Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Tony Dow’s son says actor is ‘still alive, but in his last hours’ after managers prematurely announced death

Dow is reportedly in hospice care with cancer

Ellie Harrison
Tuesday 26 July 2022 22:21 BST
Comments
Tony Dow in a promotional photo for ‘Leave It to Beaver’
Tony Dow in a promotional photo for ‘Leave It to Beaver’ (Abc/Kobal/Shutterstock)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Tony Dow‘s son says the actor is “still alive, but in his last hours” after managers prematurely announced his death.

Dow who played Wally Cleaver in the sitcom Leave It to Beaver, is under hospice care in his “last hours”, Christopher Dow told Fox News Digital.

“This is a difficult time,” he explained. “Yes, he is still alive, but in his last hours; under hospice care.”

It is reported that Dow’s wife, Lauren Shulkind, had mistakenly given “false information” to his management team. TMZ added that Shulkind was “very distraught” and “believed her husband was dead”.

In May, Dow had announced that his cancer, which he had been diagnosed with years before, had come back.

Leave it to Beaver, which centred on an archetypal 1950s suburban family, ran from 1957 to 1963. The black-and-white sitcom followed the antics of a naughty boy called Beaver, his pragmatic brother Wally, their friend Eddie, and their parents Ward and June.

The show’s writers, Bob Mosher and Joe Connelly, based the kids in the series on their own children. One of Wally’s habits, for example, was that he constantly combed his hair. They had seen their own teenagers doing this and wrote it into the sitcom.

Tony Dow and his ‘Leave It to Beaver’ co-star Jerry Mathers in 2017
Tony Dow and his ‘Leave It to Beaver’ co-star Jerry Mathers in 2017 (Mediapunch/Shutterstock)

Dow returned for the Eighties TV movie Still the Beaver and the series The New Leave It to Beaver, also directing five episodes and writing one.

His directing credits also included Honey I Shrunk the Kids and an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Dow’s other acting roles included appearances in General Hospital, Lassie and Murder, She Wrote.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in