Anthony Lee Dow (April 13, 1945 – July 27, 2022) was an American actor, film producer, director and sculptor. He portrayed Wally Cleaver in the iconic television sitcom ''

Leave It to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...

'' from 1957 to 1963. From 1983 to 1989, Dow reprised his role as Wally in a television movie and in '' The New Leave It to Beaver''.

Early life

Dow was born in the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, the son of Muriel Virginia (Montrose), a stuntwoman in westerns, and John Stevens Dow, a designer and contractor. In his youth, he trained as a swimmer and was a Junior Olympics diving champion.

Screen career

With a little stage acting and two television pilots as his only acting experience, Dow's career began when he went on an open

casting call In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenpla ...

and landed the role of Wally Cleaver in ''Leave It to Beaver''. With the exception of the

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

, from 1957 to 1963 he played the older son of

June June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of su ...

(played by Barbara Billingsley) and

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

(played by

Hugh Beaumont Eugene Hugh Beaumont (February 16, 1910 – May 14, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series ''Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963, and as private detec ...

) Cleaver, and the older brother of protagonist Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (played by

Jerry Mathers Gerald Patrick Mathers (born June 2, 1948) is a former American actor best known for his role in the television sitcom ''Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963. He played the protagonist Beaver Cleaver, Theodore "Beaver" Cle ...

). As played by Dow, Wally was the "all-American" boy—an intelligent, polite teenager, trusted by his parents, popular with his peers, and liked by his teachers. (Wally was based on the series writer Joe Connelly's son, Jay.) In the show's later years, Dow grew into an attractive, athletic young man and was often featured in "heartthrob"-type magazines aimed principally at teen girls. Producers took advantage of Dow's popularity and scripted episodes delving into Wally's dating life, his after-school jobs, his friends, and his car. After ''Leave it to Beaver'', Dow appeared on other television shows, including ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'', '' Dr. Kildare'', '' The Greatest Show on Earth'', '' Never Too Young'', and on five episodes of ''

Mr. Novak ''Mr. Novak'' is an American television drama (film and television), drama television series starring James Franciscus in the title role as a high school teacher. The series aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965. It won a Peabody Award ...

'' in three different roles. He guest-starred on the television series ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb and produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pe ...

'', ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969, to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a pa ...

'', '' Knight Rider'', ''

Square Pegs ''Square Pegs'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1982–83 season. The series follows Patty Greene ( Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren Hutchinson ( Amy Linker), two awkward teenage girls desperate to fit in at Weemawee High S ...

'', ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Clarence Williams III as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes, Pegg ...

'', ''

The Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in a series of mystery novels for young readers. The series revolves around teenage amateur sleuths, solving cases that often stumped their adult counterparts. ...

'' and ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American Action fiction, action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing two situatio ...

''. Dow took a break from his acting career to serve in the

California Army National Guard The California Army National Guard (CA ARNG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Army, and part of the United States National Guard, National Guard of the United States. The California Army ...

from 1965 to 1968 during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, where he was assigned to the Special Services division and served in

Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...

, 40th Armored Division, as a photographer. During the 1970s, Dow continued acting while working in the construction industry, and studying journalism and

filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

. In 1977, he parodied his role as Wally from ''Leave it to Beaver'' in '' The Kentucky Fried Movie'', with

Jerry Zucker Jerry Gordon Zucker (born March 11, 1950) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is one third of the filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. He is best known for his role in writing and directing comedy spoof films like ...

playing Beaver. From 1983 to 1989, Dow reprised his role as Wally Cleaver in a reunion television movie and a subsequent sequel series, '' The New Leave It to Beaver'', for which Dow wrote an episode in 1986. In 1987, he was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award for his role as Wally Cleaver. In 1989, Dow made his debut as a director with an episode of '' The New Lassie''. It was followed by episodes of '' Get a Life'', ''

Harry and the Hendersons ''Harry and the Hendersons'' is a 1987 American fantasy comedy film directed and produced by William Dear and starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Don Ameche, David Suchet, Margaret Langrick, Joshua Rudoy, Lainie Kazan, and Kevin Peter Hal ...

'', '' Coach'', ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'', ''

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

'' and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Dow served as the

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...

supervisor for ''Babylon 5''. In 1996, he provided visual effects for the

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

television movie ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. Dow also co-produced '' The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space'' in 1995, and ''It Came from Outer Space II'' in 1996.

