Tony Dow, the actor and director best known for playing Jerry Mathers' older brother Beaver Wally Cleaver on the iconic series Leave It to Beaver has passed away. He was 77 years old.
His official Facebook page announced his death on Tuesday morning. The post from his management team read: "It is with a heavy heart we share the passing of our beloved Tony this morning. Tony was a beautiful, kind, compassionate, funny and humble soul."
Dow and his wife, Lauren, announced in May that the cancer he had been diagnosed with years earlier had returned.
Mathers Dow remembers on Facebook: "My brother was not only on TV but in so many ways in life. Tony leaves an empty place in my heart that will never be filled. He has always been the kindest, most generous, kind and caring. The humble man I've had, the launch and the privilege to be Being able to share memories together for 65 years.
Dow was born in Hollywood and his mother was a precocious wife named Clara Poe. He was a junior Olympic diving champion, but he didn't have a lot of acting experience when he did it with a friend and ended up auditioning and winning the role of Wally. The comedy "Leave It to Beaver" began broadcasting in 1957 and ran until 1963. The popular black and white comedy series, which focused on the ideal family of that day, followed the adventures of the young rascal Beaver, his practical brother. His devious friend Eddie Haskell, and his longtime but understanding parents, are played by Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont.
The show's creators, Bob Mosher and Joe Connelly, based the characters on their own children, incorporating details such as Wally's constant combing of hair that they observed as teenagers. With the show over, 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 the series "The New Leave It to Beaver" for which he also directed five episodes and wrote one.
He went on to write, produce, and direct while continuing to act, directing several episodes of "Harry and Henderson", "Coach", "Babylon 5", "Here I Shrink Babies" and an episode of "Star Trek: Deep". Space Nine".
After “Leave It to the Beaver,” Dow appeared in series such as “General Hospital,” “Mr. Novak,” “Never Before,” “Lassi,” “Love, American Style,” “Square Wedges,” and “Love Boat.” He also starred in the 2003 comedy Dickie Roberts: The Former Child Star, which featured several former young actors, and appeared in the John Landis comedy The Kentucky Fried Movie.
Dow battled depression in her twenties, making a self-help video titled "Turning into Melancholy" to help others, and later survived two bouts of cancer. He also became a sculptor and founded a construction company.
His wife, Lauren, and their two children survived.
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