Stephen Talbot

Born in Hollywood in 1949, the son of actor Lyle Talbot, Stephen Talbot became a child actor, appearing as Beaver's friend, Gilbert, in more than 50 episodes of the iconic baby boomer series "Leave It To Beaver." He also appeared in many TV shows of the late '50s and early '60s, including "Perry Mason," "Lassie," "The Twilight Zone," "Wanted: Dead of Alive," "The Donna Reed Show," and "The Lucy Show." As an adult, Talbot turned to reporting and documentary filmmaking. He began as a producer and on-air reporter for KQED, the public television station in San Francisco. He had early success with two documentaries that set the tone for his career: "Broken Arrow" (1980) an investigation of nuclear weapons accidents, and "The Case of Dashiell Hammett" (1982), a portrait of the mystery writer. Both films won George Foster Peabody Awards and established Talbot as someone who could do both investigative reporting and biographies. Talbot began producing documentaries for the critically acclaim