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Ken Osmond arrives at the 82nd Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade on December 1, 2013.
Ken Osmond, who rose to fame playing the role of Eddie Haskell on the TV show, Leave It to Beaver, died on Monday, according to Variety. He was 76.
Sources told the news outlet that he died at his home in Los Angeles while surrounded by family. While a cause of death was not immediately revealed, Osmond’s former partner at the Los Angeles Police Department said the actor had suffered from respiratory issues. Osmond had joined the LAPD in 1970 while he continued working as an actor. While working as a police officer, he guest-starred on TV shows such as Happy Days, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, and reprised his role as Eddie Haskell in The New Leave It to Beaver, which ran from 1983 to 1989.
He is survived by wife Sandra Lee Purdy, and their two children, Christian and Eric Osmand.
Osmand, born on June 3, 1943, in Glendale, California, started acting professionaly as a young kid. With his brother, Dayton Osmond, he made his film debut in 1952’s Plymouth Adventure and booked his first speaking role at age 9 in the movie, So Big, which starred Jane Wyman and Sterling Hayden.
While Osmond enjoyed a successful career, making a guest-starring the TV show Annie Oakley, and appearing in the film Good Morning, Morning Miss Dove , in 1957, Osmond got his big break after being cast in the hit series, Leave It to Beaver. While he was originally cast as a guest star, Ken was so impressive as Eddie Haskell that producers made his character a mainstay. Osmond continued to play the role until 1963, appearing 97 episodes.
Osmond starred alongside Jerry Mathers, who played the titular role, Barbara Billingsly as June Cleaver, Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver, and Tony Dow as Wally Cleaver.
Osmond Survived Being Shot 3 Times While Working for the LAPD
GettyKen Osmond arrives at the launch party for ‘Gilligan’s Island: The Complete First Season’ in 2004.
The actor testified in court about the day he was shot while working as an on-duty officer for the LAPD in 1980. “I saw a flash of light and the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back on the sidewalk, 10 to 15 feet away. I was not able to move. I thought I was dying,″ Osmond recalled eight years later.
Osmond was called to testify against the man who shot him, Albert Cunningham, in 1988, who was facing the death penalty after being charged with killing 36-year-old Enrique Treto on December 2, 1985. The actor said that he and his partner were on motorcycle patrol during the incident in 1980 when they spotted a stolen taxi with Cunningham behind the wheel.
After chasing Cunningham on foot, Osmond was shot three times during the confrontation. However, Osmond was extremely lucky. During the gunfire exchange, his bulletproof vest blocked two of the bullets while his belt buckle stopped the third from penetrating his body.
During his testimony, Osmond said that he suffered from clinical depression following the incident, which forced him into early retirement after serving 14 years on the force.
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