Interveiw with Tony Dow

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Catching up with the Beav's big brother :

His hair has turned gray, and his old house has a new life on "Desperate
Housewives." But some things haven't changed. He still has that look in
his eyes when he's about to say, with a tone of disgust: "Gee, Beav."
And Tony Dow has an explanation for the enduring popularity of "Leave It
to Beaver."
The 1957-63 comedy continues to air at 9:30 EST weeknights on TV Land.
The show was deeper than anyone thought, said Dow, a/k/a Beaver's older
brother, Wally.
"No one had a mother who vacuumed in high heels," Dow conceded,
referring to June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley). "But it was about kids
coming to terms with growing up. We didn't deal with drugs and sex, but
I feel it's not the issues." Helping a kid who just had his first kiss
can be poignant, too, Dow said. "People can identify with it," he said.
"The other thing was they didn't write jokes. They wrote funny
situations."
He recalled that in one of his favorite episodes, Ward, the father
played by the late Hugh Beaumont, tried to get his sons excited about
nature. As the boys hiked a long distance, Ward is overjoyed _ until he
learns they're using their binoculars to watch the big screen on the
nearby drive-in movie. Ward learns he can't make his children share his
interests. "What the show did so well was to make sweeping philosophical
observations without seeming to be preachy," Dow said. "Beaver was your
everyday kid, a regular guy who stumbled over things." And "it was a
comfortable show that was warm and fuzzy," he said. However, like other
shows of the era, "Leave It to Beaver" didn't feature minorities and
depicted a very white America. But the show resurfaced in contemporary,
more ethnically diverse times on TV. Beaver and Wally had grown up by
the time of "Still the Beaver" and "The New Leave It to Beaver." "It's
fascinating that we went through so many incarnations, first as a
black-and-white series in the '50s and '60s, then a two-hour movie in
the '80s and then a series with the same characters and the next
generation," Dow said. "We went on to become a feature film (1997) with
a different cast." Today, Dow describes himself as semi-retired from his
long directing career. He lives in Santa Monica, a Los Angeles suburb.
The "Leave It to Beaver" house stands in what's now the notorious
Wisteria Lane from the ABC hit "Desperate Housewives." The exterior
marks the home of the late Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), who
narrates the show's sordid events from her angle in the afterlife. The
home is used by another character, Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross).
Dow said he didn't know the "Leave It to Beaver" house was on the show,
but added he doesn't watch the series.
"I watch very little TV," the 59-year-old Hollywood native said. "TV
isn't concerned with the older adult; it's really meant for ages 18-35.
"A lot of the stuff I'm not interested in," he said with Wally-like
candor.