# Tony Dow -- Wally Cleaver -- dead at 77. {death now confirmed} **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [July 26, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602 "2022-07-26T17:26:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/21 "2022-07-26T22:18:29Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I thought that was Eddie Haskell? 🤨 Nah, Eddie became a porn star. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/22 "2022-07-26T22:30:08Z")
I always knew that boy would come to no good! 😠 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/23 "2022-07-26T22:59:18Z")
This death hits far to close. Leave it to Beave aired every day on various cable tv stations. I’ve seen all the episodes multiple times. I watched some of the series reboot in the 80’s. Jerry Mathers made an appearance 2016 or 17 in my hometown to talk about diabetes and the show. I saw interviews on local news. I was busy finishing a project at work and couldn’t make the 2 hour drive. I think he was a spokesman for the Diabetes Foundation. Tony and Jerry made the transition to adulthood quite gracefully. I’ve never seen any bad press about them. That’s pretty unique among child actors. RIP Tony ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/24 "2022-07-26T23:08:49Z")
He’s not dead yet. It was reported three hours ago that he’s in hospice care and the thread title was edited. Edit - He was suffering from cancer. Cancer claims another victim. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/25 "2022-07-26T23:35:45Z")
I wonder if Tony would have made the 1964 Olympics team? He was 19 that year. But his work on tv probably ended his competitive training. Kurt Russell acted and did sports. Played minor league baseball until injury ended his dream. Site: [https://collider.com/tony-dow-still-alive-leave-it-to-beaver/](https://collider.com/tony-dow-still-alive-leave-it-to-beaver/) > [@](#): > > he instead focused on athletics as a diver becoming a Junior Olympics and Western states champion. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/26 "2022-07-26T23:55:46Z")
_Is_ suffering from cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/27 "2022-07-27T00:30:31Z")
Schrodinger’s Wally. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/28 "2022-07-27T00:39:30Z")
I’m not gonna believe it until I hear Beaver say he croaked. mmm ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/29 "2022-07-27T02:16:53Z")
Tony’s personal assistant and his publicist: “Geez, Lumpy, ya think ya coulda gotten one thing right…” _“Well, well, see, Eddie, I was planning ahead and writing that final press release when Mel Cooley from the Dick Van Dyke Show suddenly pops in and bellows “Clarrrrance Rutherford, front and center!” And I guess I started hyperventilating and I musta pushed a button or something…”_ “Well, now we’re in a mess, Mr. Smartypants, and I wouldn’t blame Wally if he didn’t die at all, just to teach you a lesson …why, good afternoon, Mrs. Dow, I was just telling Clarance here what a fetching black veil that is…” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/30 "2022-07-27T04:19:17Z")
I saw Tony on an old episode of the People’s Court back when it had Judge Wapner. It was clearly him and the judge recognized him also. I think he was suing a tenant in a property he owned. Can’t recall much else. He still sounded the same as Wally, the same voice and mannerisms. Sorry to hear of his almost passing, hope his end is peaceful. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/31 "2022-07-27T11:35:16Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I saw him on an Emergency! episode just this weekend. he was stealing from homes that were evacuated because of a brush fire. > > I knew that Eddie was a bad influence! Ironically the actor who played Eddie, Ken Osmond, became a motorcycle cop-- a real life member of CHiPs. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/32 "2022-07-27T17:13:35Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Ironically the actor who played Eddie, Ken Osmond, became a motorcycle cop-- a real life member of CHiPs. Right ride, wrong force. He was LAPD. He was shot in the line of duty. Applied for disability, which took some 8 years of effort to get, and then retired. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/33 "2022-07-27T17:19:11Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Right ride, wrong force. He was LAPD. Oops. Knowing he was a Cali motorcycle cop I assumed CHP, plus it made for a nicely ironic blurring between another popular TV show and reality. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/34 "2022-07-27T17:59:14Z")
Erik Estrada. > **[Erik Estrada | Law enforcement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Estrada#Law_enforcement)** > > Estrada became a reserve police officer for the Muncie (Indiana) Police Department. From there, Estrada moved to Virginia, where he was an I.C.A.C. (Internet Crimes Against Children) investigator for eight years in Bedford County, Virginia. As of July 1, 2016, he was a reserve police officer in St. Anthony, Idaho. In the course of his duties, Estrada has been filmed patrolling on a police motorcycle. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/35 "2022-07-27T20:46:56Z")
After pulling the Tony Dow obit yesterday, the NYT is posting it again. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/36 "2022-07-27T20:58:09Z")
It’s been confirmed by his manager and family that he actually passed earlier today. RIP ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/37 "2022-07-27T21:02:30Z")
From the NY Times obit, updated 21 minutes ago 4:41 PM EDT "His death was confirmed by his manager, Frank Bilotta. On Tuesday, his representatives announced his death erroneously in a Facebook post; it was later deleted, but not before many news organizations, including The New York Times, published obituaries, relying on that post as confirmation of the death. " ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/38 "2022-07-27T21:12:26Z")
I’ve re-edited the title ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/39 "2022-07-27T21:25:22Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > After pulling the Tony Dow obit yesterday, the NYT is posting it again. The Dow goes up, the Dow goes down, not at all unusual. mmm ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602/40 "2022-07-27T22:20:35Z")
I just watched the CBS News ‘Sunday Morning’ clip with/about Tony Dow, gaining some insight into who he was, and **not** knowing of his demise. Then I saw a headline on my news feed and came here. RIP, Tony. I’m only _not_ calling you ‘Wally’ because, TIL, that role was a cross you bore for nearly half your life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tony-dow-wally-cleaver-dead-at-77-death-now-confirmed/968602.md?page=3)