‘Leave It to Beaver’ star Tony Dow dies at 77

Tony Dow, best known for his role as big brother Wally on the classic TV sitcom “Leave It to Beaver,” has died. He was 77 years old.

His management team announced the news of his passing on their official Facebook page on Tuesday morning.

“It is with extremely heavy hearts that we share with you the passing of our beloved Tony this morning,” the post read.

“Tony was a beautiful soul – kind, compassionate, funny and humble. It was truly a joy to just be around him. His soft voice and unassuming manner were immediately heartwarming and you couldn’t help The world has lost an incredible human being, but we are all richer in the memories he left behind.

The message – written by Frank Bilotta and Renee James, who managed the star and called each other “dear friends” – also thanked fans for their support.

“Warm memories of Wally Cleaver to those of us lucky enough to know him personally – thank you Tony. And thank you for the reflections of a simpler time, the laughs, the friendship and for feeling like you were a big brother to us all. We will miss you.”

He is survived by his wife Lauren and two children.

A cause of death was not immediately given.

The actor, who played Wally Cleaver on the iconic 1950s sitcom, announced he was diagnosed with cancer on May 5.

His wife shared the news and thanked fans for their prayers, but didn’t reveal what type of cancer Dow was battling, according to TMZ.

The Hollywood native’s health issues first emerged in August 2021 when he was briefly hospitalized with pneumonia.

“Tony’s spirit is positive,” Lauren wrote on Facebook last year. “He does his daily exercise by walking the halls with his nurse. If he could just get rid of that damn cough. That will take time. »

She noted at the time that he had a “violent cough” which “was causing pain on the top of his head” at the time.

Dow starred as Wally, the older brother of Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver (Jerry Mathers), on the original series from 1957 to 1963 for six seasons.

He then reprized his role in the sequel to the sitcom, “The New Leave It to Beaver,” in 1983. The show aired for four seasons until 1989. The new series followed the Cleaver children as a adults dealing with their family problems.

In addition to “Leave It to Beaver,” Dow found success as a guest star on shows like “My Three Sons,” “Dr. Kildare”, “Lassie” and “The Greatest Show on Earth”, before having a recurring role in “Mr. Novak. He’s also been behind the camera, having directed episodes of TV shows like ‘Coach’, ‘Babylon 5’ and ‘Harry and the Hendersons’.

In 1965, he took a break from acting to serve in the National Guard for three years. He even tried his hand at writing and entered journalism school in the 1970s.

Dow also spent the decade with guest spots on “Adam-12”, “The Mod Squad”, and “Love American Style”.

In the 1980s, he had roles in the “Knight Rider”, “Square Pegs” and “Murder, She Wrote” projects.

The 90s saw the filmmaker spending time behind the camera. He has done some directing work on episodes of series such as “Babylon 5” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”.