The sitcom, which depicted an idyllic suburban American household, became a cultural touchstone of the baby boom generation.
“Then I was on a plane once and I walked by this guy, and he looked really familiar to me. “I could never understand the reaction that Jerry or I would get from people,” Mr. Dow told the Kansas City Star in 2003. He was, by all accounts, an understated personality in a profession full of showoffs. He had modest success as a sculptor, with work appearing in galleries and international exhibitions. Many critics likened watching the “Beaver” revivals to entering a time warp. The program was a ratings smash and spawned two sitcoms, notably “The New Leave It to Beaver” on Ted Turner’s superstation, WTBS, from 1986 to 1989. Years later, Mathers recalled Mr. Dow as much like his “cool” character: soft-spoken, suave and possessed of gymnastic skills that he showed off by walking up and down a flight of stairs on his hands. Finding that options for a former child actor were limited, Mr. Dow was making a living on the dinner-theater circuit in the 1970s. “If Wally Cleaver can be depressed,” he said, “anybody can be.” For years, he lived on a boat, made sculpture and lived on income earned primarily by running a construction business. “Leave It to Beaver,” airing from 1957 to 1963, depicted an idyllic suburban postwar American household and became a cultural touchstone of the baby boom generation. The sitcom began on CBS but appeared for most of its run on the third-place ABC network and never was a big ratings success.
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 ...
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 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.” “Leave it to Beaver” began airing in 1957 and ran until 1963.
Tony Dow's death comes less than three months after he shared a cancer diagnosis. His managers said "the world has lost an amazing human being."
Actor Alan Tudyk praised Dow's carpentry skills in a tweet: "Tony Dow built the beach house I lived in when I first moved to Los Angeles to shoot Firefly," he posted. Dow later reprised his role as Wally in a "Beaver" spinoff from 1983 to 1989. TV producer Jim Michaels shared in a post, "I will miss my friend Tony Dow- an amazingly kind person, talented director, actor, wood craftsman and artist. He was always the kindest, most generous, gentle, loving, sincere, and humble man, that was my honor and privilege to be able to share memories together with for 65 years," he wrote. "Tony leaves an empty place in my heart that won’t be filled. "The world has lost an amazing human being, but we are all richer for the memories that he has left us.
Tony Dow, an actor and director best known for his role as 'The Beaver's' older brother Wally Cleaver on 'Leave It to Beaver,' died Tuesday, according to ...
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Tony Dow, known best for his role as Wally Cleaver, revealed that his cancer had returned in May.
“Tony was a beautiful soul — kind, compassionate, funny and humble. (The post, seen below, has since been removed from the social media platform.) Tony Dow, former star of beloved family TV comedy Leave it to Beaver, has died at the age of 77.
He went on to a varied career as an actor, director, producer and sculptor, but he could never shake his association with the sitcom that brought him ...
Mr. Dow said in the end that he was no longer troubled by the outcome of his early success. As he observed at the end of one episode, “For a little kid like that, a lot of stuff sure goes on in his head.” In David Spade’s comedy “Dickie Roberts, Former Child Star,” Mr. Dow sang in the front row of a glee club of former child stars. The film became a Disney Channel series for one season and returned on TBS as “The New Leave It to Beaver” from 1986 to 1989. But he soon realized he had been hopelessly typecast as his “Leave It to Beaver” character. Along the way, he also had a contracting business and did visual effects for film. When he appeared on camera in movies or television later on, it was often with a healthy dose of amused self-awareness. He had virtually no acting experience when he was cast as Wally Cleaver in “Leave It to Beaver.” Wally played Chinese checkers with his brother in their room, sometimes went along with his friend Eddie Haskell’s misguided pranks and was young enough in the first season to ask, “Dad, if I saved up my allowance, could I buy a monkey?” His face was soon on the cover of magazines aimed at teenage readers. And, “Will you stop being nice to me and just go back to being a little creep?” The central character on the sitcom was the button-cute, trouble-prone Beaver Cleaver, played by Jerry Mathers, but whenever Beaver needed the benefit of counsel from someone older and wiser who was not likely to yell at him, he turned to Wally, his only sibling and most trusted confidant.
Actor Tony Dow, best known for his role as Wally Cleaver in the 1950s American TV hit sitcom “Leave It to Beaver,” died Tuesday at age 77, his friends and…
Tony leaves an empty place in my heart that won’t be filled,” Mathers wrote. Dow is also credited as director for more than a dozen TV shows, including “The New Leave it to Beaver” And “Harry and the Hendersons” in the 1990s. Dow reprised his role as Wally Cleaver in the 1980s for a spinoff movie, “Still the Beaver,” and a TV series, “The New Leave It to Beaver.” He also appeared in the daytime series “General Hospital.”
Tony Dow, an actor and director best known for his role as older brother Wally Cleaver on "Leave It to Beaver," died Tuesday, according to his ...
Dow continued to work in Hollywood, taking parts in TV series and even reprising his role in "The New Leave It to Beaver" in the 1980s. In 1993, he was an honorary speaker at a convention for the National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association. the Baltimore Sun of his depression in 1993.
Actor Tony Dow, best known for portraying Wally Cleaver on iconic family sitcom "Leave It to Beaver", has died at age 77. A statement on Dow's Facebook page ...
