Tony Dow
Encyclopedia
Tony Lee Dow is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

, sculptor, and a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...

 of the 1950s and 1960s.

Dow is best known for his role in the television sitcom Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...

, which ran in primetime from 1957 to 1963. Dow played Wallace "Wally" Cleaver
Wally Cleaver
Wallace "Wally" Cleaver is a fictional character in the iconic American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Wally is the thirteen-year-old son of archetypal 50s suburban parents, Ward and June Cleaver and the older brother of the seven-year-old title character, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver...

, the elder son of June
June Cleaver
June Evelyn Bronson Cleaver is a principal character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. June and her husband, Ward, are often invoked as the archetypal suburban parents of the 1950s. The couple are the parents of two sons, Wally and "Beaver"...

 (Barbara Billingsley
Barbara Billingsley
Barbara Billingsley was an American film, television, voice and stage actress. She gained prominence in the 1950s movie The Careless Years, acting opposite Natalie Trundy, followed by her best–known role, that of June Cleaver on the television series Leave It to Beaver and its sequel Still...

) and Ward Cleaver
Ward Cleaver
Ward Cleaver is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Ward and his wife, June, are often invoked as archetypal suburban parents of the babyboomer 1950s. The couple are the parents of Wally, a thirteen-year-old in the eighth grade, and seven-year-old ...

 (Hugh Beaumont), and the brother of Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver
Theodore Cleaver
Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver is the fictional title character in the American television series Leave It to Beaver. Seven-year-old Beaver is son to June and Ward Cleaver and sibling to thirteen-year-old Wally Cleaver .Beaver prefers "messin' around" with his pals and reading comic books to...

 (Jerry Mathers
Jerry Mathers
Gerald Patrick "Jerry" Mathers is an American television, film, and stage actor. Mathers is best known for his role in the television sitcom series Leave It to Beaver , in which he played Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the younger son of archetypal suburban couple June and Ward Cleaver , and the brother...

).

Early life and career

Dow was born in Hollywood, California, to John Stevens, a designer and general contractor, and Muriel Virginia Dow (née Montrose) (May 27, 1906–April 30, 2001), a stunt woman
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...

 in early Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...

s and Clara Bow
Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...

's movie double
Body double
A body double is a general term for someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character in any recorded visual medium, in shots where the character's body is shown but the face is either not visible or shown indistinctly, or in shots where the image of the credited actor's face is joined,...

 in Hollywood. In his youth, Dow was a Junior Olympics
AAU Junior Olympic Games
The AAU Junior Olympic Games are the pinnacle competition held annually by the US Amateur Athletic Union.-Sports currently held:The following is a list of sports that currently take place at the Junior Olympic Games.* Aquatics - Diving and Swimming...

 diving champion. He won the role of Wally Cleaver in a casting call
Casting (performing arts)
In the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...

 with almost no previous acting experience.

Dow remained on the series until it ended in 1963. After the run of Leave It to Beaver, he appeared on My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...

, Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...

, Mr. Novak
Mr. Novak
Mr. Novak is an American dramatic series starring James Franciscus in the title role, which aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965.-Overview:...

(five episodes in three different roles), The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series)
The Greatest Show on Earth is an American drama series starring Jack Palance about the American circus, which aired on ABC from September 17, 1963, to April 28, 1964...

, and Never Too Young
Never Too Young
Never Too Young is an American teen soap opera that aired on ABC from September 27, 1965 to June 24, 1966 and was the first soap opera geared towards a teen audience.-Synopsis:...

. From 1965 to 1968, Dow served in the National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...

, interrupting his acting career. On his return to acting, he guest-starred in Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...

, Love American Style, The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...

, The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional teenage brothers and amateur detectives who appear in various mystery series for children and teens....

and Emergency!
Emergency!
Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...



During the 1970s, he continued acting while working in the construction business and studying journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

 and filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...

.

Dow's most recent screen appearance was in the 2003
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...

 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and starring David Spade and Mary McCormack.- Plot :...

.

Behind the camera

In 1986, he wrote an episode of The New Leave It to Beaver
The New Leave It to Beaver
The New Leave It to Beaver is an American sitcom sequel to the 1950s and '60s series, Leave It to Beaver. The New Leave It to Beaver began with the 1983 CBS TV movie Still the Beaver, and was picked up in 1984 as a Disney Channel series with the same name; however, it only lasted one season...

, and in 1989, he made his directorial debut with an episode of The New Lassie
The New Lassie
The New Lassie was an American television series which aired in first-run syndication for two seasons beginning in 1989, reviving the beloved "Lassie" collie character who debuted in the 1943 film Lassie Come Home, followed by several more movies and a long-running earlier Lassie television series...

, followed by episodes of Get a Life
Get a Life (TV series)
Get a Life is a television sitcom that was broadcast in the United States on the Fox Network from September 23, 1990, to March 8, 1992. The show starred Chris Elliott as a 30-year-old paperboy named Chris Peterson. Peterson lived in an apartment above his parents' garage...

, Harry and the Hendersons
Harry and the Hendersons (TV series)
Harry and the Hendersons is an American sitcom based on the film of the same name, produced by Amblin Entertainment for Universal Television. The series aired in syndication from January 13, 1991 to June 18, 1993, with 72 half-hour episodes produced...

, Swamp Thing, Coach
Coach (TV series)
Coach is an American television sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from 1989 to 1997. The series starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional Division I-A college football team, the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles...

, Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...

, Crusade
Crusade (TV series)
Crusade is a spin-off TV show from J. Michael Straczynski's Babylon 5. Its plot is set in AD 2267, five years after the events of Babylon 5, and just after the movie A Call to Arms. A race called the Drakh have released a nanovirus plague on Earth, which will destroy all life on Earth within five...

, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...

.

Dow also served as the visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...

 supervisor for Babylon 5. In 1996, he provided visual effects for the Fox TVM Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

.

Personal life

Dow attended Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys High School established in 1914, is a high school in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles, California, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District: District 2...

 and graduated in 1963, the same year Beaver ended.
On June 14, 1969, Dow married Carol M. Marlow. In 1973, they had a 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
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...

.

In the 1990s, Dow revealed that he has struggled and was eventually diagnosed with clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...

. He has since starred in self-help videos chronicling this battle, including "Beating the Blues" (1998).

Dow has become a serious, and 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." One of his bronze pieces was on display in the backyard garden of Barbara Billingsley
Barbara Billingsley
Barbara Billingsley was an American film, television, voice and stage actress. She gained prominence in the 1950s movie The Careless Years, acting opposite Natalie Trundy, followed by her best–known role, that of June Cleaver on the television series Leave It to Beaver and its sequel Still...

, who played his mother on Leave It to Beaver. Dow was chosen as one of three sculptors to show at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts exhibition, in the Carrousel du Louvre
Carrousel du Louvre
The Carousel du Louvre is an underground shopping mall in Paris, France. The name refers to two nearby sites, the Louvre museum and the Place du Carrousel...

, in Paris, France, in December 2008. He represented the United States delegation, which was composed of artists from the Karen Lynne Gallery. His abstract shown at the Louvre was titled, "Unarmed Warrior," a bronze figure of a woman holding a shield.

Actor

  • NBC Children's Theatre (1 episode, 1949)
  • Leave It to Beaver
    Leave It to Beaver
    Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...

    (234 episodes, 1957–1963)
  • The Eleventh Hour
    The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)
    The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:...

    as Bob Quincy in "Four Feet in the Morning" (1963)
  • Dr. Kildare
    Dr. Kildare
    Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...

    (1 episode, 1963)
  • The Greatest Show on Earth (1 episode, 1964)
  • My Three Sons
    My Three Sons
    My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...

    (1 episode, 1964)
  • Mr. Novak
    Mr. Novak
    Mr. Novak is an American dramatic series starring James Franciscus in the title role, which aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965.-Overview:...

    (5 episodes, 1963–1965)
  • Never Too Young
    Never Too Young
    Never Too Young is an American teen soap opera that aired on ABC from September 27, 1965 to June 24, 1966 and was the first soap opera geared towards a teen audience.-Synopsis:...

    (Unknown episodes, 1965)
  • Adam-12
    Adam-12
    Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...

    (1 episode, 1970)
  • Love, American Style
    Love, American Style
    Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...

    (1 episode, 1971)
  • The Mod Squad
    The Mod Squad
    The Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...

