Leave It to Beaver star Tony Dow dies at 77


Actor Tony Dow, best known for playing Wally Cleaver on the classic television show Leave It to Beaver, died on Wednesday of complications from liver cancer, his manager Frank Bilotta announced. He was 77.
Dow died at his home in Topanga, California, while receiving hospice care. His death came one day after his management team erroneously posted on Facebook that the actor had died. Dow's son, Christopher, said in a statement that "although this is a very sad day, I have comfort and peace that he is in a better place. He was the best dad anyone could ask for. He was my coach, my mentor, my voice of reason, my best friend, my best man in my wedding, and my hero."
Dow was born April 13, 1945, in Hollywood. His mother was a stuntwoman in western films and a body double for Clara Bow, and before he started acting, he was a diving champion. At 12 years old, Dow joined the cast of Leave It to Beaver, portraying responsible older brother Wally for six seasons. In the 1980s, Dow and the other surviving members of the Leave It to Beaver cast reunited for a TV movie and two spin-off sitcoms.
Dow appeared in guest spots on other television shows, and studied painting and psychology at the University of California Los Angeles. He was open about having clinical depression, and delivered speeches on mental health, telling audiences, "If Wally Cleaver can be depressed, anybody can be." Later in his career, Dow focused on directing television shows and creating sculptures, with his art appearing in exhibitions and galleries.
He is survived by his wife Lauren Shulkind; son Christopher; a granddaughter; and a brother.
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literature
Speed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91
Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Robert Redford: the Hollywood icon who founded the Sundance Film Festival
Feature Redford’s most lasting influence may have been as the man who ‘invigorated American independent cinema’ through Sundance
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacy
Feature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th-century clothing
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees