Exposed to creative parents and a home frequently filled with his parents’ eccentric and artistic friends, it was no surprise that Tony developed a love for art. It was the early 2000’s when the now-74-year-old began pursuing his childhood love of art and created designs produced from burlwood. The Official TONY DOW Coloring Book is the World's First Autobiographical Coloring Book featuring Artist and Actor Tony Dow who played 'Wally" on the acclaimed 50's TV Series "LEAVE IT TO BEAVER." But every actor has that issue… People formulate an opinion about you and expect you to be a particular way. That was an issue I was faced with. (For more, see TonyDowSculpture.com. The lifeguard lost the part, but Dow won a TV pilot role. But everything was new and interesting. or redistributed. But I think the show is the most natural and most realistic representation of the late ‘50s, early ‘60s that was on the air. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. His legacy was even more tragically tarnished when his androgynous twin sons formed the band “Nelson” and presented audiences with watered-down glam metal, most often criticized by industry insiders as having “all the power and might of foil.”. The rest of the time we were shooting or rehearsing. Using fallen burl wood he finds near his Topanga, Calif., home studio, Dow creates bronzes that can take 30 hours to complete. Tony Dow Wiki Biography. Others think it’s not realistic. As a child, Tony Dow helped capture the innocence of America as Wally Cleaver in “Leave It to Beaver”  — and it still continues to captivate audiences nearly 60 years since the show ended. The Cleaver family on “Leave it to Beaver,” from left: Tony Dow as Wally, Barbara Billingsley as June, Hugh Beaumont as Ward and Jerry Mathers as the Beaver. They don’t quite understand it. I was a junior diving champion and held a … Dow spoke to Fox News about his years as a … Yes, that Louvre, the one in "The Da Vinci Code." 'LEAVE IT TO BEAVER' STAR JERRY MATHERS REMEMBERS WORKING WITH ALFRED HITCHCOCK. A 28-year-old executive interviewing him for a directing gig asked if he’d ever done comedy. My sensibilities are not near what they are for today’s world. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. But I really do think ours was special because it was written extremely well. And I was with him so I felt at ease. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. He has been married to Lauren Shulkind since June 16, 1980. Tony Dow from “Leave It to Beaver”. I was a junior diving champion and held a national record at nine. That first year all the shows [storylines] were from [the writers’] kids’ experiences.”. sign up for our monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other e-newsletters tailored for boomers. “One show had [Beaver’s friend] Larry Mondello picking up a drill and drilling a hole through the garage; that’s the kind of things kids do,” Dow observes. It just didn’t make sense in my mind. I just thought that wouldn't work. 19 Illustrations covering Tony's life from childhood to adulthood, this amazing Coloring Book also tells the story of each wonderful image. “The producers, who were the writers, asked us not to watch it. He is an actor and director, known for Leave It to Beaver (1957), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Babylon 5 (1993). We never had any of that. You go through an awkward age and don’t get hired, so you quit… I wasn’t neglected by my family… I also started college and kept acting… Then I decided to stop and try other things, like directing, to keep things interesting. SUBSCRIBE NOW. I put on my blue suit and went in. But that was also at the time when the new “Leave It to Beaver” came along. I don’t know. Today, the proud husband and grandfather resides in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California where he continues to create sculptures. He told my mom, “I’m going to this interview for a show where they’re looking for a father and son. Anthony Lee "Tony" Dow was born in Hollywood, California on April 13, 1945. At an early age, he showed an unusual talent for … Fox News: Were you ever worried about being typecast?Dow: Oh yeah, who wouldn't. Market data provided by Factset. He constantly kissed up to adults, flattering and … He constantly kissed up to adults, flattering and … My parents wanted to make sure it was normal. His passion and hard work paid off in 2008 when two of his sculptures were exhibited at the Louvre in Paris. Before Leave it to Beaver, he had hopes of someday competing in the Olympics. I would study my lines while on the way and I had three hours of a school a day. He is a well-known person in the Hollywood movie industry because of his long-lasting involvement as a film producer, director and an actor. In reruns since the late 1960s and on DVD, Beaver’s popularity endures with weekday airings on ME-TV. Regardless of disrupting his career he managed to come back and gain guest roles on a few different shows and more important roles on others. A swimmer and diving champion, he was asked by a pool lifeguard to go on an audition. I was working out at the Hollywood athletic club and there was a lifeguard there who was an actor. My mom would drive me to work. Tony Dow (Getty Images) Dow followed up his role as Wally Cleaver with a roles in the ’60s on General Hospital , Lassie , Never Too Young , Mr. Novak , and The New Leave It to Beaver . Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. Ken Osmond began playing Eddie Haskell as a 14-year-old in 1957. You always hear stories about all these arguments on set. ), These days the entertainment business, he says, “is a youth-oriented business and you can tell by the product. But after starring in the feel-good family sitcom, Dow kept busy in Hollywood making guest appearances on a variety of TV shows. He acts occasionally, but turning old wood into new art is his primary passion. Market data provided by Factset. So there are probably some episodes that I haven’t seen yet… And there was no swearing on set at all, not even from the crew. But more than a decade ago, Dow, who began painting and sculpting as a teenager, had an epiphany of sorts. Post-Beaver, Dow served in the National Guard, acted, directed and did visual effects work. The lifeguard lost the part, but Dow won a TV pilot role. Fox News: How were you discovered at age 11?Tony Dow: I was a swimmer back then and a pretty good one. He is the son of Jobn Stevens, a designer and general contractor, and Muriel Virginia Dow (née Montrose) (1906-2001), a stunt woman in Westerns and actress Clara Bow's movie double. Tony Dow was born on April 13, 1945 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA as Anthony Lee Dow. The producers would then say, “I don’t want to know any of that. “It was a fun time, a good show and unique in that it looked at the world through a child’s point of view,” Dow, a youthful-looking 68, says of Beaver’s 234 episodes. They didn’t want us to get a big head,” Dow explains. Fox News: How did you manage escaping the so-called child star curse?Dow: When I wasn’t filming my life was normal. That year, he and Tony Dow starred in a production of the comedy play Boeing, Boeing which ran for ten weeks in Kansas City. “About 40 countries were represented in the juried show. Go write that.” So they really tried to keep the show realistic and believable… I’m a little biased, as all my other friends who are on other shows are. The pilot fizzled, but Dow got an agent and auditioned for Beaver. They actually asked our parents not to let us watch the show on TV so we wouldn’t get a big head. Just tell us the worst thing that’s ever happened to you as a kid. That was a major problem. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. It was my life, you know? Jerry went down to the lobby to get a snack and came running back to the room all excited. The pilot fizzled, but Dow got an agent and auditioned for Beaver. So I decided to do it. And I'm still keeping busy today. Dow spoke to Fox News about his years as a child star, why he returned to playing Wally decades later, as well as why he wasn’t allowed to watch “Leave It to Beaver" while filming the series. Dow was an accidental actor. We spent a little more money on it than most, I believe, but it was just more realistic. Today, the proud husband and grandfather resides in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California where he continues to create sculptures. I was a junior diving champion and held a national record at nine. Shortly after Margaret and Tony's divorce was announced in May 1978, Lindsay-Hogg became Tony's second wife in December 1978. You have to reinvent yourself. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. I got up in the morning, had breakfast and went to work. Dow married in the late 1960s, and the couple had one son before divorcing a few years later. His legacy was even more tragically tarnished when his androgynous twin sons formed the band “Nelson” and presented audiences with watered-down glam metal, most often criticized by … Tony was a phenomenal athlete and had trained to be a swimmer and diver from a very early age. Tony Dow, Actor: Leave It to Beaver. All rights reserved. “I remember the episode where Wally and Eddie tied Lumpy’s [car] axle to a tree — [the movie] American Graffiti stole that from us.”. Jerry and Tony went to New York City for a few days to do publicity for the new season and we were staying in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. I remember the writers would come in with these elaborate pitches. The show was called “Johnny Wildlife” and it would’ve been the first color series on television about a wildlife photographer and his son. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, He had another child with his second wife, Lauren, and … Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. It was a chance meeting last fall on the set of the KTLA Morning News that has led to one of the day's oddest art news items -- namely that Tony Dow, best known as the actor who portrayed the Beaver's big brother, Wally, on the 1950s family TV series "Leave It to Beaver," will soon have one of his abstract sculptures on display at the Louvre.. He has been married to Lauren Shulkind since June 16, 1980. I was ready to do the other show. But there was another show called “Wally and The Beaver.” That made the cut. David Nelon (upper right), starred in the hit television series "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." STAYING IN TOUCH WITH – BUT APART FROM – HIS PAST, Married since 1980 to wife Lauren, a mosaic artist, Dow has one son and two grandchildren. Stop pitching us. Tony Lee Dow was born on 13 April 1945 in Hollywood, California USA. Tony Dow: I was a swimmer back then and a pretty good one. Legal Statement. The rest is history. Your voice changes. Like nostalgia? And most of the stories came from real life. They have one child. Eddie was the best friend of Tony Dow's Wally Cleaver, big brother to Jerry Mathers' Beaver Cleaver. As "Leave It to Beaver" celebrates its 60th anniversary, Tony Dow is at peace with forever being remembered as Wally Cleaver. “I looked at him and thought maybe it’s time to take art seriously,” Dow recalls, adding, “I went into directing because I had no control as an actor. A swimmer and diving champion, he was asked by a pool lifeguard to go on an audition. Tony Dow was born on April 13, 1945 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA as Anthony Lee Dow. Eddie was a friend to Wally Cleaver (Tony Dow), the older brother of Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver … Then in the ‘80s, he launched a career in directing and producing that continued for 20 years. In 2007, he worked as a kid way he could the way and I to very much like. I didn ’ t want us to get rid of that remembered Wally! 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