'Leave It To Beaver' star Tony Dow hospitalized with pneumonia: report
Due to the coronavirus, Dow's wife says there was difficulty getting him a hospital bed
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Leave it to Beaver" actor Tony Dow is reportedly in the hospital with pneumonia.
The actor, director and sculptor is perhaps best known for playing the older brother character, Wally Cleaver, in 234 episodes of the sitcom’s run from 1957 to 1963. That’s why many fans took notice when TMZ reported that he had been taken to the emergency room on Thursday.
His wife, Lauren, told the outlet that his illness was not related to the coronavirus. In fact, he was reportedly tested several times at the hospital and each one came back negative. However, that doesn’t mean that his illness isn’t being exacerbated by the pandemic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lauren said Tony was in an emergency room bed for a full 24 hours before he was able to get a regular hospital bed and begin getting treated properly for his pneumonia. The reason for the delay was that the hospital, like many throughout the country, was experiencing a shortage of beds as more and more patients require hospitalization due to the delta variant of COVID-19.
KEN OSMOND'S TOP FIVE 'LEAVE IT TO BEAVER' MOMENTS
Tony Dow co-starred in ‘Leave It To Beaver’ for 234 episodes. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
As of Friday morning, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 214,647,607 people across 192 countries and territories, resulting in at least 4,474,716 deaths. In the U.S., all 50 states plus the District of Columbia have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19, tallying more than 38,384,595 illnesses and at least 633,566 deaths.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fortunately, Lauren says that as long as Dow is able to avoid contracting the virus, doctors are optimistic that he’s on the mend and could return home sometime within the week.
Representatives for Dow did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
THEN/NOW: THE CAST OF 'LEAVE IT TO BEAVER'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After starring in the feel-good family sitcom, Dow kept busy in Hollywood making guest appearances on a variety of TV shows. In the ‘80s, he launched a career in directing and producing that continued for 20 years. It was the early 2000s when he began pursuing his childhood love of art and created designs produced from burlwood.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
‘Leave It To Beaver’ star Tony Dow has reportedly been hospitalized. (Getty Images)
Speaking to Fox News in 2019, he noted that his time on "Leave It To Beaver" often brings up fonder memories for fans than it does for him. Although he’s grateful for the project, he was 11 years old when he was initially discovered as an actor. At the time, he wasn’t even allowed to watch "Leave It To Beaver."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"They actually asked our parents not to let us watch the show on TV so we wouldn’t get a big head. So there are probably some episodes that I haven’t seen yet… And there was no swearing on set at all, not even from the crew. They wanted to keep it as family-friendly as possible at all times," he explained.