Jerry Mathers Net Worth: American actor Gerald Patrick “Jerry” Mathers is well-recognized for playing various roles on television, in movies, and on stage. He was a former child star who rose to fame after six seasons of playing Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver in the television series “Leave It to Beaver.”
He portrayed Wally Cleaver’s brother and the younger son of suburban couple June and Ward Cleaver. In 40 different languages, the show was televised in over 80 nations. Tony Dow, who played Mathers’ brother, and Barbara Billingsley, who played his mother, were close friends with the actor.
He and Billingsley were close until her passing in 2010. Mathers continued his education after the program had ended and joined the Air Force National Guard, where he was falsely reported as having died in the Vietnam War.
He returned to civilian life and attended college to finish his education. Then he looked at a few business opportunities; he had a catering business in California and briefly worked in real estate. However, he quickly returned to the entertainment industry when he played the character of “Beaver” in the TV reunion movie “Still the Beaver” alongside most of the original cast members.
Jerry Mathers Early Life
Jerry Mathers was born to Norm and Marilyn Mathers on June 2, 1948, in Sioux City, Iowa. His father was a high school principal who subsequently rose to the superintendent of schools in Los Angeles. Near Los Angeles, California is where Mathers spent his formative years.
Susie Mathers McSweeney, his younger sister, and Jimmy Mathers, his younger brother, are also child actors. When he was two years old, Mathers appeared in an advertisement for a department shop.
Alongside comedian Ed Wynn, he also appeared in a PET milk commercial. He got parts in movies and TV shows as a result of this. Take a look at Trevor Noah’s and Kendrick Lamar’s net worth.
Jerry Mathers Personal Life
In 1974, Mathers married Diana Platt, a woman he had initially met in college. In 1981, the couple got a divorce. Mathers later married Rhonda Gehring, whom he had met while performing “So Long, Stanley” on tour. Gretchen, Mercedes, and Noah were their three children.
In 1997, the two were divorced. In 2011, Mathers tied the knot with Teresa Modnick for the third time. Mathers was given a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis in 1996. The following year, he signed up for a Jenny Craig weight loss program and lost almost 40 pounds.
He thereby became the company’s first-ever male spokesperson. He took on the role of the organization’s national spokesperson for its Partnership for Prescription Assistance program in 2009.
Jerry Mathers Career
Jerry Mathers made his cinematic debut at the age of four. In the movies “Son of Paleface” from 1952 and “Men of the Fighting Lady” and “This Is My Love” from 1954, he had an appearance. In 1955, he appeared in both Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Trouble with Harry” and “The Seven Little Foys.”
In the 1956 movie, “That Certain Feeling,” he portrayed Norman Taylor. He also appeared in the film “Bigger Than Life” the same year as Freddie. He was cast in roles on television in 1952’s “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” 1953’s “I Love Lucy,” 1955’s “Lux Video Theatre,” “General Electric Theater,” and “Matinee Theater.”
He appeared in “Screen Directors Playhouse” in 1956. His breakout performance came in the 1957 “Leave It to Beaver.” He once claimed in an interview that he got the part of Beaver Cleaver because the show’s creators appreciated his direct and honest personality, which was perfect for the position.
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He appeared in all 234 of the series’ episodes throughout his six-year tenure in the role. He became the first kid actor to receive a portion of a television show’s merchandising sales. Even after the show stopped, item sales continued for many years.
He played Petey Atlas in the 1957 movie “The Shadow on the Window” while working on “Leave It to Beaver.” In 1958’s “The Deep Six,” he portrayed Steve Innes. When the final season of “Leave It to Beaver” was approaching in 1962, he released two songs, “Don’t ‘Cha Cry” and “Wind-Up Toy.”
He put his acting career on hold once the show finished and spent a few years attending Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. He started a band called the Beaver and the Trappers during this period.
He enlisted in the US Air Force Reserve while still in high school and remained a member after he received his diploma in 1967. He eventually attained the rank of sergeant. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 1973.
He started working at a bank as a commercial loan officer after graduating. Along with creating a real estate company, he used the weekly royalties he received to fund it. He went back into show business in 1978, appearing in Kansas City’s “Boeing, Boeing,” a comedic piece.
He started working as a disc jockey at Anaheim, California’s KEZY-AM radio station, in 1981. Along with the other members of the original cast, he returned to the television reunion movie “Still the Beaver” in 1983 to reprise his Beaver Cleaver character.
A similar-titled television series was released after the television movie. The program debuted on the Disney Channel before moving to TBS under the new name “The New Leaves It to Beaver.” In Bonnie Lythgoe’s pantomime “Cinderella,” Jerry Mathers portrayed Baron Hardup.
It was a theatrical production that featured comedy, music, and storytelling. He became the first and only actor to play the lead role in an American production of a professional British pantomime.
In June 2007, he made his Broadway debut at the Neil Simon Theater in the show “Hairspray.” He played Mr. Simpson in the movie “Will to Power” and was in the television movie “Mother Goose Parade” in 2008, both of which were directed by Jillian Hanson-Cox.
Jerry Mathers Net Worth
An American actor who works in theater, television, and movies, Jerry Mathers has a $3 million fortune. The role of little Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver on the television sitcom “Leave it to Beaver” made Jerry Mathers famous.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, General Electric Theater, Lassie, My Three Sons, and The War at Home were among the other shows in which he made guest appearances. As a youngster, Mathers appeared in “This is My Love,” “The Trouble with Harry,” and “The Shadow on the Window” on the big screen.
Final Lines
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