    (1 episode, 1971)
  • Emergency!
    Emergency!
    Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...

    (Brushfire episode, 1972)
  • A Great American Tragedy (1972)
  • Death Scream (1975)
  • General Hospital
    General Hospital
    General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....

    (Unknown episodes, 1975)
  • The Kentucky Fried Movie
    The Kentucky Fried Movie
    The Kentucky Fried Movie is an American comedy film, released in 1977 and directed by John Landis. The film's writers were the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker. This same team would go on to write and direct Airplane!, Top Secret! and the Police Squad! television series and its...

    (1977)
  • The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
    The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
    The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is a television series which aired for three seasons on ABC...

    (1 episode, 1977)
  • The Ordeal of Bill Carney (1981)
  • Square Pegs
    Square Pegs
    Square Pegs is an American comedy series that aired on CBS during the 1982–1983 season. The series follows Patty Greene and Lauren Hutchinson , two awkward teenage girls desperate to fit in at Weemawee High School....

    (2 episodes, 1982)
  • Still the Beaver (1983)
  • Quincy M.E. (1 episode, 1983)
  • Knight Rider (1 episode, 1983)
  • High School U.S.A.
    High School U.S.A.
    "High School U.S.A." is also the title of the biggest pop hit by Tommy Facenda.High School U.S.A. is a 1983 television movie directed by Rodney Amateau. The film originally aired on NBC on October 16, 1983 and features an ensemble cast including Michael J. Fox, Anthony Edwards, and Crispin...

    (1983)
  • Murder, She Wrote
    Murder, She Wrote
    Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...

    (1 episode, 1987)
  • Back to the Beach
    Back to the Beach
    Back to the Beach is a 1987 comedy film starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, directed by Lyndall Hobbs. The original music score is composed by Steve Dorff. The film generated a total domestic gross of $13,110,903...

    (1987)
  • The New Leave It to Beaver
    The New Leave It to Beaver
    The New Leave It to Beaver is an American sitcom sequel to the 1950s and '60s series, Leave It to Beaver. The New Leave It to Beaver began with the 1983 CBS TV movie Still the Beaver, and was picked up in 1984 as a Disney Channel series with the same name; however, it only lasted one season...

    aka Still the Beaver (1985–1989)
  • Charles in Charge
    Charles in Charge
    Charles in Charge is an American sitcom series which starred Scott Baio as Charles, a 19-year-old student at the fictional Copeland College in New Jersey, who worked as a live-in babysitter in exchange for room and board...

    (1 episode, 1989)
  • Freddy's Nightmares
    Freddy's Nightmares
    Freddy's Nightmares is an American horror anthology series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, each story was introduced by Freddy Krueger...

    aka Freddy's Nightmares: A Nightmare on Elm Street The Series (2 episodes, 1990)
  • The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space
    The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space
    The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space is a 1995 science fiction/comedy television film .The film follows the adventures of 1950s actor Ty Farrell , who plays the title character in a Captain Video-like early TV program, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space.-Cast:*Nichelle Nichols,...

    (1995)
  • Playing Patti (1998)
  • Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
    Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
    Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction is an American television anthology series created by Lynn Lehmann, presented by Dick Clark Productions, and produced and aired by the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. Each episode featured five stories, all of which appeared to defy logic, and some of which were...

    (1 episode, 1998)
  • Diagnosis: Murder
    Diagnosis: Murder
    Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...

    (2 episodes, 1999)
  • Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
    Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
    Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and starring David Spade and Mary McCormack.- Plot :...

    (2003)

Visual effects

  • Babylon 5
    Babylon 5
    Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...

    (Unknown episodes)
  • The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space
    The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space
    The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space is a 1995 science fiction/comedy television film .The film follows the adventures of 1950s actor Ty Farrell , who plays the title character in a Captain Video-like early TV program, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space.-Cast:*Nichelle Nichols,...

    (1995)
  • Doctor Who
    Doctor Who
    Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

    (1996)

Producer

  • The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space
    The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space
    The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space is a 1995 science fiction/comedy television film .The film follows the adventures of 1950s actor Ty Farrell , who plays the title character in a Captain Video-like early TV program, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space.-Cast:*Nichelle Nichols,...

    (1995)
  • It Came from Outer Space II (1996)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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