John Eimen, the former child actor who starred in “Leave It to Beaver,” “The Twilight Zone,” and “McKeever and the Colonel,” has died. He was 76.
Eimen died Friday of prostate cancer at his home in Mukilteo, Washington, his family confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
He learned of his cancer diagnosis in September, the family said.
Born October 2, 1949, in Chicago, Eimen and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was a child, and he was discovered by a talent agent who happened to visit his first-grade classroom.
“She often came by the school, and she and my teacher often went out after school for dinner or something,” Eimen recalled on “The Jeff Dwoskin Show” in 2020. “She saw me at school, and at that time, I had bright, ridiculously bright red hair and the freckles, a really real all-American boy-type kid, six years old. She asked my teacher if maybe she could contact my parents and see about representing me.”
“My parents were all for it, actually,” Eimen continued. “My mom’s kind of that way — she’s always been a little bit starstruck. She was glad to go along with it, as was my dad.”
After appearing as an extra in his first TV roles, Eimen landed a part in “Leave It to Beaver” as one of Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver’s (Jerry Mathers) classmates, starting with the show’s pilot episode that aired in 1957.
Through the 1960s, Eimen appeared in episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” “The Comedy Spot,” “McKeever and the Colonel,” “The Lloyd Bridges Show,” “Wendy and Me” and “Petticoat Junction.”
Eimen was also initially hired to star in the 1961 TV drama “Dr. Kate,” starring Jane Wyman, but plans for the show fell apart.
“It seemed that a big break had come my way when I was chosen to play her son Tommy in the series’ pilot,” he recalled in a memoir he published with TV Party. “With a sponsor in place, this show had the possibility to run for many years, considering Ms. Wyman’s status as an Academy Award-winning actress.”
“However, she backed out of the deal, claiming dissatisfaction with the proposed ‘after-primetime’ schedule slot in the channel lineup,” Eimen added.
As he grew older, Eimen stepped away from acting and worked as a singer, guitarist and songwriter. He eventually moved to Japan, where he got married and spent 10 years teaching English.
After moving back to the US with his family, Eimen spent 25 years as a flight attendant. He retired at age 71 in 2020.
