LOS ANGELES • American actor Tony Dow, best known for his role as Wally Cleaver in the 1950s American TV sitcom Leave It To Beaver, died on Wednesday at age 77, his family and management team said, a day after his death was announced prematurely.
Dow, whose career in television as an actor, director and producer spanned six decades, died in hospice care with his family at his side, said a statement posted to Facebook citing his son Christopher.
A cause of death was not disclosed, although he and his wife Lauren had said that he suffered a recurrence of cancer in May.
On Tuesday, Dow's managers had to retract a Facebook post announcing his death, explaining that his distraught wife mistakenly thought he had died.
While gravely ill, Dow was still alive, they said at the time.
In Leave It To Beaver, which ran from 1957 to 1963, Dow played the teenage older brother of the title character, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver.
Dow's role in the show, which depicted an idealised American family living a carefree life in an American suburb, made him a cultural icon.
In late May, the actor shared a Facebook message thanking fans for their well-wishes and detailing his health progress, including his experience with cancer treatment.
Another post a week before his death noted that his health was in decline.
Dow reprised his role as Wally Cleaver in the 1980s for a spin-off movie, Still The Beaver, and a TV series, The New Leave It To Beaver.
He also appeared in the daytime series General Hospital.
Dow is also credited as director for more than a dozen TV shows, including The New Leave It To Beaver and Harry And The Hendersons in the 1990s.
REUTERS
