Tony Dow Biography

Fast Facts

• His mother worked in Hollywood as a stuntwoman in early Westerns and as iconic silent film actress Clara Bow's movie double
• Met his future wife Lauren when she was working as a producer and chose to cast him in a McDonald's commercial
• Competed in the Junior Olympics as a young man and became a diving champion
• During the 1970s, Dow worked in contracting and construction while attending school to study journalism and filmmaking
• Became an actor by chance, winning a role in a TV pilot while accompanying his friend to an audition as moral support
• Put his acting career on hold to serve in the National Guard from 1965 to 1968
• Switched careers to primarily work as a modern art sculptor after decades of acting, and has had one of his bronze sculptures on display in an art exhibition at the Louvre in Paris