Ken Osmond

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Ken Osmond (2014)

Kenneth Charles Osmond (born June 7, 1943 in Glendale , California - † May 18, 2020 in Los Angeles , California) was an American actor .

life and career

Ken Osmond, the son of a craftsman, was introduced to the acting business at an early age by his mother. Starting with the Spencer Tracy film Ship Without a Home in 1952, he took on minor roles in cinema and television. Osmond became known to a wide audience from 1957 onwards through the series One should be grown up (Leave It to Beaver) . In this he played the suave and courteous before adults, but secretly placed to strike young people in 96 episodes Eddie Haskell , who with that of Tony Dow embodied Wally Cleaver is friends. Although he was actually only the most frequently appearing supporting character in the series, "Eddie Haskell" enjoys cult status in the USA to this day: In 1999, TV Guide magazine voted the character played by Osmond at number 20 among the best television characters of all time. In the USA, the urban legend that Ken Osmond had become the rock star Alice Cooper was long held , which is why he even wore a T-shirt with the words No, I am Not Eddie Haskell at times to avoid inquiries.

After the series was discontinued in 1963, Osmond was locked in the role of Eddie and hardly received any worthwhile acting offers. Therefore, in 1970 he became a cop with the Los Angeles Police Department. He was shot several times in a shootout with a criminal in 1980 and subsequently retired in 1988. During a wave of nostalgia for post-war America in the 1980s, Osmond returned to acting and was cast in productions such as High School USA and Happy Days , which is the time to grow up . From 1983 to 1989 he returned to the role of Eddie Haskell for 101 episodes for Mein liebe Biber (The New Leave It to Beaver) , a remake of the original series. He also starred in the 1997 movie Beaver is Going! With. Osmond was most recently in front of the camera in 2016 for the independent film CHARACTERz with Mitchel Musso .

In 1987 Osmond received a Young Artist Award for his life's work. In collaboration with Christopher J. Lynch, he published his autobiography Eddie: The Life and Times of America's Preeminent Bad Boy in 2014 . Ken Osmond died in May 2020 at the age of 76. He was married to Sandra Purdy since 1969 and the couple have two children.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Ken Osmond  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Internet Archive: The TV guide Book of Lists . Philadelphia: Running Press, 2007 ( archive.org [accessed May 18, 2020]).
  2. ^ The Miami News - Google News Archive Search. January 24, 2013, accessed May 18, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Dave McNary, Dave McNary: Ken Osmond, 'Leave It to Beaver' Star Who Played Eddie Haskell, Dies at 76. In: Variety. May 18, 2020, accessed on May 18, 2020 .
  4. ↑ David Griffin: Ken Osmond, 'Leave It to Beaver' Star, Dead at 76. Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Dave McNary, Dave McNary: Ken Osmond, 'Leave It to Beaver' Star Who Played Eddie Haskell, Dies at 76. In: Variety. May 18, 2020, accessed on May 18, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Osmond, Ken
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Osmond, Kenneth Charles (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH June 7, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Glendale , California
DATE OF DEATH May 18, 2020
Place of death Los Angeles , California