See also Biography Index (T) :: Filmography Index (T) :: Discography Index (T)

Anthony "Tony" Lee Dow (born April 13, 1945 in Hollywood, California), is an American film producer, director, sculptor, and a TV 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).

Dow was born to John Stevens, a designer and general contractor, and Muriel Virginia Dow (nee Montrose),[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, 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 Greatest Show on Earth, 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.

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.

In June 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 his battle with depression [6] He has been quite open about discussing it, even appearing in videos discussing his personal battle with depression, including Beating the Blues (1998), which Dow hosted and in which he talked about his personal struggle with depression.

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 in Leave It to Beaver. Dow was chosen as one of three sculptors to show at the Societe Nationale Des Beaux Arts exhibition in the Louvre in Paris in December of 2008, representing the United States delegation comprising artists from the Karen Lynne Gallery. The sculpture that will be shown at the Louvre is

Post a Comment | View All Comments (4)