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Tony Dow, ‘Leave it to Beaver’ and ‘General Hospital’ Alum, Still Alive But in ‘Last Hours’ Despite Reports On His Death

Photo: JPI

UPDATED:  Since the original posting of this article, Tony Dow has now passed away.  On Wednesday, July 27th his son, Christopher confirmed his death on Facebook sharing: “Tony passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey.  We know that the world is collectively saddened by the loss of this incredible man. He gave so much to us all and was loved by so many. One fan said it best—“It is rare when there is a person who is so universally loved like Tony.”’

The original post below is the story on how Tony’s wife, Lauren Dow, had shared that her husband was still alive after erroneous news articles on his death were premature:

Lauren Dow, the wide of Tony Dow, best-known of his role of Wally Cleaver – the All-American older brother of “Beaver” Cleaver (Jerry Mathers) on the TV sitcom, Leave it to Beaver, shares that he is still alive amid previous reports of his passing early today.

Earlier, Tony’s management team had posted news of Dow’s death at the age of 77 on a Facebook post, but that has since been taken down.

Now comes word from Lauren to ABC7 in Los Angeles, that her husband is still breathing, but is in hospice care in their home.  She admitted that based on some health issues that happened overnight, she inferred that Tony had passed away when she informed people close to her and the family.

However, Dowd’s son Christopher confirmed to PEOPLE that his father, “is still alive but in his last hours. Under hospice care.”

Daytime fans recall that Tony played the part of Ross Jeanelle on General Hospital back in the mid-70’s.   On GH, Ross was investigating the murder of Dr. Phil Brewer and in story, Ross also dated nurse Beth Maynard, who was the sister of Diana Taylor.

Some of Dow’s other TV credits included: Adam-12, Mod Squad, Emergency, The Love Boat, and Murder, She Wrote plus he directed numerous TV episodes.

Share your thoughts and prayers for Tony Dow and his family via the comment section.

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He was only on GH briefly during the Phil Brewer murder mystery. He did however have the starring role in the teenage daytime soap “Never too Young”. The show was ahead of it’s time but only had a brief run. It was replaced by “Dark Shadows”.

Greg
I never saw him on GH or the other show you mentioned but I watched him and Beaver during his long run on Leave It to Beaver. I even enjoyed his best friend Eddie Haskell. I still watch those old shows once in a while.
Thank you Tony for all the fun years you gave us all. Bless Tony and his family at this time. Hospice is not a happy time for patient or family to go through.

Violet, how I loved the BEAVER! I watched every episode repeatedly, back in the days of afternoon reruns. I know those shows were a limited view of real life in America…but they were so sweet and hopeful that I refuse to minimalize or dismiss them as modern audiences may. What’s wrong with a little bit of fantasy for a while when we watch T.V.? We have reality all day long!

Soaphound
I think I watched repeats of repeats. The show came out in 1957, the year my 2nd child was born, but did not watch until the repeats started and by then my two kids watched with me. Remember the trouble Beaver and Larry got in to? I Googled the cast and the ones that are still alive are very old, but it’s fun seeing them then and now.

Sad to hear. A great guy. Years ago I worked at the Los Angeles Mission and met countless daytime/primetime/movie stars. He coached men in volleyball there in the evenings with Bill Fagerbakke and his own son Chris. He is a humble man like most celebrities once you get over the excitement and deal with them regularly. Same with Zsa Zsa Gabor and her sister Eva. There they weren’t preening divas like you’d thought. Prayers for him and his family.

This, to me, reads vaguely like the reports of Tanya Roberts’ death, non-death and then eventual death. Sad.

Tony Dow on General Hospital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRepVXva7zM

It’s from 1975, so don’t ask why it’s in black & white

This is a great clip, Satan! I think you alerted me to this one previously, as it features my fave, Valerie Starrett as Diana Taylor. Great to see her with Denise Alexander and, of course, the late Tony Dow.

We’re lucky that any clips exist from when GH was a half-hour long. As was daytime practice, the network reused tapes until the show went to an hour long in 1978. Be interested to find out how this clip got posted as most YouTube GH clips are from
Home users. The Betamax launched in the US late in 1975 – the year this clip aired. Hard to imagine someone hooking an (in those days) expensive VCR up to a black & white tv.

Are they THAT anxious to move on? This is twice now. And it’s weird. He passed. No.He’s breathing. SMH. Why do that?

daviestev1
I kind of wondered at first, don’t they have enough on their plate without so much attention to publicity, announcements, etc.

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George Cheeks, CBS President & CEO, on Timeline to Launch New Daytime Drama, ‘The Gates’: “We’re So Focused on Getting it Right”

March 2024 will be remembered in the TV and soap world when the news broke that CBS is prepping a brand new daytime drama. Many had thought a major network would never bring a new daytime soap into the world, given that the last time it was attempted was 25 years ago when the now defunct Passions bowed on NBC.

However, The Gates is definitely in development and moving forward with some major players associated with it including: Michele Val Jean as The Gates writer, showrunner and one of its executive producers, and Sheila Ducksworth from NAACP Venture

Now, for the first time since its announcement, George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer for news and sports at Paramount+, spoke on the project that will feature a Black family as its central focus who live in a wealthy gated community.

