Tony Dow Dies: ‘Leave It To Beaver’ Actor Was 77

By Greg Evans - Deadline

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Tony Dow, the actor who personified the role of America’s big brother as the elder sibling Wally Cleaver on the TV classic sitcom Leave It To Beaver, died today. He was 77, and had been battling cancer.

A statement on his Facebook page reads:

“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. It was truly a joy to just be around him. His gentle voice and unpretentious manner was immediately comforting and you could not help but love him. The world has lost an amazing human being, but we are all richer for the memories that he has left us. 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. We will miss you.”

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Dow played the the amiable, protective Wally to Jerry Mathers’ Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver on the quintessential family sitcom of the late 1950s and early ’60s (the series ran in primetime from 1957 to 1963, and has played in syndication ever since). The two boys, whose weekly adventures and lighthearted trouble-making set the tone for sibling camaraderie of the era, were sons to June and Ward Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont).

Wally was often Beaver’s protector against the elder boy’s best friend, the two-faced wiseguy Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond, who died in 2020).

As the series progressed, Dow aged into a teen heartthrob, with episodes increasingly focusing on his high school romances and shifting attention away from the mischievous goings-on of star Mathers’ Beaver.

Last week, Dow’s Facebook page noted the actor’s health battles, posting, “As we are sure you can imagine, this has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs as Tony continues his fight with cancer. Tony has been in and out of the hospital with various complications and treatments. He and [wife] Lauren have been trying to maintain a positive spirit, though at times this proves difficult. The outpouring of love and concern from all of you certainly helps to ease this, and for that we thank you. We will post again when there is more to report. Until then, keep the good thoughts coming.”

Dow, who pivoted from acting in his later years to become a noted and successful sculptor, was born Tony Lee Dow in Hollywood, California, and initially set his sights on swimming and diving – he was a Junior Olympics diving champ before attending a casting call for the show that would be Leave It To Beaver.

Though Wally was, and would remain, his signature role, Dow continued acting after the series went off the air, appearing in, among other TV series, My Three Sons, Dr. Kildare and Mr. Novak, among others. He left acting temporarily for several years in the late 1960s to serve in the National Guard. Later, he made appearances in episodic shows such as Adam-12, Knight Rider, Square Pegs and The Hardy Boys.

He reprised his most famous role in the 1980s update series The New Leave It to Beaver. He wrote an episode of that series.

Like Jerry Mathers and other child actors of the age, Dow would face a challenge in breaking through the typecasting that forever pegged him as the wholesome, popular and good-natured Wally. Some of his subsequent appearances played off his well-known character: In 2003, for example, he showed up in the comedy Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.

During the 1970s he supplemented his acting career with jobs in construction and would develop his skills in woodworking and homebuilding. He would settle into a life among an artistic community in the Santa Monica Mountains with his wife Lauren.

In his show business career, Dow eventually moved toward directing, beginning with a 1989 episode of The New Lassie. Other directing credits include Get a Life, Harry and the Hendersons, Coach, Babylon 5, Crusade, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

In the early 2000s, Dow began to devote his energies full time to creating artworks, developing a style using burl wood found in the hills around his home to sculpt abstract designs that he would then bronze. He was one of three United States sculptors chosen for the 2008 Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts exhibition at the Louvre.

“My goal,” he said, “from the time I was old enough to think about things was to live a creative life.”

Dow was an outspoken advocate for people suffering from depression, and chronicled his own struggles with the disease in a series of self-help videos.

In an appearance earlier this year on CBS Sunday Morning, Dow reflected on his bouts with clinical depression, saying, “Depression isn’t something you can say ‘cheer up’ about.” He said his early experience with the disease, while in his 20s, arose out of his conflicted feelings over his early fame.

“I think my anger stemmed from a lack of control in the Beaver show,” he said, “and also the fact that I was known for something I did when I was 12, a kid, and was now a person in his 20s who does things but was never recognized for anything I did. Anger, if its untreated, turns into depression. Anger turned inward.”

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Dow is survived by is wife of 42 years Lauren Shulkind, son Christopher (from his first marriage to Carol Marlow), a brother and a granddaughter.