The Late Tony Dow Got Thousands Of Fan Letters In The ’60s, Proving He Was The Ultimate Dreamboat

Tony Dow starred as Wally Cleaver in the popular sitcom Leave It to Beaver and played the role throughout the show’s six-season run. Despite facing competition from around 270 other teenagers who auditioned for the part of Beaver’s older brother, the late actor ultimately clinched the role and brought his talent to the beloved show.

His character became highly popular, and he was seen as an idol by teenage girls and boys from all over the world. At some point in the sitcom, Dow started to receive thousands of letters from his fans, especially girls who were competing to win his heart.

Tony Dow reveals that the letters he got were overwhelming

In a 1962 interview with The Bristol Daily Courier, Dow shared that he received around 1,000 fan letters a week. He estimated that about 100 of those letters came from boys his age, while the remaining 900 to 1,000 letters were from girls who held out hope of becoming his girlfriend.

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He also stated that there were so many letters that he could not reply to most of them. “It’s really rough answering some of them,” he told the news outlet. “The idea of going steady kind of appeals to me. But 2,000 miles is a long way to go just for a soda. But I try to answer them as nicely as possible.”

The late actor revealed that he begged ‘Leave It to Beaver’s’ producers to reduce the romantic content for his character

The late actor further revealed that he had pleaded with the producers of the show, Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, to minimize any romantic storylines on the show so that he could discourage the real-life romantic situations that had arisen among fans of the show.

Thankfully the producers agreed to make the changes. “We try to slow down the romance angle for Tony whenever possible,” Mosher revealed. “But it’s pretty hard to keep it out of the show altogether when letters, all in delicate feminine handwriting, roll in by the stacks.”