[Update: Tony Dow’s wife, Lauren, confirmed to CBS that the actor is alive but near death, after the management team deleted the post announcing his demise.] 

Tony Dow, actor and director, was best known for playing Wally Cleaver in ‘Leave it to Beaver’. He died at 77, and his official Facebook page made the announcement, Tuesday. 

“It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share with you the passing of our beloved Tony this morning”, the management team said, adding, “Tony was a beautiful soul — kind, compassionate, funny and humble. It was truly a joy to just be around him. His gentle voice and unpretentious manner was immediately comforting and you could not help but love him.”

Born in Hollywood, Dow came from a family with links to the film industry. His mother was the stunt double for Clara Bow, and Dow was a Junior Olympics diving champion without much experience in showbiz, when he went along with his friend for an audition and landed up bagging the role of Cleaver, which altered the trajectory of his career. 

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The popularity of the show which aired in 1957 and ran until 1963, prompted Dow to return to the 1980s TV movie ‘Still the Beaver’ and the series ‘The New Leave It to Beaver’, where he wrote an episode and directed five. 

Although Dow continued to act, he moved into writing, directing, and production as well. He’s been at the helm of several episodes of ‘Harry and the Hendersons’, ‘Coach’, ‘Babylon 5’, ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids’ as well as an episode of ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’. 

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Following his popularity as an actor on’Leave it to Beaver’, Dow was seen in ‘General Hospital’ and ‘The Love Boat’, where he played himself. The actor was also seen playing himself in the 2003 comedy ‘Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star’. 

Dow was diagnosed with cancer in May 2022 and died of complications from the disease. He’d earlier suffered from clinical depression and appeared on self-help videos where Dow battled the condition.