Rusty Stevens

{{Infobox person

| name = Rusty Stevens

| image = B mondo01.JPG

| caption = Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello

| other_names =

| birth_name = Robert Stevens

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1948}}

| birth_place =

| occupation = {{hlist|Actor}}

| years_active = {{hlist|1957–1963|1983–1989}}

| known for = Playing Larry Mondello on Leave It to Beaver

}}

Robert "Rusty" Stevens (born 1948) is an American former child actor best remembered for his role as Larry Mondello, Beaver Cleaver's friend and classmate, in the original Leave It to Beaver television series.{{cite news |last1=Clothier |first1=Gary |via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49219812/ |newspaper=The Star Democrat |location=Easton, Maryland |page=14 |title=Beaver's classmates have gone on to real estate, insurance careers |date=17 May 2012}} Stevens appeared in 67 of the show's 234 episodes, between 1957 and 1960.{{cite web |url=https://www.metv.com/stories/leave-it-to-beaver-star-rusty-stevens-was-in-three-different-halloween-episodes-on-three-different-shows |website=MeTV |title=Leave it to Beaver star Rusty Stevens was in three different Halloween episodes on three different shows |date=29 October 2021 |access-date=15 September 2022}}

Career

Stevens had parts in some TV shows before and after he portrayed Larry Mondello in the sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Reportedly, he left the show in 1960 because his family moved from Burbank, California, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; however, Barbara Billingsley, who played June Cleaver on the series, said in a TV Archive interview that Stevens was fired because his overbearing stage mother caused grief for the producers of the series.{{cite interview |title=Barbara Billingsley |url=http://emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/barbara-billingsley |work=Archive of American Television |access-date=28 July 2017 |at=21:50–22:30 |language=en |format=video}} After Leave It to Beaver, Stevens continued to get occasional roles in Hollywood-produced TV shows through 1963 (including My Three Sons, Perry Mason and The Rifleman), before his career as a child actor came to a close.

He briefly returned to acting when he reprised his role as Larry Mondello in the 1983 made-for-television reunion movie Still the Beaver.{{cite news |date=March 13, 1983 |title=Mathers returns to star in "Still the Beaver" |page=11 |newspaper=The Bulletin-Journal |agency=United Press International |location=Cape Girardeau |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=191&dat=19830313&id=i6wvAAAAIBAJ&pg=6767,1269573&hl=en |access-date=28 November 2019}} He also appeared in three episodes of the follow-up series The New Leave It to Beaver through 1989.

Stevens was able to join the cast for Still the Beaver, after Jerry Mathers, who portrayed Beaver Cleaver, tracked him down after searching for many years.{{cite web |date=2021-09-30 |title=Jerry Mathers Searched For His 'Leave It to Beaver' Co-Star For Years |url=https://doyouremember.com/153789/jerry-mathers-searched-rusty-stevens |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=DoYouRemember? |language=en-US}} At the time, he was working as a car-insurance salesman in New Jersey.

Partial filmography

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"\| Notes
1957–1960 \| Leave It to Beaver \| Larry Mondello \| 68 episodes
1960 \| 77 Sunset Strip \| Max \| Episode "The Attic"
1960 \| Shirley Temple's Storybook \| Stuffy Cole and Gypsy Boy \| Episodes "Little Men" and "Madeline"{{cite web \|title=Jerry Mathers searched for decades to reunite with Larry Mondello \|url=https://www.metv.com/stories/jerry-mathers-searched-for-decades-to-reunite-with-larry-mondello \|website=MeTV \|access-date=1 May 2023 \|language=en}}
1962 Wagon Train "the Sam Darland story" "Johnny" \| 1962 \| My Three Sons \| Cletus Bleeker \| Episode "Bub Gets A Job"
1962 \| Perry Mason \| Brucie Hillman \| Episode "The Case of the Dodging Domino"
1963 \| The Rifleman \| Melvin \| Episode "Hostages to Fortune"
1983 \| Still the Beaver \| Larry Mondello \| TV movie
1983–1989 \| The New Leave It to Beaver \| Larry Mondello \| 3 episodes

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable"| Notes

1957–1960

| Leave It to Beaver

| Larry Mondello

| 68 episodes

1960

| 77 Sunset Strip

| Max

| Episode "The Attic"

1960

| Shirley Temple's Storybook

| Stuffy Cole and Gypsy Boy

| Episodes "Little Men" and "Madeline"{{cite web |title=Jerry Mathers searched for decades to reunite with Larry Mondello |url=https://www.metv.com/stories/jerry-mathers-searched-for-decades-to-reunite-with-larry-mondello |website=MeTV |access-date=1 May 2023 |language=en}}

1962 Wagon Train "the Sam Darland story" "Johnny"

| 1962

| My Three Sons

| Cletus Bleeker

| Episode "Bub Gets A Job"

1962

| Perry Mason

| Brucie Hillman

| Episode "The Case of the Dodging Domino"

1963

| The Rifleman

| Melvin