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Tony Dow, star of 'Leave It to Beaver', dies

2022-07-27T20:07:34.037Z


Tony Dow, an actor best known for playing Wally Cleaver on the sitcom "Leave It to Beaver," died Wednesday morning.


(CNN) --

Tony Dow, an actor best known for playing Wally Cleaver on the sitcom "Leave It to Beaver," died Wednesday morning, according to his manager Frank Bilotta, citing Dow's son Christopher.

He was 77 years old.

“Although this is a very sad day, I have the 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 at my wedding and my hero," Christopher Dow said, according to a statement Bilotta shared on Tony Dow's official Facebook page.

The cause of death was not shared, but Dow revealed in May that he had been diagnosed with cancer.

Dow rose to stardom at age 12, when he was cast in the soon-to-be-successful comedy "Leave It to Beaver."

By playing him, Dow helped create the archetype of a suburban family and became a household name to millions of viewers.

The program aired between 1957 and 1963.

"Wally's Track Meet" 1/28/61 Tony Dow (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

In an interview last January with CBS Sunday Morning, Dow recalled eating a malt burger when he found out he was offered the part after auditioning on a whim.

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"There went my life," he said.

Wally Cleaver, the character of teenage son, star athlete and Boy Scout, became inextricably linked to Dow, who said he struggled to maintain his own figure.

"It's sad to be famous at 12 years old or something. And then you grow up and become a real person, and nothing has happened to you," he told CBS.

Dow, who said he suffered from undiagnosed depression in his 20s and 40s, spoke for decades about his mental health struggles.

Precisely, long before it was common for celebrities to reveal that information publicly.

In 1993, he was an honorary speaker at a convention of the National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association.

"I realize there's an irony in this," he told the

Baltimore Sun

of his depression in 1993. "You know, the fact that I was on a TV show that embodied the supposedly ideal world of the '50s And here I am suffering from depression. But I am only one of millions."

Dow told CBS that once he accepted his diagnosis and began treatment, he found hope.

She channeled that hope into art, too, sculpting ornate pieces in her home studio.

"I think people should take a leap of faith to feel better," he said.

Dow continued to work in Hollywood, starring in television series and even reprising his role in "The New Leave It to Beaver" in the 1980s. He also directed episodes of such series as "Harry and the Hendersons," "Coach" and "Star Wars." Trek: Deep Space Nine".

Jerry Mathers, who starred alongside Dow as Beaver in his hit comedy, told fans earlier this month that he had been in contact with Dow, whose reps reported that he had been "in and out of the hospital with various complications and treatments".

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-07-27

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