John Eimen obit

John Eimen Dies: Child Actor In ‘Leave It To Beaver’, ‘The Twilight Zone’ & More Was 76

 

He was not on the list.

John Eimen, who appeared in more than a dozen TV series including Leave It to Beaver, The Twilight Zone and McKeever and the Colonel as a child actor in the late 1950s and ’60s, has died. He was 76. His family said he died of prostate cancer at his home in Mukilteo, WA. He had been diagnosed in September.

Born on October 2, 1949, in Chicago, Eimen moved with his family to Los Angeles in the 1950s. A freckled-faced redhead, he was discovered by an agent friend of his first-grade teacher. Often billed as Johnny Eimen, he appeared in episodes of such popular TV shows as Wagon Train, The Untouchables, Have Gun – Will Travel and General Electric Theater from 1958-62.

He also appeared in a classic Charles Beaumont-penned 1962 episode of The Twilight Zone — which wasn’t? — titled “The Fugitive.” It starred J. Pat O’Malley as Old Ben, a kindly old man who is popular with the children but actually is the king of a far-off planet who fled the regal responsibilities and came to Earth. His subjects come looking for him.

Perhaps most famously, Eimen played a classmate of Theodore Cleaver (Jerry Mathers) in the first episode of Leave It to Beaver. He would go on to make several appearances of the popular series during its 1957-63 run, including speaking parts.

He also starred alongside Oscar winner Jane Wyman in the 1961 drama pilot Dr. Kate, playing Cadet Monk Roberts, a student in a military school. The show wasn’t picked up to series, but the pilot was re-formatted for the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse.

“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,” Eimen recalled, per his family. “However, she backed out of the deal, claiming dissatisfaction with the proposed ‘after-primetime’ schedule slot in the channel lineup.”

He added of the repurposed version of Dr. Kate, “I still get small residual checks from that show, from time to time.”

But that exposure led to perhaps his biggest role as 14-year-old Eimen was available to be cast as a series regular in another show set in a military school, McKeever and the Colonel, whose cast included Jackie Cooper. Eimen played Monk, a pal of Cadet Gary McKeever (Scott Lane). The sitcom aired one season on NBC in 1962-63.

Among Eimen’s other TV credits are guest shots on Going My Way, The Lloyd Bridges Show, Angel, Bachelor Father, The Rebel, Wendy and Me starring George Burns and Petticoat Junction. He also was a model who appeared in a full-page Carnation Instant Breakfast ad that ran in Life and other national magazine.

When his Hollywood career ebbed, Eimen transitioned to a music career as a singer-songwriter and guitarist. Later he moved to Japan, where he met his future wife and spent more than 10 years teaching English and performing his music in clubs and on Japanese television. After moving his family back to the United States in the mid-1990s, he would spend 25 years as a flight attendant on international routes for a major U.S. airline, aided by his speaking fluent Japanese. He retired from the airline in 2020.

John Eimen is survived by Midori, his wife of 51 years; their sons Daniel Eimen and Chris Eimen; and grandsons Lucas and Oliver. There will not be a funeral, per the family, but a memorial service is being planned.

Eimen is best known as Cadet Monk Roberts on the 60's sitcom "McKeever And The Colonel" and for featured roles on "Have Gun-Will Travel", "The Rebel", "The Untouchables", "Leave It To Beaver", "The Twilight Zone" and "Petticoat Junction", among others. He was also the model for an iconic "Milk Mustache" ad that appeared in the Feb. 2, 1959 issue of LIFE magazine long before the National Dairy Council's "Got Milk?" campaign.

His active acting years were from 1956 to 1969, beginning with appearances on "Ozzie And Harriett", "Bachelor Father" and the very first episode of "Leave It To Beaver". His final acting gig was a small part in the first episode of "Love-American Style".

After fifteen years as an actor he chose to focus on a music career, playing guitar in bands and later in a supper club-type trio around L.A. and Beverly Hills. In 1974, he moved to Japan where he got married and became an English teacher for the next ten years. In Japan he performed as a solo singer-guitarist in clubs in the Osaka area.

After returning to the U.S. in 1985, he eventually became a flight attendant for over twenty-five years, retiring in late 2020. He has continued to write and record many songs and post them on YouTube.

 

Actor

Bea Benaderet, Edgar Buchanan, Smiley Burnette, Frank Cady, Rufe Davis, Linda Henning, Gunilla Hutton, Meredith MacRae, Mike Minor, Jeannine Riley, Lori Saunders, and Pat Woodell in Petticoat Junction (1963)

Petticoat Junction

7.0

TV Series

Tommy (as John Eimen)

1967

1 episode

 

Never Too Late (1965)

Never Too Late

6.5

Boy (uncredited)

1965

 

Wendy and Me (1964)

Wendy and Me

7.8

TV Series

Boy (uncredited)

1964

1 episode

 

Going My Way (1962)

Going My Way

7.7

TV Series

JerryTim Wheelen

1962–1963

2 episodes

 

The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962)

The Lloyd Bridges Show

6.6

TV Series

Cort (as John Eimen)

1963

1 episode

 

Allyn Joslyn and Scott Lane in McKeever and the Colonel (1962)

McKeever and the Colonel

7.3

TV Series

Monk

1962–1963

11 episodes

 

The Comedy Spot (1960)

The Comedy Spot

7.0

TV Series

Red

1962

1 episode

 

Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers in Leave It to Beaver (1957)

Leave It to Beaver

7.6

TV Series

2nd Boy

1962

1 episode

 

Rod Serling in The Twilight Zone (1959)

The Twilight Zone

9.0

TV Series

Pitcher (as Johnny Eiman)

1962

1 episode

 

Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)

General Electric Theater

6.8

TV Series

Griff

1962

1 episode

 

Have Gun - Will Travel (1957)

Have Gun - Will Travel

8.4

TV Series

Larry DeckerBoy

1959–1961

2 episodes

 

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958)

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

8.0

TV Series

Tommy

1960

1 episode

 

Annie Fargue, Jess Oppenheimer, and Marshall Thompson in Angel (1960)

Angel

7.2

TV Series

Boy (as John Eiman)

1960

1 episode

 

Lawman (1958)

Lawman

8.1

TV Series

Young Boy (as John Eimen)

1960

1 episode

 

Abel Fernandez, Nicholas Georgiade, Paul Picerni, and Robert Stack in The Untouchables (1959)

The Untouchables

8.0

TV Series

Albert (uncredited)

1960

1 episode

 

Michael Ansara in Law of the Plainsman (1959)

Law of the Plainsman

8.1

TV Series

Little Boy (uncredited)

1960

1 episode

 

John McIntire in Wagon Train (1957)

Wagon Train

7.6

TV Series

Billy Taylor

1960

1 episode

 

The Rebel (1959)

The Rebel

7.8

TV Series

Ike Simmons

1959

1 episode

 

Bachelor Father (1957)

Bachelor Father

7.3

TV Series

Small Boy (uncredited)

1958

1 episode

 

Self

Pop Culture Addicts (2021)

Pop Culture Addicts

TV Series

Self - Guest

2022

1 episode

 

Stu's Show (2006)

Stu's Show

6.6

Podcast Series

Self - Guest

2021

1 episode

 

Live from Detroit: The Jeff Dwoskin Show (2020)

Live from Detroit: The Jeff Dwoskin Show

9.0

TV Series

Self - Guest

2020

1 episode