Tony Dow

Tony Lee Dow (born April 13, 1945) is an American film producer, director, sculptor, and a television child actor of the 1950s and 1960s.

Dow is best known for his role in the television sitcom Leave It to Beaver, which ran in primetime from 1957 to 1963 and in which he played Wallace "Wally" Cleaver, the older son of June and Ward Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont), and the brother of Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (Jerry Mathers).

Early life and career

Dow was born in Hollywood, California to John Stevens, a designer and general contractor, and Muriel Virginia Dow (nee Montrose) (May 27th, 1906- April 30th, 2001),^[1] a stunt woman in early westerns and Clara Bow's movie double in Hollywood, California. In his youth, Dow was a Junior Olympics diving champion.^[2] He won the role of Wally Cleaver in a casting call with almost no previous acting experience.^[3]

Dow remained on the series until it ended in 1963. After the run of Leave It to Beaver, he appeared on My Three Sons, Dr. Kildare, Mr. Novak (five episodes in three different roles), The Greatest Show on Earth, and Never Too Young. In 1965, Dow briefly stopped acting and joined the National Guard. Dow left the National Guard in 1968^[4] and returned to acting with guest starring roles in Adam-12, Love American Style, The Mod Squad, The Hardy Boys and Emergency!

During the 1970s, he continued acting while working in the construction business and studying journalism and filmmaking.^[5]

Dow's most recent onscreen appearance was in the 2003 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.

Behind the camera

In 1986, he wrote an episode of The New Leave It to Beaver, and in 1989, he made his directorial debut with an episode of The New Lassie, followed by episodes of Get a Life, Harry and the Hendersons, Swamp Thing, Coach, Babylon 5, Crusade, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Dow also served as the visual effects supervisor for Babylon 5. In 1996, he provided visual effects for the FOX TVM Doctor Who.

Personal life

On June 14, 1969, Dow married Carol M. Marlow. In 1973, they had one son, Christopher T. Dow, before divorcing in 1978.

Dow is currently married to Lauren Shulkind, whom he wed in 1980. They live in the Santa Monica mountains.

In the 1990s, Dow revealed that he has struggled and was eventually diagnosed with clinical depression. He has since starred in self-help videos chronicling this battle, including, "Beating the Blues" (1998).^[6]

Dow has become a serious, respected amateur sculptor, creating abstract bronze sculptures. In his artist statement, he says the following about his work: "The figures are abstract and not meant to represent reality but rather the truth of the interactions as I see and feel them. I find the wood in the hills of Topanga Canyon and each piece evolves from my subconscious. I produce limited editions of nine bronzes using the lost wax process from molds of the original burl sculpture."^[7] One of his bronze pieces is on display in the backyard garden of Barbara Billingsley, who played his mother on, Leave It to Beaver. Dow was chosen as one of three sculptors to show at the Société Nationale Des Beaux Arts exhibition, in the Carrousel du Louvre, in Paris, France, in December 2008, representing the United States delegation comprising artists from the Karen Lynne Gallery. The sculpture that will be shown at the Louvre is titled, "Unarmed Warrior," which is a bronze figure of a woman holding a shield.^[8]

Filmography

Actor

• NBC Children's Theatre (1 episode, 1949)
• Leave It to Beaver (234 episodes, 1957-1963)
• The Eleventh Hour as Bob Quincy in "Four Feet in the Morning" (1963)
• Dr. Kildare (1 episode, 1963)
• The Greatest Show on Earth (1 episode, 1964)
• My Three Sons (1 episode, 1964)
• Mr. Novak (5 episodes, 1963-1965)
• Never Too Young (Unknown episodes, 1965)
• Adam-12 (1 episode, 1970)
• Love, American Style (1 episode, 1971)
• The Mod Squad (1 episode, 1971)
• Emergency! (1 episode, 1972)
• A Great American Tragedy (1972)
• Death Scream (1975)
• General Hospital (Unknown episodes, 1975)
• The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
• The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1 episode, 1977)
• The Ordeal of Bill Carney (1981)
• Square Pegs (2 episodes, 1982)
• Still the Beaver (1983)
• Quincy M.E. (1 episode, 1983)
• Knight Rider (1 episode, 1983)
• High School U.S.A. (1983)
• Murder, She Wrote (1 episode, 1987)
• Back to the Beach (1987)
• The New Leave It to Beaver aka Still the Beaver (1985-1989)
• Charles in Charge (1 episode, 1989)
• Freddy's Nightmares aka Freddy's Nightmares: A Nightmare on Elm Street The Series (2 episodes, 1990)
• The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space (1995)
• Playing Patti (1998)
• The Nutty Professor
• Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (1 episode, 1998)
• Diagnosis: Murder (2 episodes, 1999)
• Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)

Visual effects

• Babylon 5 (Unknown episodes)
• The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space (1995)
• Doctor Who (1996)

Producer

• The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space (1995)
• It Came from Outer Space II (1996)

Writer

• The New Leave It to Beaver (1 episode, 1986)

Production Manager

• Terry and June (1979)

References

External links

• Tony Dow at the Internet Movie Database
• Tony Dow at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Tony Dow at TV.com