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Tony Dow's wife once accidentally called him Wally while dating
Even as an adult, the world saw Dow as Wally.
Being a part of a legendary television show comes with lots of benefits. For Tony Dow, who played Beaver's older brother Wally on Leave It to Beaver, the opportunity was something he held close to his heart.
The actor got the chance to experience life in a new light, and even though he had other roles, he still enjoyed the connection to the sitcom.
In 2003, Dow was a featured speaker at the annual Lexington Chamber of Commerce dinner at Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri. During an interview with The Kansas City Star newspaper, he revealed how the opportunity came about and his wife, Lauren, said she once accidentally called him Wally.
Public speaking wasn't Dow's thing, but it was a favor for his brother-in-law. Lauren's brother asked the actor if he could speak at the dinner where he and the show would be honored
"It's a rare for me. It scares me to death every time I have to do it," he said to The Kansas City Star reporter Brian McTavish. "I haven't really sat down and outlined it yet. I'll do it on the plane. I'll forget it if I do it now."
He and his wife met in the '70s and started dating after she helped him get cast in a McDonald's commercial. Lauren initially thought it was cool that the actor wanted to date her.
"I was pretty thrilled that he would think that I was cool enough to want to be with me," she said. "With time, he just seemed to be a regular guy. It didn't take long."
Although Dow was all grown up, there was a time Lauren found herself calling him his character's name. She said, "But I will say when we were kind of dating, one day I slipped up and called him Wally. That was terrible."
Dow didn't seem to mind, though, because he understood the series' connection to the rest of the world.
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