Leave it to Beaver is one of those television shows that will be remembered for generations. Unfortunately, we recently lost one of the stars of that show, Tony Dow.
According to a press release from his managers, he has passed away at the age of 77.
They refer to him as being a beautiful soul, kind, compassionate, funny, and humble. They speak about the joy of being around him.
Tony Dow got his start acting at a young age. He grew up in Hollywood but he wasn’t necessarily interested in acting, he was a competitive swimmer.
He went along with his swimming coach to an audition and ended up being cast as Wally Cleaver.
He was the big brother to Beaver on the television show, Leave it to Beaver.
He did very well playing in that role but he was typecast and was never able to break free of the character.
In speaking with CBS Sunday morning, he said: “I thought, this isn’t fair. I’d like to do some other stuff.
I’d like to do some interesting stuff. It’s sad to be famous at 12 years old or something and then you grow up and become a real person and nothing’s happening for you.”
He struggled with depression as he got older between the ages of 20 and 40. When he reached 40, he began to realize that he was in a great show and he was appreciative for it.
We are saddened to hear of his death. Unfortunately, he had been struggling with cancer but his managers did not reveal why he died.