0
0
Tuesday morning, reports of the death of Tony Dow blew up.
Dow, best known for his role as Wally Cleaver in “Leave it to Beaver,” had been reported dead by his wife.
As it turns out, she made a horrible mistake, and Dow is still alive.
Distraught
The reports surfaced Tuesday afternoon when a death announcement was made on Dow’s Facebook page.
The now-deleted post stated, “This morning Tony’s wife Lauren, who was very distraught, had notified us that Tony had passed and asked that we notify all his fans. As we are sure you can understand, this has been a very trying time for her.”
That post was later amended to say, “We have since received a call from Tony’s daughter-in-law saying that while Tony is not doing well, he has not yet passed.
“Tony’s son Christopher and his daughter-in-law Melissa have also been by his side comforting him, and we will keep you posted on any future updates.”
Dow’s son, Christopher, posted another update Tuesday night that things were not looking good for Dow.
He wrote, “This is a difficult time. Dad is at home, under hospice care, and in his last hours.
“My wife and I are by his side along with many friends that have visited. He has a fighting heart.”
Dow has been fighting cancer for some time.
He had fought it back, but it returned in May, just after he had turned 77 years old.
Dow played the big brother to The Beaver in the hit series that many of us grew up watching every week, as well as the reruns for years after.
His role was later reprised in a reboot called “The New Leave It to Beaver” in 1983.
