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The Remarkable 1957

NPR

Published October 4, 2007 at 7:00 AM EDT

<em>Leave It to Beaver</em> shares a launch date with the Soviet Sputnik satellite, October 4, 1957. — *Leave It to Beaver* shares a launch date with the Soviet Sputnik satellite, October 4, 1957.

The year 1957 saw the launch of Sputnik, the premieres of Leave It to Beaver and West Side Story, the integration of Little Rock Central High School, and the birth of On The Road.

Journalist Ken Walsh, of U.S. News & World Report, talks about an amazing year.

On our blog, you can hear an interview with Jerry Mathers, who played the Beaver on Leave It to Beaver — a show that launched the same day as Sputnik.