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'' 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 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 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 States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other dis ...

, for the show's entire run, from 1957 to 1963, he played the older son of

June June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summ ...

(played by Barbara Billingsley) and Ward (played by Hugh Beaumont) Cleaver, and the older brother of protagonist Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (played by Jerry Mathers). 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'', '' Dr. Kildare'', '' The Greatest Show on Earth'', '' Never Too Young'', and on five episodes of ''

Mr. Novak ''Mr. Novak'' is an American television dramatic 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 1963. Synopsis The series follo ...

'' in three different roles. From 1965 to 1968, he served in the

U.S. National Guard The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.Adam-12'', '' Love, American Style'', '' Knight Rider'', '' Square Pegs'', '' The Mod Squad'', '' The Hardy Boys'' and ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television) ...

'' During the 1970s, Dow continued acting while working in the construction industry, and studying journalism and

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

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

'', ''

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

'', ''

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 Televi ...

'', '' Crusade'' and ''

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...

''. Dow served as the visual effects 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 (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

television movie '' Doctor Who''. Dow also co-produced ''

The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space ''The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space'' is a 1995 science fiction/comedy television film. This film follows the adventures of 1950s actor Ty Farrell (Riordan), who plays the title character in a Captain Video-like early television pro ...

'' in 1995, and ''It Came from Outer Space II'' in 1996.

Art career

In addition to acting, directing, producing, and writing, Dow was also a sculptor, creating abstract bronze 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. I produce limited editions of nine bronzes using the

lost wax process Lost-wax casting (also called " investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronz ...

from molds of the original burl sculpture."

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

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 exhibition, located in the

Carrousel du Louvre The Carrousel du Louvre is an underground shopping mall in Paris, France, managed by Unibail-Rodamco. The name refers to two nearby sites, the Louvre museum and the Place du Carrousel. The mall contains a famous skylight, ''La Pyramide Inversée'' ...

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. Introdu ...

. He subsequently starred in

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...

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

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

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 (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

. He died July 27, 2022.

Selected filmography

Actor

* '' Leave It to Beaver'' (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) * '' My Three Sons'' (one episode, 1964) * ''

'' (five episodes, 1963–1965) * '' Never Too Young'' (153 episodes, 1965) * '' Adam-12'' (one episode, 1970) * '' Love, American Style'' (one episode, 1971) * '' The Mod Squad'' (one episode, 1971) * ''

'' ("Brushfire", 1972) * '' Death Scream'' (1975) * '' General Hospital'' (unknown episodes, 1975) * '' The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977) * '' The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' (one episode, 1977) * '' Square Pegs'' (two episodes, 1982) * '' Quincy, M.E.'' (one episode, 1983) * '' Knight Rider'' (one episode, 1983) * '' High School U.S.A.'' (1983) * ''

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 ser ...

'' (one episode, 1987) * '' The New Mike Hammer'' (one episode, 1987) * '' Back to the Beach'' (1987) * '' The New Leave It to Beaver'', or ''Still the Beaver'' (1985–1989) * '' Charles in Charge'' (one episode, 1989) * '' Freddy's Nightmares'', or ''A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series'' (two episodes, 1990) * ''

'' (1995) * '' Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction'' (one episode, 1998) * '' Diagnosis: Murder'' (two episodes, 1999) * '' Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star'' (2003)

Visual effects

*''

'' (unknown episodes) *''

'' (1995) *'' Doctor Who'' (1996)

Producer

*''

'' (1995) *''It Came from Outer Space II'' (1996)

Writer

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

Director

*" Field of Fire", ''

'' (season 7) *''

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

'' (several 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 California National Guard personnel Deaths from cancer in California Male actors from Los Angeles People from Topanga, California Sculptors from California Van Nuys High School alumni Deaths from liver cancer