1. He was a diving champ at age 7.

 

How did Southern California celebrate the holiday season without snow? With a water show, of course. A small bulletin in the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News around Thanksgiving 1952 promoted the upcoming "Noel Aquacana," a Christmas performance in a pool. The event at the Hollywood Athletic Club featured synchronized swimming star June Taylor, "famous diving clown" Bill Lewin and… "7-year-old diving champ Tony Dow." A year later, young Dow had his photo, er, splashed on the pages of The Valley Times as he prepared to compete for the SPAAAAU diving championships.

Image: The Everett Collection / Gene Trindl

2. His mom was a "bathing beauty."

 

No wonder Tony took to the pool! He had swimming in his genes. His mom, Muriel Montrose, pictured here on his arm, was once a Sennett Bathing Beauty, one of the women in swimsuits seen in Mack Sennett's silent films. She was also the body double for early screen idol Clara Bow, Hollywood's original "It Girl."

Image: The Everett Collection / Gene Trindl

3. He got the role of Wally because his dad's buddy wanted to be Ward.

 

Dow had no intention to try out for the role of Wally. He was just tagging along. According to a 1959 article in the Detroit Free Press, an "actor friend of his parents" was heading to an audition to read for Ward Cleaver. He asked Mr. and Mrs. Dow if their son wanted to accompany him to audition for the father and son roles of a new TV sitcom. "The actor didn't come close to getting the role of Ward Cleaver," the paper wrote (the actor was never named), "but Tony's appearance ended the producer's search for Beaver's older brother." Around 270 other boys had already auditioned for the part of Wally.

4. He was a trampoline instructor in the off-season.

 

As the 4th of July weekend was about to kick off in 1960, The Charlotte News asked a celebrity to write about his summer plans. "What To Do This Summer," Tony Dow's column declared. He details his personal plans, all centered around Catalina Island, as he had a few months off from school and work on Leave It to Beaver. "It's a terrific place for the things I enjoy most — swimming, water skiing and skin diving," Dow declared. However, this was no mere vacation. "I'll be working in Avalon, the town there, as an instructor at one of the trampoline amusement centers," the teen explained. "Most people don't realize it, but trampolines are excellent for keeping you in top physical condition."

Image: The Everett Collection

5. He didn't have a car when filming "Wally Buys a Car."

 

When Tony was 17, his friends gave him grief. "Almost all his friends have their own car," Hollywood gossiper Harold Heffernan blabbed in a column embarrassingly headlined: Chaperoned by his mother. "[My friends] think I should be driving around in a big flashy job," Dow grumbled, "but my parents just can't afford it right now." Ironically, at the time, he was filming the episode "Wally Buys a Car," which rubbed salt in the wound.

6. His earnings from Leave It to Beaver went towards real estate.

 

Dow said his parents "could not afford" a car at the time, but they were not hurting for money. They were simply smart with it. "The senior Dows have invested Tony's earnings in two apartment houses in the San Fernando Valley," Heffernan wrote in his gossip column. "In California, that's much better than drilling for oil."

Image: The Everett Collection

7. He reunited with Jerry Mathers for a play about planes.

 

The New Leave It to Beaver (1983–89) reunited the original cast for an adult update on the surviving Cleavers. It was a surprise hit. But it was not the first time that Dow and Jerry Mathers had reunited for work. In 1978, the former Cleaver brothers acted together in a romantic comedy called Boeing Boeing. You might recall the 1965 movie version with Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis. However, this version with a very different Jerry and Tony took place at the Country Dinner Playhouse in St. Petersburg, Florida. The farce found the former costars reunited in dinner theater. "While Boeing, Boeing is somewhat of a dinosaur, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers just may be coming of age." They were both around 30 at the time.

Image: The Everett Collection

8. He became a TV director — and directed other former child stars.

 

The New Leave It to Beaver not only gave Dow a chance to again work with his former television family, but it was also his first opportunity behind the camera. He continued to helm episodes of TV shows, including Harry and the Hendersons, Swamp Thing, and Coach. Here, you can see him directing an episode of Babylon 5. Recognize the fellow in the alien makeup? That's Bill Mumy, of course, erstwhile star of Lost in Space!

Image: The Everett Collection

9. He became a sculptor late in life.

 

From the trampoline to Mayfield to directing, Dow kept moving and creating throughout his life. What fueled his passion in later years? Sculpting. He worked primarily in bronze casting. Check out some of his work at his Tony Dow Sculpture website.

Image: AP Photo / Reed Saxon