{{Short description|American actor}} {{use mdy dates|date=May 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Rusty Stevens | image = B mondo01.JPG | caption = Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello | other_names = <!-- Rusty Stevens is the same as name above, so we don't list it as a other name --> | 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.<ref name="Clothier">{{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}}</ref> Stevens appeared in 67 of the show's 234 episodes, between 1957 and 1960.<ref name="metv three">{{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|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101225826/https://www.metv.com/stories/leave-it-to-beaver-star-rusty-stevens-was-in-three-different-halloween-episodes-on-three-different-shows|archive-date=November 1, 2021|quote=Stevens appeared in 67 episodes during Beaver’s first four seasons.}}</ref>
== Career == Stevens had parts in some TV shows before and after he portrayed Larry Mondello in the sitcom ''Leave It to Beaver''.<ref name="Clothier" /> Reportedly, he left the show in 1960 because his family moved from Burbank, California, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;<ref name="Clothier" /> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.''<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref> At the time, he was working as a car-insurance salesman in New Jersey.<ref name=":0" />
== Partial filmography == {{Incomplete list|date=April 2023}} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |- | 1957–1960 | ''Leave It to Beaver'' | Larry Mondello | 68 episodes<ref name="Clothier" /> |- | 1960 | ''77 Sunset Strip'' | Max | Episode "The Attic"<ref name="metv search" /> |- | 1960 | ''Shirley Temple's Storybook'' | Stuffy Cole and Gypsy Boy | Episodes "Little Men" and "Madeline"<ref name="metv search">{{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}}</ref> |-1962 Wagon Train "the Sam Darland story" "Johnny" | 1962 | ''My Three Sons'' | Cletus Bleeker | Episode "Bub Gets A Job"<ref name="metv search" /> |- | 1962 | ''Perry Mason'' | Brucie Hillman | Episode "The Case of the Dodging Domino"<ref name="metv three" /> |- | 1963 | ''The Rifleman'' | Melvin | Episode "Hostages to Fortune"<ref name="metv three" /> |- | 1983 | ''Still the Beaver'' | Larry Mondello | TV movie |- | 1983–1989 | ''The New Leave It to Beaver'' | Larry Mondello | 3 episodes |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0828719}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Rusty}} Category:1948 births Category:American male child actors Category:American male television actors Category:Living people Category:Male actors from Boston Category:Male actors from Los Angeles