Stephen Henderson Talbot (born February 28, 1949, in Los Angeles, California) is an American award-winning TV reporter, writer, and producer and TV child actor of the 1950s and 1960s.Talbot had a minor career playing minors between 1959 and 1963. He is best known for the early TV sit-com Leave It to Beaver, in which he had the semi-regular role as Gilbert Bates, best friend of Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (Jerry Mathers). As an adult, Talbot turned from acting to journalism and did not dwell on his LITB heritage, turning down numerous Leave it to Beaver "reunion" offers in order to be taken seriously as a reporter. But lately he has begun to reflect on his "Beaver" experience in articles and interviews and even in a recent Frontline documentary, "Diet Wars."He is an accomplished and award-winning "behind the scenes" contributor to the Public Broadcasting Service and its Frontline series, where most of his energies have been directed.