'Leave it to Beaver's' Barbara Billingsley was typical American Mom
Everyone may not realize it, but America just lost its mother. Barbara Billingsley, who died Saturday at the age of 94, was the prototype for American mothers the way John Wayne was the prototype for American men.
As housewife and mother June Cleaver on the sitcom "Leave It To Beaver," which ran for 234 episodes from 1957 to 1963, Billingsley was sweet, loving and pretty much perfect.
When Jerry Mathers's Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver got into mischief, which happened frequently, June always knew the right thing to say so he didn't feel even worse, but instead learned a lesson.
When Beaver and his brother Wally (Tony Dow) came home from a hard day at school, June had a plate of warm, fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookies on the table, right next to a cold glass of whole milk.
Actually, I'm not sure she made cookies every day. But it felt like she did, and certainly every time a fellow really needed a cookie, June delivered.
When she wasn't baking or fixing a wholesome meat loaf dinner, June did housework to keep the Cleaver home sparkling for her hard-working husband Ward (Hugh Beaumont).
