Child actor from Leave it to Beaver dies at 76
The agent asked to contact his parents — and just like that, his career began.
He quickly went from background roles to speaking parts, and in a memoir for TV Party, he described how early that journey started:
Leave It to Beaver
Fans of Leave It to Beaver will remember him as one of Beaver’s classmates, appearing as early as the show’s pilot episode. Eimen later recalled working with Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow, calling them “such genuinely nice guys.”
His memories of that era were overflowing with warmth. Speaking of the Nelson family from Ozzie and Harriet, he wrote, “Their family values were no act at all.”
Through the ’60s, Eimen worked steadily, The Twilight Zone, Lassie, Fury, Wendy and Me, Petticoat Junction and more. He even became the face of one of the earliest “milk mustache” ads for Carnation Instant Milk in 1959.
At one point, it looked like he might be headed for a major break: he was cast as Jane Wyman’s son in the planned Desilu series Dr. Kate.
But Wyman backed out due to scheduling issues, and the series never happened. Eimen took it in stride, writing, “It seemed that a big break had come my way… However, she backed out of the deal.”
