Ward Cleaver - Home Life

Home Life

Ward has few interests at home, other than monitoring his sons and spending evenings after dinner sitting next to his wife on the couch in the living room reading Mayfield's daily newspaper, the Mayfield Press (although other titles have been seen), and enjoying coffee. Ward is occasionally seen suppressing his smirks by sipping from his cup.

On the odd occasion, the two step out to a wedding reception, a school play, or a restaurant together. In one episode, Ward and June have the Rutherfords in for an evening of cards. Occasionally, as shown in the episode titled "Wally's Dinner Date", they play on their own. In other episodes, Ward manages the barbecue on the patio for dining al fresco with guests. June and Ward sleep in twin beds and have a portable television in their bedroom. Among the cars Ward drives are a 1957 Model Year Ford Fairlane, a 1959, 1960, and 1963 Plymouth Fury, all of them four-door sedans. Ward plays golf at a local country club, and attends church. Ward sometimes drives the family to nearby Crystal Falls or Friends Lake.

Ward played basketball in school and, in one episode, tries to give his sons and their friends a few tips on the game; however, he dominates the session with his nit-picking and the boys run off to play without his interference. He is somewhat handy with tools and does a few minor repairs around the house such as fixing sqeaky doors and fixing cords when June pulls them out by the plug. He sometimes dries the dishes for his wife.

In early episodes, packs of cigarettes are detectable in his shirt pocket. He has a meerschaum pipe (the gift of Fred Rutherford) which Beaver and Larry fill with coffee grounds and smoke. He chews gum in one episode. Ward also has a bottle of brandy in the dining room credenza that Beaver gives to an alcoholic handyman and then to a tramp.

The man of the house has a home office/den in the Pine Street dwelling of the last four seasons. He uses the room to discipline the boys, make phone calls, and balance his checkbook. A large globe stands on the floor before a window but is replaced in later episodes by a television set that is usually turned off. Though one wall is lined with books, rarely do the Cleavers read anything other than newspapers or magazines. Occasionally, a book is pulled from the shelves for Beaver's school assignments.