Tony Dow Died: Wally Cleaver on 'Leave It to Beaver' Was 77 - Variety
By: Pat Saperstein (Variety)
RIP.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Courtesy Everett Collection
Tony Dow, the actor and director best known for playing the stalwart older brother Wally Cleaver to Jerry Mathers' Beaver in the iconic series "Leave It to Beaver," has died. He was 77.
His official Facebook page posted that he died Tuesday morning. "It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share with you the passing of our beloved Tony this morning. Tony was a beautiful soul - kind, compassionate, funny and humble," read the message from his management team.
Dow and his wife Lauren announced in May that his cancer, which he had been diagnosed with years before, had returned.
Dow was born in Hollywood and his mother was an early stunt woman and double for Clara Bow. He was a Junior Olympics diving champion, but didn't have much showbiz experience when he tagged along with a friend and ended up auditioning for and winning the role of Wally. "Leave it to Beaver" began airing in 1957 and ran until 1963. The popular black-and-white sitcom, centered around the typical idealized family of the time, followed the adventures of mischievous young Beaver, his practical brother Wally, their devious friend Eddie Haskell, and their long-suffering but understanding parents played by Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont.
The show's writers, Bob Mosher and Joe Connelly, based the characters on their own children, incorporating such details as Wally's constant hair-combing they observed in their own teenagers. As the show came to an end, Wally was about to start college while Beaver was ready for high school.
Dow returned in the 1980s for the TV movie "Still the Beaver" and series "The New Leave It to Beaver," for which he also directed five episodes and wrote one.
He moved into writing, producing and directing while continuing to act, and helmed several episodes of "Harry and the Hendersons," "Coach," "Babylon 5," "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" and an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."
After "Leave It to Beaver," Dow appeared on series including "General Hospital," "Mr. Novak," "Never Too Young," "Lassie," "Love, American Style," "Square Pegs" and "The Love Boat," on which he played himself. He also played himself in the 2003 comedy "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," which featured cameos of dozens of former young actors, and appeared in the John Landis skit comedy feature "The Kentucky Fried Movie."
Dow battled depression in his 20s, making the self-help video "Beating the Blues" to help others, and later survived two bouts of cancer. He also became a sculptor and started a construction company.
He is survived by his wife Lauren and two children.
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First Eddy, now Wally. RIP Tony.
Sad news, indeed. My cable provider just started including "Leave It to Beaver" in its lineup, and it's been fun watching the reruns of a show my family and I enjoyed each week so many years ago.
Here's a fairly recent video of him talking about the show, his depression, and his artwork.
He's not dead. The report was premature. He is in a hospice though.
Okay, we'll expect to see your confirmation of his death tomorrow.
Hey MM, put that talent of yours to work - what are the winning numbers for the billion dollar Lotto Max next draw? And don't be selfish - there's enough there to make all of us very comfortable.
Hey, I want to know too. I bought a ticket a couple of days ago. I don't care if I don't win the whole enchilada, I'll be happy with a couple hundred K or so. I'm not greedy or anything...
Oooops! I meant Mega Millions. I made the mistake of naming Canada's biggest lottery.
Well, if MM would post the numbers here then we would all share in the biggie.
Most people don't know this, but I named my cat after his character Wally. True story. I was going to name him Beaver... but then we realized that a cat named Beaver was...ummmmm.... urrrr.
So we went with Wally instead
Was what?. A little fishy??..... What? Here kitty kitty kitty....
LOL, Yeah, kind of.
Anoon Perrie...
Neighbours named their dog Moose!!..still seems odd when I hear them calling it...
Good day Shona,
Now that gave me a good laugh.
I picture a Moose coming out of the bush...and think what!!
Taken me ages to get use to it ..just as well they didn't name him Snake!! No one would bat an eyelid here....
Would he be a dead Snake?
Yep he would be cactus (dead) in no time..
Well I have a very large female black lab that I got at 3 weeks of age. For some reason I had the urge to name her Trouble. And boy is she. Great dog, rambunctious and playful as can be and into everything. She has definitely lived up to the the name.
He was either the best actor in the world or the worst. Pure cornball.
I grew up watching TV shows where horses talked and a diverse group could live well on a deserted island but couldn’t patch a hole in a boat. I saw Sitcoms about a WW II POW camp and the Navy fight in the Pacific. Compared to those, Beaver was real. For that matter, compared to today's Real Housewive's of..., Beaver was real.
So he's not dead..........yet. Well smack my ass and call me judy
His family confirmed that he passed away this morning.