Photo: NAACP

Speaking with Vulture, and when asked if The Gates is really something that truly has a chance of getting on the air, Cheeks clarified, “It’s super real. And just to give you a little bit of the backstory,  when we hired Sheila Ducksworth to run the NAACP Venture, she and I had multiple meetings talking about what different genres she was going to lean into, and we talked a lot about daytime.”

Cheeks added, “One of the things that the data made very clear to both of us is that daytime soap operas over index with Black women, and yet when you look at soap operas, it’s usually sort of a white-led family with supporting characters that reflect more of our society. So we just thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to flip that and make the core anchor family a Black family, and then make the other characters reflect more the broader scope of society?”

Photo: JPI

The CEO gave props to Michele Val Jean,  and how Ducksworth came to the table with the former B&B and GH writer. “She found this great writer, Michele Val Jean, who’s been in the soap opera space for 30 years. She came up with a pitch, and we loved it,” shares Cheeks. “We brought Procter & Gamble into it as well, because if there were going to be (product) integrations, we could do it more holistically and organically. All of that is to say, we did a lot of work on the front end to put this together. So while yes, it’s development, it’s accelerated development.”

When prodded on the timeline of when The Gates could come to full fruition, Gates related, “The actual timeline and when we’re going to do it is still uncertain, because we want to get this right. I mean, there hasn’t been a new soap opera launch since I can’t even begin to tell you when. But we have great success with Bold and the Beautiful and Young and the Restless, and so we think we’re the right folks to be launching a new soap. I wish I could tell you more about exact timing, but we’re so focused on getting it right, and that will dictate when we’re ready to launch it.”

The CBS exec also shared that whether The Gates will wind up an hour soap or half-hour is not yet determined, but that it is being developed as an hour show.

So, after reading what George Cheeks, the CBS President & CEO had to say about ‘The Gates’, are you even more excited for what looks to the first new network soap in 25 years? Comment below.

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Robyn Bernard, ‘General Hospital’s’ Terry Brock, Dead at 64

Former General Hospital star, Robyn Bernard, who played aspiring singer Terry Brock has died. She was 64-years-old.

Bernard’s body was found Tuesday in San Jacinto, California. A Riverside County Coroner told TMZ they identified the actress’ body using her fingerprints after deputies responded to a death investigation call on Tuesday March 12th.

Sources told the outlet that Bernard’s body was found in the wee hours of the morning. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Photo: ABC

Bernard joined General Hospital back in 1984 as Terry Brock, the daughter of the abusive D.L. Brock (played by David Groh). Robyn remained on the ABC soap opera for six years before making her exit in 1990. At one point, Terry’s stepmother would become Bobbie Spencer (the late Jackie Zeman) when the nurse married her father.

Terry was involved in the Laurelton Murders storyline and after first setting her sights on Frisco Jones, wound up with killer Kevin O’Connor. Later, Terry was blamed for several murders and in the end killed Kevin in self-defense. In addition, Terry had a relationship with Dusty Walker played by none other than Shaun Cassidy.  She eventually left Port Charles after landing her own recording contract.

Photo: ABC

The last time GH Fans may have seen Bernard was in 2014, when she appeared at the GH Fan Club Weekend Past Cast event. Robyn is pictured below with the late Susan Brown (ex-Gail) at the fan gathering. She has been out of the limelight for several years.

Photo: JPI

In addition to her role on GH, Bernard was featured throughout her TV career on primetime’s Simon & Simon, Tour of Duty and The Facts of Life.

Share your remembrances and condolences for GH alum Robyn Bernard and her loved ones via the comment section below.

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Breaking News

51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Announce Broadcast Date on CBS

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) revealed on Tuesday, that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on Friday night, June 7th (8 – 10 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.

This year will mark the 18th time CBS has broadcast the Daytime Emmy Awards, which is more than any other network.

The 2024 Daytime Emmys will take place at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles. Back in December of 2023, the delayed 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were also held at that venue. The June 7th date for the upcoming ceremony will be the first time in several years that the event is scheduled a few weeks earlier than normal; excluding last year’s revised date to the actors and writers strikes.

Photo: NATAS

Lifetime Achievement honoree, nominations, host, and additional information will be announced in the coming weeks.

In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS noted, “We eagerly anticipate our return in June as we once again partner with CBS to recognize the exceptional and talented individuals who make daytime television great. We’re thrilled to kick off our second half-century of the Daytime Emmys.”

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of categories, including daytime dramas, talk shows, instructional programming, hosting, culinary, and legal/courtroom programs. In 2021, NATAS and the Television Academy jointly announced plans to realign the Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards to be organized by content genre, as opposed to program airtime.

Photo: JPI

The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will once again be produced by NATAS and Associated Television International (ATI), which produced Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies on The CW in 2009 and on CBS in 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Adam Sharp and Lisa Armstrong are executive producers from NATAS, while David McKenzie is executive producer from ATI.

So, glad to know that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards honoring performance and shows in the 2023 calendar year, will be held in early June this year, and once again broadcast on CBS? Comment below.

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