The Inspiring Story of Frank Bank, Lumpy From ‘Leave It To Beaver’
Years ago, when I started watching Leave It to Beaver for the first time, I knew the Cleaver boys were headed for trouble whenever Wally’s friend Lumpy would show up. Lumpy, often aided by that scoundrel of all scoundrels, Eddie Haskell, was always up for a little bit of mischief.
During his memorable first appearance, Clarence “Lumpy” Rutherford, played by actor Frank Bank, was actually more of a bully than he would turn out to be. In that first episode, for whatever reason, Lumpy felt that Wally and “the Beav” needed to walk the long way home. Of course, the boys got their revenge … well, kind of. It turns out that the trap they had set for Lumpy would be stumbled into instead by his father.
@out_and_about_with_joeLumpy Dumpy ! Leave it to Beaver 1958 Lumpy Rutherford♬ original sound – Out_And_About_With_Joe
As time went on, Lumpy became less of a bully and more of a friend of Wally’s. As he was prone to pranks and all sorts of mischief, he wasn’t always the loyalest of friends — but he was a friend, nonetheless. During the show’s six seasons, Bank would appear as Lumpy more than 50 times. As the show progressed, Lumpy’s character continued to develop, and we got to learn more about him (such as the fact that, although he was in the same grade as Wally, he was actually three years older than him). We also began to understand why Lumpy acted out as a bully, as it turned out he was teased quite a bit because of his size.
By the time Leave It To Beaver finally came to an end, I must admit that I had grown awfully fond of Lumpy. Sure, he was an occasional foil and sometimes an antagonist, but he was also someone who, although he had many faults, you could really get behind and care for.
And you know what? The same holds true for the actor, Frank Bank, who it turns out had been playing against type all along. Frank wasn’t dimwitted at all. In fact, he was quite a savvy guy, especially with money, and knew that he needed to figure out what life after Leave It to Beaver looked like. Though on more than one occasion, Frank admitted that he would have enjoyed working longer in the entertainment industry, unfortunately, post-Beaver, casting directors could only see Lumpy.
So, how could he survive? Or perhaps, even thrive? The answer, it turns out, was pretty darn simple: Frank would put his keen mind and his financial savviness to work.
Within just a few years after Leave It to Beaver ended, Frank had become a licensed broker, handling complicated stock and bond transactions for some of the biggest companies in the United States. Over time, he would build a reputation as an insightful financial advisor who understood market dynamics and could apply the right amount of risk to garner an appropriate return for his clients. Before long, Frank was making more money than he ever thought possible — even more than he might have had if he continued to work full-time in the entertainment industry.
Of course, Frank did love being Lumpy, so he returned for the Still the Beaver television movie and The New Leave It to Beaver TV show, and it was fun to see him back in action as Lumpy once again.
Over time, Frank’s friends and castmates all began to rely on his wisdom to ensure that they were in a good place financially for the remainder of their lives. And the best part was that they knew what kind of guy their financial advisor was: He was smart, and, most importantly, he was someone that they could trust.
Speaking to People magazine in 1998, actress Barbara Billingsley said that Frank was “certainly brighter than Lumpy Rutherford, and a very good stockbroker”.
Frank isn’t with us anymore. He’s been gone since April 2013, when he passed away, at the age of 71, due to cancer. Way too young. Still, Frank led an amazing life. If you want to learn more, you may want to pick up his autobiography, Call Me Lumpy. From what I understand that book is quite the wild ride.
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