The "Big Brother Wally Will Certainly Be Missed!"

It was an ordinary day.  The headline across the top of page A9 of my LNP morning newspaper read "Big brother Wally from 'Leave It to Beaver' dies at 77.  Holy Cow!  That just can't be!  Wally was one of my childhood heroes on television.  

Tony Dow

His real name was Tony Dow who was born in Hollywood on April 13, 1945.  He was the big brother to Jerry Mathers' Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver.  Together they played brothers on one of my favorite television shows.  Tony's son Christopher Dow announced the news to all who loved him.  Tony was born in Hollywood, California.  He had little acting experience when he began his career as Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver's brother.  He helped his younger brother Beaver understand the was of the world and charmed viewers with memorable one-liners.  I heard of his passing this morning when I turned on my TV and saw the message on my screen just before the first episode of "Leave It To Beaver" began at 8:00 AM.  Dow was diagnosed with and treated for cancer several years ago, and his wife announced in May that it had returned.  

Tony as big brother Wally

Tough for me to understand why he died, since to me he was still one of my favorite characters on my TV screen.  His best friend Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) is still the same jerk he was years and years ago on each episode that I now watch on weekdays.  His son Christopher confirmed his death saying his family was by his side when he died.  The series ended in 1963, but Dow appeared in "The Greatest Show on Earth," "Mr. Novak" and "Never Too Young."  I tried to watch theses shows also, but he still was Wally to me and never fit any other characters he tried to play on TV.  In 1965, Tony took a break from acting to join the California Guard.  He was assigned to Special Services and served as a photographer in the Headquarters Company, 40th Armored Division.  He later studied journalism and photography.  He returned to acting in the late 1960s and early 70s, appearing in "Lassie," "A Great American Tragedy" and "Death Scream."  

Wally and The "Beav"

In 1969 he married Carol Marlow, with who he shares son Christopher Dow.  Christopher broke the news to the media about his father's death.  In June of 1980 Tony married Lauren Shulkind.  Tony did try and bring his old show back to TV when he played Wally in the TV movie "Still Beaver" as well as the sequel "The New Leave It To Beaver," which ran from 1983 to 1989.  He was the director for these TV episodes.  In 1988 the Young Artists Awards honored Dow with the Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award for his performance as Wally Cleaver.  He dabbled in visual effects and received credits for "Babylon 5" and "Doctor Who: The Movie."  He also tried painting and sculpture with his works displayed in the Louvre in Paris.  He is survived by his son Christopher, wife Lauren, daughter-in-law Melissa, granddaughter Tyla, and a bother-in-law and sister-in-law.  To me he will always be Wally, the big brother to The Beav.  I guess that I'm lucky enough to have watched all his shows when I was growing up and still get to see some of his later work.  He was one handsome fellow who was one of my favorite TV actors.  R.I.P.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.