Tony Dow

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Tony Dow

Born Anthony Lee Dow
April 13, 1945 (1945-04-13) (age 63)
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Spouse(s) Shulkind, Lauren C. (1980-present) 1 child
Marlow, Carol M. (1969-1978) (divorced) 1 child

Anthony "Tony" Lee Dow (born April 13, 1945 in Hollywood, California), is an American film producer, director and TV child actor of the 1950s and 1960s.

Dow is best known for his role in the 1950s television sitcom Leave it to Beaver, 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).

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[edit] Early life and career

Dow as Wally Cleaver, 1957
Dow as Wally Cleaver, 1957

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 a double for Clara Bow's movie double in Hollywood, California. In his youth, Dow was a Junior Olympics diving champion.[2] Tony Dow 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, Dow appeared in The Eleventh Hour, 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, and Emergency!.

During the 1970s, Dow continued acting while working in the construction business and studying journalism and filmmaking.[5]

Dow's last onscreen appearance was in the 2003 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.

[edit] Behind the camera

In 1979, Dow began a career behind the camera when he served as a production manager for the series Terry and June. 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 and Coach.

In 1994, Dow served as the Visual effects supervisor for Babylon 5. In 1996, he provided visual effects for episodes of Doctor Who.

[edit] Personal life

In June of 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. The couple has one child together.

In the 1990s, Dow revealed that he has struggled, and was eventually diagnosed with, Bipolar disorder. He has since starred in self help videos chronicling his battle with the disorder.[6]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Actor

[edit] Visual effects

[edit] Producer

[edit] Writer

[edit] Production Manager

[edit] References

  1. ^ Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
  2. ^ Interviews
  3. ^ IMDb biography of Tony Dow
  4. ^ NNMD: Tony Dow
  5. ^ Tony Down bio, TvLand.com
  6. ^ "Leave It to Beaver:50 Years later", ABCNews.com, September 19, 2007, Retrieved on October 6, 2007. He has been quite open about discussing it, even appearing in videos discussing his personal battle with depression, including Beating the Blues (1998) (in which Dow talks about his personal struggle with depression) and Dark Glasses and Kaleidoscopes: Living with Manic Depression (1997) (which features Dow and is intended to describe the illness and provide possible treatments).

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Dow, Tony
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages