.
11 Facts About Hugh Beaumont
2.
Hugh Beaumont later studied at the University of Southern California and graduated with a master's degree in theology in 1946.
3.
Hugh Beaumont began acting in motion pictures in 1940, appearing in over three dozen films.
4.
Hugh Beaumont often worked with actor William Bendix; they had prominent roles in the 1946 film noir The Blue Dahlia, playing the friends of star Alan Ladd's character.
5.
In 1954 and 1955, Hugh Beaumont appeared in The Public Defender, Hadley's second series, appearing in three episodes as Ed McGrath.
6.
Hugh Beaumont portrayed a sympathetic characterization of the Western bandit Jesse James on the series Tales of Wells Fargo.
7.
In September 1957, Hugh Beaumont was selected to replace Max Showalter, who had appeared as Ward Cleaver in "It's a Small World", the original pilot for the sitcom Leave It to Beaver, in the role of wise small-town father Ward Cleaver.
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Jesse James 8.
Hugh Beaumont continued to have success as a writer, selling several television screenplays and radio scripts as well as short stories to various magazines.
9.
Hugh Beaumont gradually left the entertainment business, launching a second career as a Christmas-tree farmer in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
10.
On May 14,1982, Hugh Beaumont died of a heart attack while visiting his son Hunter, a psychologist, in Munich, West Germany.
11.
Hugh Beaumont's body was cremated, and the ashes scattered on the then family-owned Balgillo Island on Lake Wabana, Minnesota, near Grand Rapids.