R.I.P.: Tony Dow (Wally Cleaver)

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The other day I had posted an obituary for actor Tony Dow, but then it was learned that his wife had thought he had passed and alerted someone and then it got picked up by news organizations. But Tony Dow had been in hospice care, and, if anyone here has every had a loved one in hospice care, it can be very touch-and-go. I hope people understand that things like this happen, not often, but they can happen.


I was born in 1957 so grew up watching "Leave It to Beaver." The show was a staple in our household.


Tony Dow, Wally Cleaver on 'Leave It to Beaver,' dies at 77 a day after his death was announced prematurely / Dow, the actor and director best known for playing the reliable older brother on the iconic 1950s and '60s television show, told fans in May that his cancer had returned.


An Interview with Tony Dow on CBS' "Sunday Morning" --




Opinion piece on Tony Dow --


Opinion Tony Dow as Wally Cleaver was a Grade A big brother


Bill Mumy ("Lost in Space") had a few posts on Instagram about his friend Tony Dow --

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgmqHbPp2dG

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgkLGmAJ1f6

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I was friends with Tony on Facebook. Very nice fellow indeed. He'd chat with the fans and share photos of his works. Through his Facebook page, fans knew he had been ill but were hoping he would survive. And the premature news of his death was similar to that of Tanya Roberts' death, in that she was still alive at the time her death was announced but would die a day or so later.

One story about Tony which was shared by Frank Bank, Lumpy from the "Leave it to Beaver" series, told of a break they had while waiting for the crew to set up another shot. Tony, Ken, Frank and Jerry all went over to another soundstage to watch actor Marlon Brando on a movie he was filming. They were being quiet and not being in the way as the movie crew and actors worked their way through the scene. Brando, however, had a meltdown and freaked out when he saw the four boys and started cussing them for being there. The boys all decided to leave but not before Tony told Brando what he could go do with himself. That act of bravado impressed Bank and earned Dow considerable respect from Bank. Bank was later a financial investor and two of his clients were Dow and Mathers. The series truly was a family, on and off screen.