Tony Lee Dow (April 13, 1945 – July 26, 2022) was an American television actor, film producer, director, and sculptor. He is best known for his role in the television sitcom Leave It to Beaver, which ran in primetime from 1957 to 1963. Dow played Wally Cleaver, the older son of June (played by Barbara Billingsley) and Ward (played by Hugh Beaumont) Cleaver, and the older brother of Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (played by Jerry Mathers). From 1983 to 1989, Dow reprised his role as Wally in a television movie and in The New Leave It to Beaver.
Dow was born in Hollywood, California, to John Stevens Dow, Jr. (1908–1987), a designer and general contractor, and Muriel Virginia Dow (née Montrose) (May 27, 1906 – April 30, 2001),[9] a stunt woman in early Westerns and Clara Bow's movie double for Hollywood movie studios. In his youth, Dow trained as a swimmer and was a Junior Olympics diving champion.[3] Dow married Lauren Shulkind in June 1980.
In October 2021, Dow was hospitalized with pneumonia. In May 2022, he was diagnosed with cancer.[12] He died from complications of liver cancer at his home in Topanga, California on July 26, 2022, aged 77.
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