Stage career

In 1978, Dow and Jerry Mathers starred in a production of the comedy play ''Boeing, Boeing'', which ran for 10 weeks in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. Dow and Mathers then toured the dinner theater circuit in a production of ''So Long, Stanley'', written specifically for the TV brother duo, for 18 months.

Art career

In addition to acting, directing, producing, and writing, Dow was a sculptor, creating abstract

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

sculptures. He said about his work: "The figures are abstract and not meant to represent reality, but rather the truth of the interactions as I see and feel them. I find the wood in the hills of Topanga Canyon and each piece evolves from my

subconscious In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. The term was already popularized in the early 20th century in areas ranging from psychology, religion and spirituality. The concept was heavily popu ...

. I produce limited editions of nine bronzes using the lost wax process from molds of the original burl sculpture."

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

wrote of Dow's work that it "features humanlike forms devoid of expression or detail; they are widely open to the viewer's interpretation." In December 2008, Dow was chosen as one of three sculptors to show at the

Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; ) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions. 1862 Established in 1862 by the painter a ...

exhibition, located in the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, France. He represented the United States delegation, which was composed of artists from the Karen Lynne Gallery. His sculpture shown at the Parisian shopping mall was titled ''Unarmed Warrior'', a bronze figure of a woman holding a shield.

Personal life

Dow married Carol Marlow in June 1969 and their marriage ended in 1980. They had one child, who was born in 1973. In June 1980, Dow married Lauren Shulkind. In the 1990s, Dow revealed that he had suffered from

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...

. He subsequently starred in

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems" —economically, physically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. When ...

videos chronicling this battle, including the 1998 ''Beating the Blues''. Dow was also hospitalized with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 2021.

Death

In May 2022, Dow was diagnosed with

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

. He died on July 27, 2022, a day after his death was widely misreported.

Selected filmography

Actor

* ''

'' (234 episodes, 1957–1963) * '' The Eleventh Hour'' as Bob Quincy in "Four Feet in the Morning" (1963) * '' Dr. Kildare'' (one episode, 1963) * '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' (one episode, 1964) * ''

'' (one episode, 1964) * ''

'' (five episodes, 1963–1965) * '' Never Too Young'' (153 episodes, 1965) * ''

'' (one episode, 1970) * ''

'' (one episode, 1971) * ''

'' ("Brushfire", 1972) * '' Death Scream'' (1975) * ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'' (unknown episodes, 1975) * '' The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977) * '' The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' (one episode, 1977) * ''

'' (two episodes, 1982) * '' Quincy, M.E.'' (one episode, 1983) * '' Knight Rider'' (one episode, 1983) * '' High School U.S.A.'' (1983) * '' The New Leave It to Beaver'', or ''Still the Beaver'' (1985–1989) * ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' (one episode, 1987) * '' The New Mike Hammer'' (one episode, 1987) * '' Back to the Beach'' (1987) * ''

Charles in Charge ''Charles in Charge'' is an American sitcom television series that premiered on October 3, 1984, on CBS. The series was a production of Al Burton Productions and Scholastic Productions in association with Universal Television and starred Sco ...

'' (one episode, 1989) * ''

Freddy's Nightmares ''Freddy's Nightmares'' (also known as ''A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series'') is an American horror anthology television series that aired in syndication from October 8, 1988 until March 12, 1990. A spin-off from the ''A Nightmare on Elm ...

'', or ''A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series'' (two episodes, 1990) * '' The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space'' (1995) * '' Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction'' (one episode, 1998) * '' Diagnosis: Murder'' (two episodes, 1999) * '' Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star'' (2003)

Visual effects

*''

'' (unknown episodes) *'' The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space'' (1995) *''

'' (1996)

Producer

*'' The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space'' (1995) *''It Came from Outer Space II'' (1996)

Writer

*''The New Leave It to Beaver'' (one episode, 1986)

Director

Field of Fire The field of fire or zone of fire (ZF) of a weapon, or group of weapons, is the area around it that can easily and effectively be reached by projectiles from a given position. Field of fire The term originally came from the ''field of fire'' in f ...

", '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (season 7) *''

'' (several episodes) *'' Get a Life'' (episode "Dadicus") *'' Coach'' (several episodes) *''

'' (Seasons 1 and 2 - 6 total episodes)

References

External links

Tony Dow Sculpture
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dow, Tony 1945 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American sculptors American male child actors American male television actors American television directors Deaths from liver cancer in California Male actors from Los Angeles Military personnel from California People from Topanga, California Sculptors from California United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Van Nuys High School alumni