TVs Wally Cleaver Has Piece at Louvre

Child TV stars are more often in the news as adults for their inability to act like grown-ups. Usually, it's not entirely their own fault; their guardians didn't prepare them for the “you aren't a kid anymore” attitude of the entertainment industry. A notable exception is Tony Dow, who played Wally Cleaver on the iconic 1950s TV show “Leave it to Beaver.” One of his abstract sculptures is going on exhibit at the Louvre.

As a teen, Mr. Dow painted and sculpted as well as starred on TV. In other words, when his TV days ended he still had a creative outlet for his talents and a place from which to draw some self-esteem. Gary Colman and Danny Bonaduce never had that. As an adult, he did some directing and visual effects for TV, but fine art gave him something during the difficult transition period.

The Karen Lynne Gallery, which has two sites in the Los Angeles area and another in Boca Raton Florida, has a stable of artists. Mr. Dow is among them, and several of the gallery's artists will have their works at the Louvre as part of the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts exhibition. Dow's piece is a bronze piece called “Unarmed Warrior” and depicts a woman with a shield. Those in Paris December 13-16 might avail themselves of the opportunity.

Mr. Dow is not given to false modesty, nor does he pretend this isn't a big deal. “Having something shown at the Louvre is about as good as you can get,” said Mr. Dow, from his home in Los Angeles, “especially when it’s a juried show like this where there’s a panel of judges who pick the pieces to be in the exhibition. I’m a little humbled by the whole thing but grateful nonetheless.”

More importantly, his presence at the Louvre had nothing to do with his TV career. “Of course, I’m really proud of ‘Leave It to Beaver’ and my directing career in television,” said Mr. Dow. “Those are great accomplishments. I’m really proud of them, but this is interesting because I don’t think they know anything about that at the Louvre.”

In the immortal words of the Beaver, “Gee whiz, Wally, ya' mean there's something more to life than TV?”

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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