• Tony Dow’s death was confirmed by Frank Bilotta, a sculptor who worked on his behalf.
• Dow had been receiving hospice care and had revealed in May that he had cancer.
• Wally Cleaver was a staple of the wholesome picture of the 1950s American family.

Tony Dow, who as Wally Cleaver on the sitcom “Leave It to Beaver” helped create the popular and lasting image of the American teenager of the 1950s and 60s, died Wednesday. He was 77.

Dow’s death was confirmed by Frank Bilotta, a sculptor who worked on his behalf, in an email to The Associated Press.

There was no explanation given, but Dow had been receiving hospice care and had revealed in May that he had been found to have gall bladder and prostate cancer.

Tuesday’s post on Dow’s Facebook page prematurely announced his passing; however, his wife and the management team swiftly removed the message and clarified that it was a mistake.

Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver, played by Jerry Mathers, was the show’s titular character, while Dow’s Wally was his frequently irritated but fundamentally kind big brother. Dow’s Wally was a staple of the occasionally corny, wholesome picture of the 1950s American family.

Dow was born and raised in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles; his mother was a stuntwoman who served as Clara Bow’s stand-in. However, Dow’s parents did not pressure him to pursue a career in show business.

He had only performed on stage a tiny bit and appeared in two pilots. He got his career-defining role as Wally after going to an open casting call.

From 1957 through 1963, Dow would portray the role for six seasons and more than 200 episodes in primetime on CBS and ABC. Later, Dow would appear in more than 100 episodes of a syndicated follow-up series in the 1980s.

“Tony was not only my brother on TV, but in many ways in life as well. He leaves an empty place in my heart that won’t be filled,” Mathers said in a Facebook post Wednesday. “Tony Dow was always the kindest, most generous, gentle, loving, sincere, and humble man, and it was my honor and privilege to be able to share memories together with him for 65 years.”

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With his two-faced closest friend Eddie Haskell by his side, Wally, who was occasionally the focus of the plot, managed to traverse junior high and high school with a bit more maturity than his younger brother. The plotlines of the show implied that Wally was destined for greatness; he discusses wanting to be an aeronautical engineer. Wally also frequently encountered moral conundrums because of his inherent kindness.

Dow’s favourite episode was one where Hugh Beaumont’s ever-willing teacher, Ward Cleaver, wanted his boys to know what it was like growing up. Despite the fact that they thought they had urgent business at home, he still takes them into the wilderness.

“The boys didn’t want to go because ‘Zombies From Outer Space’ was playing in the theater,” Dow said in a 2018 interview with Sidewalks Entertainment at Silicon Valley Comic-Con.

After the trip, at the end of the episode, Ward discovers the boys on a hilltop with binoculars, thinking they’re taking in some nature.

“They were watching Zombies from Outer Space at the drive-in,” Dow said with a laugh.

When the show ended, it was still well-liked, but it had obviously reached its inevitable conclusion because Wally was getting ready to leave for college and Beaver was headed for high school.

Dow’s passing leaves Mathers and Larry Mondello’s pal Rusty Stevens as the only remaining members of the main cast of the programme. In 1982, Beaumont perished. Mother June Cleaver’s onscreen mother, Barbara Billingsley, passed away in 2010. Haskell’s actor, Ken Osmond, passed away in 2020.

Throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Dow would make guest appearances on several TV shows, including “My Three Sons,” “Dr. Kildare,” “Adam-12,” “Emergency,” “Square Pegs,” and “Knight Rider.”

In the late 1960s, Tony Dow took a sabbatical from acting to complete three years in the American National Guard.

Dow played Wally again in “The New Leave it to Beaver” from 1983 until 1989, during a cultural frenzy for nostalgic programming.

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His career as a television director in the 1990s included episodes of “The New Lassie,” “Babylon 5,” “Harry and the Hendersons,” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” among others. He started writing and directing such episodes.

In the 1980s, Dow disclosed that he had clinical depression and produced self-help movies on embracing and managing the condition at a time when such statements were uncommon.

In later years, Dow also made appearances at pop culture conferences, frequently with Mather, and developed a strong reputation as a sculptor.

2008’s Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, a 150-year-old art exhibition held yearly at the Louvre, accepted one of his bronze works.

In 2012, Tony Dow told The Associated Press that as many people showed up to his exhibitions to meet the Beaver’s older sibling as to view his artwork.

“I think it’s hard, especially with the Wally image, to be taken seriously at pretty much anything other than that,” he said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

His 42-year-old wife Lauren, son Christopher, daughter-in-law Melissa, and brother Dion will all be missed by Dow.