The Parking Attendants

A masterpiece. Wally put on the spot by Eddie. Major Eddie screw up. Great Fred scenes boasting up Lumpy, belittling Ward, Wally & Eddie. No win situation for car parkers with limited parking. You'd think the high roller would have the event at his country club? We see Kim Hamilton from "Sanford and Son" at 31 years old. Awkward Jerry Mathers seems better suited as a supporting cast member at this point of the series.

LEAVE IT TO BEAVER was more than a family sitcom filled with heartwarming lessons about growing up. It also offered droll satire of post-war suburban life, with all of its social pretenses. In "The Parking Attendants," Wally and Eddie get a job parking cars for guests at a wedding in the neighborhood. The episode offers a riot of sophisticated wit, with Fred Rutherford and Eddie socially "on the make" in amusing ways. To add to the social mix, we also have the only black character ever to appear on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, a maid played by Kim Hamilton. This is very much a "Wally and Eddie" episode, with Beaver firmly in the background. "The Parking Attendants" shows that this beloved series was still as strong as ever in its sixth and final season. Not to be missed!

Poor Wally Cleaver. Whenever he tries to do his best job at anything, his best friend Eddie Haskell manages to ruin everything. In this case, Wally has landed a job for himself and Eddie parking cars at a wedding ceremony, and the entire job is wrecked by Eddie through his signature carelessness.

Mr. Langley (played by Dick Simmons who also appeared in "Beaver the Caddy") has a daughter who is getting married, so he hires Wally and Eddie as parking attendants for the ceremony. Wally is very dutiful and efficient, but Eddie is careless and parks Fred Rutherford's car in a tow-away zone. The car is missing after the ceremony, and Wally tells Mr. Langley that because of Eddie's mistake they don't deserve to be paid. Eddie tries to weasel out of his responsibility because he never learns his lesson, but he's clearly the bad guy here.

Besides Simmons and Richard Deacon, the wonderful Kim Hamilton appears as a member of the catering staff. It's always frustrating to see Eddie mess things up for Wally, but this episode is well done and pretty funny in spots.

The Langley's daughter is getting married, and Mr. Langley has hired Wally to park the cars when guests arrive for the reception at the Langley home. Ward is concerned because it is a big job for one person plus Wally isn't insured for such a venture. Wally replies that he has asked Eddie Haskell and Lumpy Rutherford to help in return for splitting the 10-dollar fee and that Mr. Langley has said that he would handle the issue of insurance. Lumpy has to drop out because his license has been suspended, but still this job should be OK with two people - Wally and Eddie - working it.

So the big day comes, and it looks like things are going well when Eddie decides to cut some corners and park Mr. Rutherford's car in a parking lot with plenty of spaces rather than on the street. The problem is that it is a private lot, and violators will be towed. It's clearly marked on a sign that Eddie just didn't see. When Fred Rutherford wants to leave and realizes his car has been towed, he gives Wally, Mr. Langley, and Eddie an ear full. Wally feels so bad he says that Mr. Langley should give their pay to Mr. Rutherford to compensate him for their mistake, to which Mr. Langley is really very understanding. What will Ward say when he finds out? Watch and find out.

I wouldn't say Eddie makes this one worth watching, but he does add value to the proceedings as always. At one point Wally and Eddie are told by Mr. Langley to go to the kitchen and let the maid fix them a snack. Eddie then proceeds to tell the maid that he is a pro at parking cars, that he has parked cars for the governor before, and then tells the maid a story about a guy from India who was so impressed by his car parking talents that he tried to give Eddie an elephant. You can tell that the maid knows a teller of tall tales when she sees one.

Also note Mr. Langley is supposed to be socially prominent. If so, why is he having this event at his home? Why not have it at the country club where there is professional valet parking? And too bad it was Fred Rutherford who had his car towed, a blowhard, personally uncharitable, and a complete fraud when it comes to representing his son Clarence's prospects and his own attitude toward him. One thing I will say for Clarence/Lumpy - unlike Eddie Haskell he is completely unpretentious.

I really liked these Wally centric shows during the last year or two. They were definitely not cases of "let's throw the supporting cast a bone and let them have the spotlight". Tony Dow was considered quite hotty as he matured and he had the acting chops to match. It's too bad he couldn't really recover from the typecasting in Leave It To Beaver after the show ended.

Absolutely outstanding episode, this time all about parking cars. This was the TEEN dream job, because you got to drive some sleek cars --if y'all knew how to drive?

The big MISTAKE here; it's not driving the cars, it's where to park? Wally, Eddie and Lumpy are parking cars for a neighborhood wedding, but there's only so many spaces available around the block. Of course, you can always park where you're not supposed to --and that includes Fred Rutherford's car --which promptly gets towed!

Have to feel sorry for Wally once again, because it's all about the company he keeps. He tries his best, but he's always pulled back by Eddie and his "bright' ideas. I agree with the last reviewer, you get so see some hilariously awkward "social" mixing with Mr. Rutherford and Eddie, who in a way are very much alike and deserve everything they get.

Applause to Earl Bellamy, who directed this one. Earl held an incredible record, directing over 1600 tv shows in his career, including MY THREE SONS. More over, he should have written a book because he served as assistant director on many classic films, a part of movie history.

Special guest star is none other than Dick Simmons, playing the wedding host, Mr. Langley. Dick was a tv star, playing SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON in the 50s. I'll bet everybody wanted his autograph. Like, Earl Bellamy, he was also connected to many classic films, like LADY IN THE LAKE (1946). He played the wise-guy who punches out Robert Montgomery. Remember?

Look for Kim Hamilton playing the maid. True, she was the only black actor to appear on the series. Kim began her career as a model and eventually a terrific actress.

Beaver has a smaller role, as it's Wally show. Looks to have been filmed around North Hollywood or Studio City, near Universal as you can tell the narrow streets where parking is a pain. The streets are still there today and still a pain!

Trivia note, one of the cars has Ward's license plate WJG 865.

From SEASON 6, EPISODE 17 remastered Universal dvd box set. Classic color box cover. A must for collectors.