"Gee, Ward, I'm really worried about the Beaver."
If those words bring a nostalgic smile to your face, you're not alone. A new survey just in time for Mother's Day shows the iconic June Cleaver of "Leave It To Beaver" fame is the all time favourite TV mom.
The matriarch, who in typical late 50s and early 60s fashion, stayed home all day taking care of the house while her husband worked and was regularly depicted sporting pearls to vacuum the rugs, was played by actress Barbara Billingsley (with co-star Jerry Mathers in later years, top left.)
She was chosen as the moms respondents to the Harris Interactive poll would have most liked to have had been raised by while they were growing up.
It's not that their own moms were bad, of course. But not all of them could be guaranteed to have such warm understanding every episode - er - day they returned from school.
"She stayed at home and was there when the kids got home and had cookies and milk," explains the pollster's Regina Corso. "You get a sense that with so many dual-income families now and the necessity of the mother to be working as well, what they're looking for is a mom who is there."
Ironically, the runner-up choice couldn't possibly be more different. Claire Huxtable, Bill Cosby's wife on the smash 80s sitcom "The Cosby Show", was everything that June Cleaver wasn't. She was strong willed, sharp tongued, employed as a successful and very clever lawyer and took no nonsense from her kids. Yet she was number two.
And this speaks volumes. More women chose Claire while men were overwhelmingly in favour of June as best all time TV mom.
In third place, came a woman who seems to fit in the middle of both the top choices - Carol Brady from the "Brady Bunch."
And in fourth spot was a character who spans all eras - Mrs. Cunningham from "Happy Days," a show based in the 50s that was shown in the 70s.
The top ranked moms were all married, with figures from the past outdistancing more modern incarnations. Baby boomers chose more 50s and 60s icons. Gen Xers (32-43) went for the Bradys, while the younger generation picked Lorelei Gilmore of the recently cancelled "The Gilmore Girls" as their choice.
But not every mom picked had to be a nice one. Roseanne Connor, the insulting and obstreperous woman played by the insulting and obstreperous Roseanne Barr, came in tied for 8th place - along with Marge Simpson.
The Top 10 TV Moms Of All Time
1. June Cleaver, Leave It To Beaver
2. Claire Huxtable, The Cosby Show
3. Carol Brady, The Brady Bunch
4. Marion Cunningham, Happy Days
5. Donna Stone, The Donna Reed Show
6. Harriet Nelson, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
7. Lucy Ricardo, I Love Lucy
8. Roseanne Connor, Roseanne (tie)
8. Lorelei Gilmore, The Gilmore Girls (tie)
8. Marge Simpson, The Simpsons (tie)
Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