“From the warm reminiscences of Wally Cleaver to those of us fortunate enough to know him personally — thank you Tony. And thank you for the reflections of a simpler time, the laughter, the friendship and for the feeling that you were a big brother to us all. The world may have lost a star today, but the heavens gained another. He’s been in hospice care at their home, and based on some health issues overnight, Lauren inferred that Tony had passed away to some people close to her and the word quickly spread.” Lauren says she ‘loves and adores’ her husband of 42 years with all of her heart.” He would go on to reprise the role in the 1983 TV movie “Still the Beaver” and the revival series “The New Leave It to Beaver”, which ran from 1983-1989. “I had a conversation with his wife, Lauren,” Pennacchio wrote.
Tony Dow's wife, Laura Shulkind, announced the Leave It to Beaver star was diagnosed with cancer in 2022.
In the later years of his life, Dow found meaning again in art. Alongside Shulkind, whom he married in 1980, he put his artwork at the forefront. He added that the role of Wally did define him — though he didn't sign up for the fame that followed. "From the time I was 11 or 12, I was told what to do. I was told on the set. It was truly a joy to just be around him," they continued.
Per his wife, Lauren Shulkind, the actor is in hospice and still breathing despite multiple reports that he died.
Roberts passed away due to a urinary tract infection that spread to her kidney, gallbladder, liver, and blood stream 24 hours after the premature announcement. “It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share with you the passing of our beloved Tony this morning,” wrote Bilotta and James in the since-deleted post. According to TMZ, Dow, who played Wally Cleaver on the 1950s-era sitcom Leave It to Beaver, is currently in hospice and still breathing.
Tony Dow, the actor and producer best known as older brother Wally Cleaver on the classic TV show 'Leave it to Beaver,' is in hospice.
“There’s a lot of remnants of wood things, trees and whatnot,” he told The Times in 2008 around the sculpture’s debut. He made his directorial debut with an episode of “The New Lassie” in 1989. He also made a career in sculpting, with one of his pieces even landing in the Louvre. Tony’s true life ability as an athlete was a perfect fit for Wally, he was cast for the part, and the rest is television history!” Speculation that the “Leave It to Beaver” star had died began after his management team wrote in a since-deleted post on Dow’s Facebook page that he had passed away at the age of 77. He is in hospice care, according to his family members. “The boy who played Wally grew about 5 inches between the time the pilot was filmed and [when] we went into production of the series,” Mathers wrote. “As most people know, Tony Dow was my big brother on Leave it to Beaver,” Mathers wrote. “The world has lost an amazing human being, but we are all richer for the memories that he has left us,” the statement continued. Dow’s death was widely reported Tuesday morning, including in The Times, until his wife and son told CBS and Fox, respectively, that Dow was still alive. Tony’s son Christopher and his daughter-in-law Melissa have also been by his side comforting him, and we will keep you posted on any future updates.” Lauren says she ‘loves and adores’ her husband of 42 years with all of her heart.”
If you are a fan of classic sitcoms, no doubt you remember “Leave It To Beaver”, featuring the picture-perfect clan called Cleaver, which exemplified the ...
He landed the role of Wally Cleaver in Leave It To Beaver in a casting call with almost no acting experience. But what set Leave It To Beaver apart was its perspective, where the comedy focused on life through the eyes of Jerry Mathers (as Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver), who was seven years old when the series began, and his older brother Wally (Tony Dow). Born April 13, 1945 in Hollywood, California, Tony Dow trained as a swimmer and was a Junior Olympics diving champion.
Actor Tony Dow, best known for portraying Wally Cleaver on iconic family sitcom "Leave It to Beaver", is still alive after earlier reports that he had died.
“From the warm reminiscences of Wally Cleaver to those of us fortunate enough to know him personally — thank you Tony. And thank you for the reflections of a simpler time, the laughter, the friendship and for the feeling that you were a big brother to us all. The world may have lost a star today, but the heavens gained another. He’s been in hospice care at their home, and based on some health issues overnight, Lauren inferred that Tony had passed away to some people close to her and the word quickly spread.” Lauren says she ‘loves and adores’ her husband of 42 years with all of her heart.” He would go on to reprise the role in the 1983 TV movie “Still the Beaver” and the revival series “The New Leave It to Beaver”, which ran from 1983-1989. “I had a conversation with his wife, Lauren,” Pennacchio wrote.
Tony Dow, the producer, director and actor most famous for his role as Wally Cleaver on "Leave It To Beaver" has died after a battle with liver cancer. A ...
He later reprised his role as Wally from 1983-1989 on "The New Leave It To Beaver." TMZ broke the story, Tony was diagnosed with cancer in May 2022. An update on his cancer battle last week said it was, "... a rollercoaster of ups and downs as Tony continues his fight with cancer. 12:48 PM PT -- The statement reporting Tony's death that was posted on his official Facebook page Tuesday morning has now been removed. It was truly a joy to just be around him. My wife and I are by his side along with many friends that have visited.
Tony Dow, who played Wally Cleaver to Jerry Mathers' Beaver in the iconic series "Leave It to Beaver," has died.
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 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.” 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.
According to CNN.com and other news websites, Dow's official Facebook page reported for a brief time that he had died.
Dow’s son, Christopher, later updated family, friends, and fans, saying in a post that his father was “in his last hours”: A later post clarified the news and said that Dow, who is 77, was still alive and that family was “by his side comforting him”: “Leave It to Beaver” actor Tony Dow is in hospice care but is not dead yet, despite a post that reportedly appeared on his official Facebook page that said he had already died.